Why did God “harden Pharaoh’s heart?” There are several ways to interpret what this means. Why did God allow Pharaoh to harden his heart (non-intervention)? Why did God intervene and prevent Pharaoh from being merciful? Could Pharaoh have changed his mind if he had wanted to?
The most important reason is that God wanted to show that it was not Pharaoh who freed the Hebrews, but God. This was necessary because the Hebrews, Bnai Yisrael, who were brought to Egypt during the reign of Joseph, although not Egyptians, had adopted a slave mentality during centuries of captivity. They had absorbed Egyptian culture, and, despite their suffering, they had learned to accept it and live with it. Despite their complaints, they were used to serving and revering Pharaoh. Their identity became tied to their status as slaves and to Egyptian culture.
They were not yet Jews – that would only happen during their wandering in the desert and their acceptance of Torah as the basis of their identity. This was apparent when Moses received the Torah on Mt Sinai, and the worship of the Golden Calf as an expression of Egyptian idolatry and culture. The Hebrews were still in Galut and would remain so for many more years.
This explains why the Hebrews rejected Moses; they didn’t want to become free, to take responsibility, to fight with Egypt and determine their destiny. They identified as Egyptians. They didn’t want to accept God, and the obligations of being Jewish. They were satisfied and didn’t want to take risks with new ideas and new ways. They were addicted to worshipping Pharaoh, a powerful leader and his powerful civilization. If Pharaoh had agreed to free them as a gesture of kindness and compassion they would have worshipped him even more. Therefore, God had to show them the reality of Pharaoh’s evil and Egyptian slavery.
An equally important reason was to emphasize the importance of free will, and the seeming paradox of Pharaoh’s dilemma as the ruler of an empire. Although he may have been willing to release the Hebrews, other slaves would certainly want to be free, and this would undermine not only his rule, but Egypt’s entire economic/social structure. At stake, therefore, were his absolute power as King and his empire.
The Bet Halevi wrote that hardening Pharaoh's heart did not deprive him of free will. Rather, G-d prevented him from feeling the natural, emotional response to the suffering of others. It is as if with each new plague, he was able to disregard the effects of the prior ones and ignore Moshe’s warnings. That’s why he allowed Moshe and Aharon to return. Although his free will was intact, each time he was able to make a decision unencumbered by the past and oblivious to future consequences.
This provides an explanation for why so many Jews in America supported Obama, Biden and Harris. Many Jews believed that Obama/Biden/Harris were friends of Jews and Israel. Their administrations were filled with Jews and represented the Democratic Party which they supported. They didn’t want to accept the reality that the Democratic Party was infused with those who hated Jews and Israel. They preferred to ignore what their leaders were doing, such as supporting Iran and promoting a Palestinian state dedicated to destroying Israel. They didn’t want to accept the reality of Joe Biden’s incompetence and senility. They thought that he was good for America and Israel. They thought he cared.
American Jews and many Israelis were also misled by those who enacted the Oslo Accords which promised peace, while legitimizing terrorist leaders and accommodating terrorism. They ignored the danger of Hamas and its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. They accepted the expulsion of Jews from the Gaza Strip, the Disengagement, led by Ariel Sharon, a “military hero.” They believed Shimon Peres who promoted the delusion that Hamas would turn Gaza into a version of Singapore. They ignored what was written in Hamas’ Charter calling for Israel’s destruction. They ignored what Qatar was doing, especially its funding Hamas and promoting the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda.
They ignored reality.