וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה בֹּ֖א אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כִּֽי־אֲנִ֞י הִכְבַּ֤דְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ֙ וְאֶת־לֵ֣ב עֲבָדָ֔יו לְמַ֗עַן שִׁתִ֛י אֹתֹתַ֥י אֵ֖לֶּה בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃

Then יהוה said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them,

וּלְמַ֡עַן תְּסַפֵּר֩ בְּאׇזְנֵ֨י בִנְךָ֜ וּבֶן־בִּנְךָ֗ אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֤ר הִתְעַלַּ֙לְתִּי֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְאֶת־אֹתֹתַ֖י אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּי בָ֑ם וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּי־אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃

and that you may recount in the hearing of your child and of your child’s child how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them—in order that you may know that I am יהוה.”

The concept of a hardened heart, influenced by Divine intervention, is grappled with by countless commentators and myriad meforshim. After all, how do we reconcile a Divinely hardened heart with free-will?

Rashbam- during all the preceding plagues we do not find that G’d had told Moses that it was He Who had stiffened Pharaoh’s heart. However, since we have reached the stage where Pharaoh himself had said that “G’d is just whereas he and his people are the sinners,” (9,27) and still he had reneged and sinned deliberately, a phenomenon which must have seemed incomprehensible to Moses, G’d explains the psychology behind this, i.e. that it was not as hard to understand, as He Himself had to stiffen Pharaoh’s resolve causing him to renege. ואת לב עבדיו, as we are told in 9,34.

Ramban . “The reason I hardened their hearts is that I might set in their midst these signs that I wish to do among them so that the Egyptians will know My power, but not in order that I can punish them more on account of this hardening of heart, and also that you and all Israel should recount during the coming generations the power of My deeds, and you shall know that I am the Eternal, and whatsoever I please, I do in heaven and in earth.”

Ohr HaChaim 

G'd means that Moses would realise as of now that He had indeed hardened Pharaoh's heart. Even the most obstinate person would have broken down by now if he had experienced what Pharaoh had endured during the last seven plagues. 

Only intervention by G'd could have accounted for his continued refusal to let the Israelites depart. G'd did not, of course, interfere outright with Pharaoh's free will;

Some explain that Divinity only influenced Pharaoh’s physical resilience, as Hashem did not want to score a definitive knockout in the early rounds. 

The way my rabbi explained 

Freedom of choice 

50/50

As one increases so must the other

Guy comes up to you 

Knife or gun 

Money or your life 

Free choice ? 

Not really 

But what if you were a kung fu master. 

Disarm before he knows 

Now free choice 

He has power 

You have equal 

The plagues removed free choice 

Hardening the heart restored it. 

All in all, the natural order was changed, and the imposition on Pharaoh’s free-will rarely occurs to the rest of humanity.

What troubles us, however, is the juxtaposition of Hashem’s request that Moshe once again beseech Pharaoh, followed by the words

בֹּ֖א אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כִּֽי־אֲנִ֞י הִכְבַּ֤דְתִּי אֶת־לִבּוֹ֙

, “because I will harden his heart.”

Aren’t those two separate thoughts? Shouldn’t the command be “go to Pharaoh because I want him to free My people”?

From the word flow it seems that Hashem’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was a reason forMoshe to go to Pharaoh. Was it?

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky tells us: Here’s a more dynamic and dramatic way to retell this story verbally, designed to captivate your audience:

“Let me tell you a story a friend of mine once shared. Years ago, he visited an amusement park with his family. You know the type—cotton candy in the air, kids running wild, and rides screaming with adrenaline. Among the attractions stood a haunted house. Not your average haunted house, though—this one was legendary.

Picture it: pitch black inside, with just enough dim light to catch the gleam of monstrous eyes and grotesque faces. Shadows danced as if they were alive, and eerie sounds echoed from deep within. The kind of place that made your heart pound before you even stepped through the door.

Now, outside this terrifying lair, there was a massive warning sign. You know the drill: ‘Not for children under 12.’ ‘Not for those below a certain height.’ ‘Not for anyone with high blood pressure, a weak heart, or, frankly, common sense.’ My friend took one look at that sign and thought, no way was he letting his kids even look at this thing, let alone step inside.

But then he saw the line forming. And it wasn’t just any line. No, no. This line was filled with guys who looked like they could chew nails for breakfast—tattooed, leather-jacketed motorcyclists, each one towering at six feet or more, shoulders as wide as the turnstiles. They stood there, arms crossed, waiting to prove they weren’t afraid of anything.

And then, in the middle of this army of human tanks, my friend saw him.

A little boy. Seven years old. Tiny, skinny, giggling like he was waiting for a pony ride.

My friend couldn’t believe it. He had to say something.

So he called out, ‘Hey, kid! Can’t you read? This is the scariest ride in the park! It’s pitch black in there! You won’t see a thing—except for the MONSTERS!’

But the boy just kept grinning. That grin—that unshakable, confident grin. It only got bigger as he turned and said, ‘Why should I be scared?’

‘Why should you be scared?!’ my friend shouted, almost losing it. ‘It’s pitch black! There are monsters everywhere! You should be terrified!’

And that’s when the boy pointed, calm as could be, to a man sitting by the ride controls. A middle-aged guy in a uniform, with a headset on, surrounded by switches and buttons.

‘See that man over there?’ the boy said. ‘That’s my dad. If I scream even once, all he has to do is flip a switch. The lights go on, and all those monsters? They’re just plastic dummies.’

Now, let that sink in for a moment.

Because sometimes, life can feel like that haunted house. Dark, scary, full of monsters hiding in the shadows. But when you remember who’s in control—when you realize your Father is the one who can flip the switch—suddenly, those monsters lose their power.

Think about it. And if you are the kid? You can walk right through, grinning all the way.