Parshat Va'era: The Hardening of Pharoah's Heart

The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart troubles many commentators.

Some commentators address this theological problem by explaining that Pharaoh deserved to lose his free will (e.g. Ramban). Others answer by explaining the text in a literal manner (e.g. Sforno), that the term “hardening of the heart” does not denote a loss of free will.

In this lesson for grades 7-12, we will examine four different approaches to this problem. We will study the text that describes the Ten Plagues (i.e. Chapters 7:14-11), which covers most of Parshiot Va’era and Bo.