Pharoah the Politician

There are many opinions regarding the Torah’s description of the king of Egypt. We are told, ויקם מלך חדש, that a new king arose in Egypt.

There are commentators who explained that it was an actual new king. He did not have good feelings towards the Jews, and ultimately enslaved them.

It is the other interpretation that is difficult to understand. According to this second opinion, it was the same Pharoah but he was new in the sense that he made new decrees and acted “new” in the sense that he forgot everything Yosef did, in turning Egypt into the superpower of the world.

If it was the same Pharoah, he went from praising Yosef for being filled with the Divine spirit, to “I do not know your G-d.”

Rabbi Twerski suggested that this was for political reasons. The mood in Egypt had changed and public opinion expressed a genuine fear that the Jewish people would overthrow Egyptian leadership because of their huge numbers. Pharoah needed to change his attitude in order to keep his job and not get removed.

All of the contributions of Yosef were thrown out the window. This was a harsh reality of what was to come in the world of politics. Too often so called leaders, will abandon all of their values so that they keep their position of power. How sad and how true!