Va’era 5775 – Hardened Hearts and Our Own Addictions
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Va’era 5775 – Hardened Hearts and Our Own Addictions
Rabbi Steven Morgen, Congregation Beth Yeshurun, January 17, 2015
In Judaism, we do not believe there is a demonic, god-likeDevil creature. There is no malevolent being that can force us to do evil deeds in the world. There is no devious wicked angel that can grant us our heart’s desire if only we would sell our souls (whatever that is supposed to mean). One of the beautiful consequences of believing in only one God is that there can be no “anti-god,” no Nefarious Deity, that causes horrible things to happen in our world. There is just the One God, who created us all, who loves us as any parent would love their children, and who is constantly trying to encourage us to do what is right and good, what is kind and compassionate.
We do, however, have a concept of a Yetzer HaRa – an evil inclination. This is an all-too-human desire to be selfish, self-destructive, and greedy. A desire to control others, to abuse them, or to rob them of their human dignity. Fortunately, we also have a Yetzer HaTov – a good inclination. This is the desire to help others, to nurture ourselves and to take care of our own mental and physical health, and to use our talents and resources to bring hope and healing to the world.
The struggle in human life is to ignore the vanities of the Yetzer HaRa, and to cultivate our desires to be good.
In our Torah portion this morning, Pharaoh can be seen as struggling with his own Yetzer HaTov and his Yetzer HaRa. Plague after plague assaults his kingdom, simply because he refused to let his Israelite slaves go free. It is a normal and frequently asked question: What was Pharaoh’s problem? Why did he remain obstinate in the face of so much destruction?
Sure, the Torah tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Just when Pharaoh seemed to relent, God – it would seem – interfered with Pharaoh’s free will to strengthen his resolve against the plagues. But the plain reading of the text leaves us with a serious moral predicament of Biblical proportions. How could God do that to someone? Not only did that deprive a human being of one of the unique qualities of humanity – our free will – it caused untold horrors to happen to the hundreds of thousands of innocent Egyptians. How could God do that? In the words of our ancestor Abraham: Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do justice? [Gen. 18:25]
But how else to explain Pharaoh’s unbelievable intransigence? And how can we interpret the text which tells us – in so many words – that God did harden Pharaoh’s heart?
In order to understand the Pharaoh’s decisions we first need to consider the problem from his perspective. The great, awesome, and awe-inspiring buildings and structures of Egypt could not have been built without a tremendous amount of slave labor. Without modern machinery, constructing the great buildings of ancient Egypt – whether it was the pyramids, the Sphinx, or the Storehouses of Pithom and Ramses – required the manpower of tens of thousands of people. No Empire could afford to pay that many people a standard wage in order to complete these impressive monuments. (By the way, as we have said before many times, the Israelites did not build the Pyramids of Egypt. The pyramids were constructed centuries earlier, and the Bible specifically says the Israelites built the storehouses in Pithom and Ramses– Exodus 1:11.)
So, freeing the slaves was not by any means an easy decision to make. The Pharaoh needed (or felt he needed) the slave labor, to satisfy his lust for an ostentatious display of his power. How could he free his slaves? What would he do the next time he wanted to go on a monumental building spree? Even if he enslaved another nation, they would know that he could be forced to free them with “signs and wonders”.
So, despite the fact that his kingdom was crashing down on his head with all of these horrific plagues, the Pharaoh simply could not allow himself to free his slaves. He was, in a sense, addicted to the institution of slavery.
And how do we explain the text that “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart”? One way to understand this is to simply recognize that we human beings are all vulnerable to some form of addiction or another. For whatever reason, part of the world that God created includes the potential for human beings to become dependent on drugs, or alcohol, or spending money, or over-eating, or gambling, or cheating and taking advantage of people. God didn’t harden Pharaoh’s heart, per se. But rather, human nature includes this potential for obsessive behaviors that are inherently dangerous and destructive.
