In this week’s Torah portion, Vaera (“And He Appeared”), we encounter one of the strangest moments in the entire Exodus narrative. Pharaoh, surrounded by frogs—in his palace, in his bedroom, in his ovens—asks Moses to pray for their removal. Moses responds with a fascinating question: “When do you want me to do this?”
Pharaoh’s answer? Tomorrow.
Tomorrow? Why tomorrow? If I had frogs all around me in my land, in my home creeping here and there, why would I wait until tomorrow? I’m like, NOW. I want these frogs to be dead now. Right away pronto. I want these frogs gone. Why tomorrow?
Here’s what I came up with: There must have been something that Pharaoh wanted to try to prove. Maybe he was giving his magicians time to see if they could get rid of the frogs since they were also able to produce the frogs. You know, could they somehow magically with their magic, get rid of the frogs? Maybe he’s like, well, trying to be better, higher than God.
But of course they weren’t able to do it. They were not able to get rid of the frogs, but Moses did. By the power of God Almighty, he got rid of the frogs.
This pattern continues through the plagues. The magicians could turn water to blood—just like Aaron. They could produce frogs—just like Aaron. But when it came to the gnats, suddenly they hit a wall. “The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not.” And that’s when they finally admitted: “This is the finger of God.”
It was always God, but it’s only because they can’t produce it now that they actually realize that it’s God. So if it’s something they can do, oh well, they don’t wanna give God the credit. But as soon as something happens that they can’t do, ah, yeah. Then they’re baffled.
Listen to the full episode to discover how God flips the script on Pharaoh’s “tomorrow” and what it means for your life today.
God bless, Shirah Chante, your relationship coach
PS – Listen to Perfect Body Podcast, a Torah Portion Afterthought: Studying Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, episode Vaera: Tomorrow
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