The ancient stories wrestle with these questions, too. Take the story of Pharaoh and the plagues in Egypt. We all know the story: Moses demands freedom for the Israelites, Pharaoh refuses, and then come the devastating plagues. But the Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, drawing from a wealth of midrashic and talmudic sources, offers a fascinating twist on this familiar narrative.

It wasn't just that Pharaoh was stubborn, you see. The story suggests that after the first five plagues, after Pharaoh knowingly and willingly chose to harden his own heart, God intervened. God essentially said, "Okay, you've made your choice. Now you're going to face the full consequences." As Ginzberg puts it, God punished him "in such wise that he could not mend his ways if he would." Think about that. Even if Pharaoh suddenly had a change of heart, even if he wanted to repent, he couldn't.

Why? The text says, "Even though he should desire to do penance now, I will harden his heart until he pays off the whole of his debt." It’s a chilling thought, isn't it? That our choices can lead us down a path where even redemption becomes impossible.

Now, Pharaoh, being Pharaoh, wasn't just sitting around waiting for the next plague. He was trying to outsmart Moses, to avoid him. He knew that Moses would often find him taking his morning walk by the Nile. So, what did Pharaoh do? He stopped going. He thought he could avoid God's messenger, avoid the inevitable.

But, as you might expect, you can't outsmart the Divine. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh's palace, early in the morning, and confront him there. Imagine that scene! Moses, walking into the heart of enemy territory, standing before the most powerful man in Egypt.

And what does Moses say? According to the Legends, Moses doesn't mince words. He calls Pharaoh a "villain!" It's a pretty direct approach, right? Moses basically says, "You think I can't destroy you? I could have wiped you and your people out with pestilence! The plagues are measured, they are for a reason, to show you God's power and to declare His name throughout the earth!"

Moses then warns Pharaoh about the next plague, the hail. He even makes a mark on the wall, predicting exactly when it will strike. "Behold, to-morrow when the sun passes this point," Moses says, marking the spot, "I will cause a very grievous hail to pour down, such as will be only once more, when I annihilate Gog with hail, fire, and brimstone." The reference to Gog is a powerful one, connecting Pharaoh's stubbornness to a future, cataclysmic battle between good and evil.

This whole episode, drawn from various sources including Exodus and elaborated upon in texts like Midrash Rabbah, raises a profound question: How much control do we really have over our own destiny? Are we truly free to choose, or can our choices lock us into a course that even we can't change? It's a sobering thought, and one that the ancient Rabbis clearly grappled with as they interpreted these foundational stories. Perhaps it's a reminder to us all to choose wisely, to be mindful of the path we're on, before it's too late to turn back.