Our Sages were aware of this peculiar nature of addictions thousands of years ago. They describe this Yetzer – this addictive desire – as something that starts out as a mild and gentle fascination but later becomes aggressively assertive.[1]
Rabbi Akiba, for instance, said: “In the beginning it is like the thin thread spun by a spider but in the end it is as thick as a ship’s rope.” We can easily break out of a spider’s web, just as we can more easily stop our addictions if we do so right away. But gradually they encircle us tighter and tighter with more powerful force as though we were bound in thick cords.
Rabbi Yitzhak explained it this way: “In the beginning this desire comes as a guest and then later it becomes the landlord.” At first we willingly indulge our desires. But gradually they take over our entire lives.
Dr. BenzionTwerski, a psychologist, an Orthodox rabbi, and an expert on substance abuse tells us that “Alcohol and drug abuse is a disease … that begins with casual or experimental use of a chemical for its mind-altering effects. [But] it rapidly becomes an addiction, which involves loss of control over the substance or behavior, and eventually leads to self-destructiveness.”[2]
AbrahamTwerski (a relative of BenzionTwerski, who is also an Orthodox rabbi as well as a psychiatrist specializing in substance abuse) has written extensively on the problem of alcoholism and substance abuse in the Jewish community. He warns us against imagining that Jews are somehow impervious to these human impulses. “It may be convenient to adhere to the myth that Jews cannot be alcoholics,” Abraham Twerski warns, “but this denial constitutes a serious dereliction of duty.”[3]
Abuse of alcohol and other drugs destroys millions of American lives. We in the Jewish community cannot afford to be naïve and think it does not happen in our community. It does. It happens all too often and with just as painful and sometimes even deadly results. Whether we are teenagers or parents of teenagers, or we ourselves have become caught in some addictive behavior, we should realize that this is an all too human frailty.
Too often we ignore warning signs that our friends, or our children or grandchildren, or that we ourselves are in trouble. Too often we are not aware that there is a problem, or we are too embarrassed to seek help. And sometimes, sometimes we actually enable our teenagers to indulge in substance abuse, perhaps by buying the alcohol and serving it in our homes, or by pretending we don’t notice when our teenagers and their friends raid our liquor cabinets, or by driving our teenagers to and from parties where alcohol is served so they do not “drink and drive.” In our desire to feel like we are “making our children happy” or “popular,” we enable them to become more and more dependent on drugs and alcohol.
The consequences of indulging in alcohol or other drugs are many. The most immediate and serious threat of course is driving under the influence of these drugs. Our common sense is diminished much more than we realize and our reaction time is slowed down dramatically, both of which make driving in this condition reckless, precarious, and terrifying. I remember (and I’m sure you do too!) when I was 16 years old and taking driver’s education class in school we were shown movies of accidents where people were brutally killed because one of the drivers was drunk.
But even if you are not going to drive, there are serious and even life-threatening consequences to getting drunk.“Researchers estimate that alcohol use is implicated in one- to two-thirds of sexual assault and acquaintance or "date" rape cases among teens and college students.”[4]
And abuse of alcohol will cause liver damage, and ultimately hasten a person’s death. It’s slower and less noticeable than getting into a car accident while drunk, but it will kill you just the same. Drug abuse can cause death in a variety of ways: not using clean needles can, and often will, lead to hepatitis C which will also kill you over time. My younger brother died quite possibly because of this. He was careless one time. Drug overdoses kill. Impure drugs kill. The need for expensive drugs causes robberies, other forms of theft and deception, and in far too many cases death – from drug dealers who aren’t paid, from someone who double-crosses you, or from confrontations with law enforcement officers. All of this is tragic – and unnecessary. It can be avoided by simply not getting started with drugs and alcohol.
