This week Hashem tells Moshe to inform the B’nai Yisrael, that the good times will soon come.

לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃

Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am יהוה. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements.

https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.6.6

וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃

And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, יהוה, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.

https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.6.7

וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י לָתֵ֣ת אֹתָ֔הּ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֑ב וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֹתָ֥הּ לָכֶ֛ם מוֹרָשָׁ֖ה אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃

I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I יהוה.”

https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.6.8

It did not mean much. “

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ {פ}

But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.

https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.6.9

Next Hashem tells Moshe to tell Pharaoh to let the Jews out. Moshe responds with a reply filled with deductive reasoning. “

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵ֤ן בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֹֽא־שָׁמְע֣וּ אֵלַ֔י וְאֵיךְ֙ יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי פַרְעֹ֔ה וַאֲנִ֖י עֲרַ֥ל שְׂפָתָֽיִם׃ {פ}

But Moses appealed to יהוה, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, me—who gets tongue-tied!”

https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.6.12

Our sages explain 

See Rashi quoting (Genesis Rabbah 92:7).

that this is on of ten “kal v’chomer” instances in the Torah. It is an example of reasoning used to logically come to halachic conclusions. ( eg. If a weightlifter can not lift the stone, surely a child can not!)

The problem is, that the reasoning seems flawed. “The Children of Israel did not listen toMoshe from shortness of breath and hard work. ” 

Although the Siftei hahamim give a detailed explanation I would like to share what I saw from Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky asks 

Pharaoh did not suffer from either of those shortcomings! If the weightlifter with a broken back, can’t lift a stone, it plays no role in telling us whether or not a child can.)

So what was Moshe’s logical refutation to G-d’s command?

Yesterday 23 Teves, was the Yahrzeit the great Gaon, Rabbi Mordechai Gifter z”l. The Rabbi was the great father of a close friend of mine and when her son asks me halachic questions I often ask him what would your great grandfather say. 

As a student at the Telshe Yeshiva in Europe he developed a strong relationship with one Europe’s foremost scholars of that era, Rav Mordechai Pogramanski z”l. He used to relate on a story Rav Pogramanski would share with his students.

A disheveled man was touring the Louvre with a group of tourists. As they passed Rembrandt’s works the man looked at everyone and yelled, “Sour milk!” Puzzled, everyone thought he was crazy. He repeated it again. “It looks like sour milk!”

They moved on and passed the Mona Lisa. Again he screamed, Sour milk!” This went on a few more times until a wise man looked at the fellow. “Let me see your glasses.”

The critical man gave them to him. “What did you have for breakfast?” he asked.

“Why cereal and milk,” he answered.

The wise man laughed. Look at your glasses! They are speckled with milk! No wonder everything you look at appears as sour milk!

Moshe knew that Jews inherently believe. However the suffering of hard work and the evil treatment of Egyptian masters tainted their faith. 

But hard work alone does not taint faith. It is only when it is exasperated by the torment of the taskmasters, and their cruel taunts. How much more so, he figured, would Pharaoh be inattentive of the command thatHashem is in charge, and the Jews should be let free. 

If hard work stains the thought process, blocking the beauty of Hashem’s word to filter through, how much more so does the idolatry and heresy of Pharaoh impede them from penetrating!

We look at Hashem’s creation. We go to synagogue. We hear mussar. We read the prophets. But somehow it does not get through. The words are beautiful. Those who hear them can be inspired. 

But so many impediments block our vision and our hearing. Our lifestyles. Our desires. Even our work.

If we’d open our eyes we would see so much holiness! But only if their glasses are not tainted with sour milk.

זה אחד מעשרה ק'ו שבתורה. רוצה לומר, שאל תאמר דהאי איך ישמעני פרעה מילתא בפני עצמו הוא, כלומר וגם פרעה לא ישמע אלי מסבה אחרת, דהיינו ואני ערל שפתים, לכן פירש זה אחד מעשרה קל וחומר, והכל חדא היא. ובזה ניחא מה שהפך רש'י, ופירש ערל שפתים קודם ואיך ישמעני פרעה, שלא על סדר המקרא. והקל וחומר הוא הכי, ומה ישראל ששמועה טובה היא להם, והיה להם לקבל דברי, ואפ'ה לא שמעו לי, פרעה ששמיעה רעה היא לו, כ'ש שלא ישמע. וא'ת איכא למיפרך, דמה שלא שמעו ישראל למשה, היינו כמו שמפרש הפסוק לעיל (פסוק ט') ולא שמעו אל משה מקוצר רוח וגו'. ויש לומר דמשה לא היה ידע שלא שמעו בשביל קוצר רוח, אלא הוא סבר דבשביל שהוא ערל שפתים לא שמעו לו. ומה שכתוב בקרא כן, היינו התורה כתבה לפי האמת, אבל לפי דעתו שהיה סובר משום שהיה ערל שפתים לא שמעו אליו. הוי שפיר ק'ו ואין להקשות. אעפ'כ היה לו למשה להבליע הפירכא, אף אחר שגילה לו הקב'ה שמה שלא שמעו אליו הוא מקוצר רוח, והק'ו שלו הוא נפרך, כמו שמצינו בכמה מקומות בתלמוד. יש לומר דפירכא הכתובה בתורה הוא, שהכתוב מעיד שמה שלא שמעו הוא מפני הקוצר רוח, ואין להבליע הפירכא. [כן כתב הרא'ם]:

This is one of the ten a fortiori inferences in the Torah. Rashi is telling us: Do not say that “How then will Pharaoh listen to me” is a separate statement [from “B’nei Yisrael have not listened to me”], and it means that Pharaoh will not listen for a different reason, which is: “I whose lips are covered.” Therefore, [to exclude this,] Rashi explains: “This is one of the ten a fortiori inferences.” Thus [it follows that] the entire verse is one statement: [because Moshe’s lips are covered, therefore B’nei Yisrael did not listen — how then will Pharaoh listen?] This explains why Rashi switched the order of the verse and explained “I whose lips are covered” before explaining “How then will Pharaoh listen to me.” The a fortiori inference is as follows: To B’nei Yisrael, the redemption is good tidings and they should have listened to me, yet they did not. To Pharaoh, it is bad tidings — all the more so he will not listen! You might object: This inference can be refuted, as B’nei Yisrael did not listen to Moshe for the reason of their great distress, as explained above (v. 9), [whereas Pharaoh is not in distress]. The answer is: Moshe did not know that B’nei Yisrael failed to listen out of distress; he thought it was because his lips are covered. Although the Torah writes that it was because of their distress [that they did not listen], as this was the true reason, Moshe did not know that. Thus he considered his inference to be solid, [although in truth it was refutable]. [You might ask:] Nevertheless, even after Hashem revealed to Moshe that they failed to listen due to their distress, [why is Moshe’s inference incorrect?] He could have incorporated the refutation into the a fortiori, as we find a number of times in the Talmud, [and reasoned as follows: To B’nei Yisrael, the redemption is good tidings and despite their distress they should have listened to me, yet did not. To Pharaoh, it is bad tidings — and despite his lack of distress, all the more so he will not listen!] The answer is: This refutation is [based on a fact] written in the Torah. The Torah itself testifies that the [true] reason they failed to listen was their distress. Such a refutation cannot be incorporated [into the a fortiori]. (thus wrote the Re’m)

https://www.sefaria.org/Siftei_Chakhamim,_Exodus_6.12.2