בס”ד

In the Book of Exodus (7:14-15), the Creator commands Moses to embark on a mission with precise timing and location: “Go to Pharaoh in the morning; behold, he is going out to the water, and you shall stand to meet him on the bank of the Nile.” Rashi explains the hidden reason behind this early meeting: Pharaoh presented himself as a god, claiming that as a divine being, he did not have physiological needs like flesh and blood. To maintain this lie, Pharaoh would rise early to go to the Nile in secret, unseen by any eye, to relieve himself there. Pharaoh knew well that he was but flesh and blood, yet, he fabricated false myths and spread them so his people would follow him blindly.

Why did G-d choose to send Moses specifically to this spot at this exact hour?


The command to Moses was intended to be a face-to-face encounter at Pharaoh’s most embarrassing human moment and was designed to shatter the mask of lies and make it clear to him that his secret was revealed and known. The Nile was the symbol of Egypt’s power and their central deity. Moses’ message to Pharaoh was clear: “You attempt to hide your humanity within the Nile, but behold, I strike the water with the staff and turn it into blood.” G-d explicitly punished him for the claim of self-creation (Ezekiel 29:3). Through this, it was proven that Pharaoh is not a god and the Nile is not an independent source of power; rather, both are created beings.


For the Children of Noah, the prohibition against idolatry is the first and most fundamental command. It was necessary to undermine Pharaoh’s moral and religious authority in his own eyes and the eyes of his people to pave the way for faith in one G-d. Going to the Nile in the morning was a move of demystification—removing the veil from Pharaoh’s great lie. When the weakness of the false “god” and the utter falsehood of idolatry are exposed can Divine truth enlighten in its full strength.


Idolatry is the practice of giving excessive importance or power to a created object or entity. Similar to this, when someone gives in to anger, they frequently lose control and allow their emotions to take charge, displacing the rational mind and ignoring Divine providence. Therefore anger is sometimes considered a form of idolatry.


The lesson learned is relevant for every Noahide. Idolatry today does not necessarily manifest in bowing to statues of wood and stone, but in the human tendency to grant absolute and exclusive power to temporary and fleeting factors. When a person frees themselves from enslavement and the need to present a false front of personal perfection (as Pharaoh attempted), they merit true freedom and a life of absolute truth. Therefore, recognizing G-d’s Infinite Unity is the ultimate fulfillment of the first law against idolatry.

By Rabbi Moshe Bernstein


Source: Exodus 7:14-15. Rashi on Exodus 7:15. Midrash Tanchuma, Va’era 7. Ezekiel 29:3.



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