I say “simply not getting started” – but of course if it were that simple we or our teenagers would not get started. What motivates otherwise smart people to get involved with alcohol and drugs? Perhaps they are distressed and feel under pressure to perform in school or work. They feel they need a “release” which alcohol can provide. Perhaps they like the “high” they get, the pleasurable feeling, a sense of giddiness. Many of our teens feel peer pressure to be like the popular kids who encourage others to indulge. “30% of children in grades four through six report that they have received ‘a lot’ of pressure from their classmates to drink beer; 31% to try marijuana; and 34% to try cigarettes.”[5]
So what can we do? Abraham Twerski suggests several steps.
The first step is awareness. As long as we believe the problem is not ours we will do nothing. Recognition of the realities of life is of paramount importance, and must be faced squarely by the clerical and lay leadership, as well as the Jewish community at large.
…
However great the stigma attached to alcoholism or chemical addiction, it can no longer be allowed to interfere with getting help. Jews have a tendency to be most secretive about emotional disturbances within their families, and often avoid seeking help, for fear of exposure and shame. Furthermore, since family participation is crucial in the recovery process, parents may have concerns that they will meet other members of their community at a treatment facility, and that their private nightmare will be “known to others.”
It must be understood that chemical dependency, whether it involves alcohol, narcotics, cocaine, or other addictive substances, is a malignant condition. Unless arrested, it is like a cancer: progressive, destructive, and lethal. It may claim as its victims not only the user, but the family members as well. …With a problem of this severity, we can [not] afford to deny or hide our need for help.
Whatever the initial approach to treatment, long-term recovery invariably requires participation in Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or Pills Anonymous. Psychological therapy can be [added] to involvement in these programs, but cannot be relied upon to be the sole [form of] treatment.
Some people mistakenly believe that programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous have a Christian orientation and are “off limits” to Jews. But anyone familiar with AA, NA, or PA knows that this is simply not true. The Twelve Steps of the “anonymous” fellowships are very compatible with Judaism, and those Jews familiar with the concepts of musar (Jewish ethics) will recognize the similarities.[6]
Indeed Abraham Twerski and other rabbis have written books relating the concepts of the 12 Steps program to Jewish sources and readings. There is a national organization called “JACS” which stands for Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others. JACS provides a variety of resources and services listed on their web site (
In Houston, a new Jewish AA Recovery Group has been formed which meets on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 at the Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston [303 Jackson Hill Street, Houston, TX 77007]. By meeting at this location, members can maintain anonymity with respect to the synagogue communities to which they belong. [For more information, contact
The well-known Twelve Step program developed for alcohol addiction can be applied to a variety of other addictions to which we might be vulnerable, such as gambling, going into debt, over-eating, or other compulsions.
Unlike the Pharaoh of Egypt, we do not have to be ruined by our addictions. In the Jewish tradition we believe that we are thankfully blessed with a Yetzer HaTov as well as a Yetzer HaRa. If we do the things we need to do to take care of ourselves and those we love, we can control and overcome our addictions. But first we need to recognize our weaknesses, we need to overcome our embarrassment or sense of shame (there are probably many Jewish people you know who have the same or similar challenges), and we need to seek the help and guidance that will enable us to meet the challenges we face.
May God bless those of us who need the strength and determination to do so.
[1]Seder Bereshit 22:6
[2] “Orthodox Youth and Substance Abuse: Shattering the Myths” by Dr. BenzionTwerskiJewish Action, Spring 1998
[3] “The Truth About Chemical Dependency and Jews” by Rabbi Abraham Twerski, found at “Jews, Alcohol & AA: Dispelling the myths that Jews aren’t alcoholics and that Alcoholics Anonymous is only for Christians”
[4]Facts: Youth, Alcohol and Other Drugs - National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence – NCADD, Compiled 12/99 particular statistic was taken from a 1992 government study (OIG, HHS, "Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences," Washington, DC, 4/92)But alcohol apparently continues to be commonly used in cases of date rape. See, e.g.,
[5]Id.Facts: Youth, Alcohol and Other Drugs.This statistic was taken from The Weekly Reader National Survey on Drugs and Alcohol, Middletown, CT, Field Publications, Spring 1995.
[6] Abraham Twerski, supra