At the start of Perashat Bo, G-d instructs Moshe to “Come to Pharaoh” and reveals “I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Shemot 10:1). Previously, this was narrated to us, the readers, but not disclosed to Moshe himself. Why now? What changed? Additionally, many commentators are bothered by the wording of “come to” to Pharaoh instead of “go to.” Is there a deeper meaning?
Our Rabbis explain that the plagues followed a pattern: the first two in each cycle came with warnings, the third without. Plagues 1-2, 4-5, and 7-8 were all preceded by warnings. The third in each set (3, 6, 9) came without any. Yet the tenth plague, standing alone, carried a warning.
Ohr Hayim suggests (Shemot 10:1) that at this point, Moshe was discouraged. Pharaoh had been warned repeatedly. He’d even admitted after the hail: “G-d is righteous” (Shemot 9:27) and yet still refused to let the people go. Moshe likely pondered: Why bother going back? Let’s just unleash the final plagues and be done!
That’s why G-d reveals that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Sforno explains that at this point, it wasn’t about Pharaoh giving in anymore. It was so that the Jewish People and “their sons and their sons after” (Shemot 10:2) would recognize G-d’s greatness through these wonders.
This answers why Moshe was told what was happening behind the scenes. Still, why the strange wording “Bo” (come) instead of “Lech” (go)?
The Zohar (Bo 34a) explains more deeply that by using “Bo,” G-d was guiding Moshe through a “spiritual labyrinth into the abode of a mighty supernatural dragon that represented Egypt.” Moshe wasn’t just approaching a stubborn king; he was being led through spiritual “rooms” toward the Great Serpent itself for battle.
Moshe hesitated. He understood the potency of the evil that would present itself. Moshe, representing Torah and light, feared contact with such concentrated darkness. G-d reassured him: “Come with Me. I am there too. You are not alone.”
We all have our Pharaohs. Conversations we dread. Confrontations we avoid. Situations so dark we’d rather not go near them. We fear taking the steps to do what we must.
Yet here’s the takeaway: G-d doesn’t say “go” on your own. He says “come.” Come to where I already am. When we face our hardest moments, G-d is already there. Not as a spectator, but as a presence. Moshe went not because it was easy or because he felt ready, but because G-d said: Come. I’m already there.
Wherever our travels take us, whatever hardships we face, we never do it alone. G-d is with us, behind the scenes, always working for our good.