The famous biblical account of the Ten Plagues visited on Egypt in an effort to liberate Israelite slaves is troublesome on various theological levels. Equally troublesome is Pharaohs response. After several of the early plagues, Pharaoh appears to acquiesce to Moses request to Let My People Go, only to have his heart hardened in the final moment. What kind of responsible leader would put his population at risk for his/her own personal gain? And, what does it mean to harden ones heart?

The contemporary psychologist Erich Fromm wrote, the hardening of Pharaohs heart is one of the most fundamental laws of human behavior. Every evil act tends to harden mans heart, that is, to deaden it. Every good act tends to soften it, to make it more alive. The more mans heart hardens, the less freedom he has to change; the more is he determined already by previous action. But there comes a point of no return, when mans heart has become so hardened and so deadened that he has lost the possibility of freedom, when he is forced to go on and on until the unavoidable end which is, in the last analysis, his own physical or spiritual destruction.

When one becomes accustomed to lying, lying becomes ones new truth. It is not that a pathological liar refuses the truth, he/she is just unable to distinguish one from the other. The same may be said with regard to Pharaohs narcistic refusal to back down in the face of his own peoples suffering. It is not that he doesnt want to, his habitual concern with his own power and authority has blinded him to the needs of anyone else.

Rabbi Hillel Silverman comments, Every time we disobey the voice of conscience, it becomes fainter and feebler, and the human heart becomes harder to reach and move. The ancient Pharaoh of the Book of Exodus has become a metaphor for leaders of every age whose personal ambition causes them to lose sight of those they lead. The dustpan of human history is littered with leaders whose only concern was ambition, power, and self-aggrandizement.

The 19th century British historian and politician, Sir John Dalberg-Acton is best known for saying, Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is not easy to wear the crown of leadership. The pantheon of effective and visionary leaders is few in number. We need only look around. In todays world there are far too many Pharaohs, and not enough Moses!

Rabbi Howard Siegel

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Heart Disease That Hurts Others - Chron.com