When the time came to bring the plagues upon Egypt, Hashem sent Moshe to meet Pharaoh early in the morning at the river, to warn him about the first plague, the plague of blood.
Rashi writes that Pharaoh would go to the river early in the morning in order to perform his bodily functions in private. Pharaoh believed himself to be some sort of godly being, and in order to project this image, he needed to ensure that he would never be seen performing his bodily functions, something which, quite obviously, only human beings do. And so Pharaoh would perform his bodily functions just once a day, early in the morning, when nobody would see him.
What can we learn from this irrational behavior? Certainly, none of us would be so foolish as to pretend that we are not human. What does Pharaoh’s extreme example of arrogance teach us?
Pharaoh’s behavior shows us the dangers of feeling invulnerable, too confident in ourselves. Like Pharaoh, we have the ability to become self-delusional, to fool ourselves into thinking that we’re not susceptible to basic human weaknesses.
The Gemara in Masechet Kiddushin (81a-b) tells an unusual story about a certain scholar named Plimo. He was accustomed to mocking the yetzer ha’ra (evil inclination), regularly saying, “An arrow in the eye of the Satan” – meaning, he was arrogantly poking fun at the yetzer ha’ra that, he felt, had no control over him.
Once, the Gemara tells, on Erev Yom Kippur, the Satan appeared as a poor man and came to Plimo’s front door, asking for charity. Plimo offered him some food, but then he asked to come inside. Once inside, the man asked to sit at the table. While sitting at the table, the poor man started acting very inappropriately, engaging in revolting behavior. Finally, the people at the table reprimanded the poor man. He then pretended to die. Word quickly spread that Plimo murdered somebody. Plimo ran to the restroom to hide, and the Satan finally went to him and explained to him what was happening. The Satan explained that instead of saying, “An arrow in the eye of the Satan,” Plimo should instead be saying, “May Hashem be angry at the Satan.”
This story, at first glance, seems very peculiar. But in truth, it is teaching us the critically important lesson of recognizing our vulnerabilities. If we take a nonchalant attitude toward the yetzer ha’ra, toward human weaknesses, then we are likely to let the Satan into our homes, so-to-speak; we end up allowing these temptations into our lives. And when we do, they can take over our lives, and lead us to places where we do not want to be.
Every addiction begins this way. The person feels that this is no big deal, that he can just do it once or twice. He figures he can let this vice through the door, into his life, and soon enough he realizes that it has taken over, that its ugliness is now in control of his life.
This is what happens when a person feels invulnerable, like Pharaoh, when he ridicules human weaknesses and temptations, thinking they’re no big deal.
Just before the story about Plimo, the Gemara tells an astounding story about Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest, most righteous scholars who ever lived. The Satan wanted to tempt Rabbi Akiva to sin, and so it appeared as a woman and sat on top of a tree. Rabbi Akiva began climbing the tree to reach the woman. The Satan then left Rabbi Akiva alone. It informed him that he was warned not to try to lure Rabbi Akiva, but if not for this warning, it would have easily succeeded in causing him to commit a grave sin.
The Gemara here wants us to realize that nobody is invulnerable. Every single person, no matter how great, is susceptible to sin.
Every person has his own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and we must all act accordingly. If we know that we are weak in a certain area, we need to put the necessary controls in place to protect ourselves in regard to that particular vice.
Just to give one small personal example – I have a weakness for junk food. I love junk food. About a half-hour before I go to bed, my craving is especially strong. I am well aware of this craving, and so I know that I need to be exceptionally careful at that time.
Every person needs to know their individual weaknesses. The most common weaknesses in our day are alcohol, drugs, gambling, promiscuity and the internet. These are very strong temptations that can easily become addictive and destructive. We must not be delusional like Pharaoh, and think that we are immune to these and other lures. We have to be aware of what our weaknesses are, and put all the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that we avoid these pitfalls and live the best lives that we are capable of living.