I will tell you about the Parashah, the Parashah of Shavua (week). It says that during Makkat Dam (plague of blood), there was no blood by Pharaoh’s palace. The question is: I understand there was no blood by Pharaoh’s palace. Why not? Why not? Everybody knows that in order to drink water, the Egyptians had to pay the Jewish people.
So, if you had a bottle of water, at the end of the day, for an Egyptian to be able to drink, he would pay you top dollar. “How much do you want?” “Oh, $100 for the bottle.” “No, I’m only giving you five here. Take five.” Then he would drink it, and it would turn to blood. “Oh, you gave me a hundred? All right, now I turn it to water.” So he had no choice. “Oh, $10,000.” “Oh, okay.” He didn’t drink it? Okay. But by Pharaoh, there was no blood. The question is, why not? Why didn’t Pharaoh have to pay? Why didn’t he have to pay?
You know what the answer is? The answer is that Pharaoh paid. You know how he paid? He paid by having Moshe grow up in the palace. The Meshech Chochmah says this. That was his payment. Meaning to say, what he did for Moshe Rabbeinu while he was growing up wasn’t for free. Hashem said, “Oh, you paid already. You paid your dues. So therefore, in your palace, there’s not going to be blood.” Why? Everybody answers the question: Why not? The Midrash says, and the Meshech Chochmah says, this is the answer. The answer is yes: since he raised Moshe in his palace, that was the payment. And therefore, in Pharaoh’s palace, he didn’t have any blood.