Our parshiot divide the series of ten plagues into two parts, seven in parshat Va'Ere, and the last three in our parsha, Bo.

This division requires explanation, as it does not correspond with the various divisions which the Torah commentators described. [1]

Additionally, our parsha opens with HaShem's word to Moshe, which describe again, in detail, the process of the plagues, Pharaoh's anticipated obstinacy and the purpose behind this. Why is this introduction necessary specifically here, before the plague of locusts?
 

If we read a few verses further, we will discover something else which is exceptional: after Moshe's warning to Pharaoh, the Torah tell us: "and he turned and went out from Pharaoh" – he turned his back on Pharaoh.
 

The Ohr HaChaim took note of this, and wrote:
"He (Moshe) belittled him overtly, since after he (Pharaoh) confessed and said: HaShem is the righteous one, etc." he returned to his evil ways, and therefore he turned and went out in the manner that one would behave with common people. And we see that the wicked Pharaoh repaid him thus, as is written: 'And Moshe and Aharon were brought back' 'and they were driven out from before Pharaoh.' And regarding this, we see further that that when he called him to pray for the removal of the plague of locusts, he said 'I sinned to HaShem and to you' which he didn't say previously, and he intended to admit that he acted towards them disrespectfully and drove them out."

This is also difficult to understand, as Rashi interpreted the verse: "And HaShem commanded them to B'nei Israel and to Pharaoh the king of Egypt" – 'He commanded them to give him honor when they speak with him.' So how did they act in contradiction to HaShem's command?
 

If we look closely, we will see that the phenomenon reaches further, that it does not begin with the warning about the locusts and does not end with their elimination.
 

Up to the end of the plague of hail, Moshe's manner of speaking with Pharaoh in the name of HaShem was respectful and purpose-orientated. Indeed, Moshe comes with a demand that Pharaoh send out Israel, and with a threat describing what HaShem will do if he will not release them, however his words do not include harsh phrases or confrontational language. Even when Pharaoh speaks to Moshe in scathing terms at the end of parshat Shemot, Moshe does not respond to him.
 

In contrast, after the plague of hail, when Pharaoh allegedly repented and said "I and my nation are the wicked ones", Moshe answers him harshly: "And you and your servants - I know that you still do not fear." And soon afterwards, before the plague of locusts, before the incident which the Ohr HaChaim mentions ('and he turned and went out from Pharaoh') Moshe opens his words to Pharaoh with expressions of admonishment and rebuke: "How long will you refuse to be humbled before Me?" From here on, the atmosphere continues to escalate. It begins with "and he drove them out from before Pharaoh" and continues in the confrontation which accompanied the next and last warning, before the plague of the first-born, when Pharaoh said to Moshe: "Go away from me, do not see my face again, for on the day that you will see my face you shall die." And Moshe answers: "So you have spoken, I will not again see your face" and he departs from Pharaoh "in anger." And we must explain the reason for this.

 In a previous article (entitled "To Where did the Nation Disappear") I explained that between the plagues of hail and locusts, a significant change occurred. The Egyptians, who until then were referred to in relation to Pharaoh as "his nation", are called from now on only "Egypt" and are no longer "his nation." Pharaoh is left only with a group of "his servants" (who appear throughout the parshiot as a separate group from "his nation"/"Egypt"). This holds until Pharaoh goes out to pursue Israel as they are going to the Red Sea, and there the Torah says "and he took his nation with him", and Chazal explain that he "took" them with words. The explanation for this, as Chazal elucidated at length, is that after the plague of hail, the Egyptians stopped supporting Pharaoh's stance and began to demand that Israel be sent out from their land, as we can understand by looking closely at the verses.

According to this, we also explained why HaShem deemed it necessary to direct Moshe again to come to Pharaoh: in spite of the fact that the Egyptian nation was already "broken" and demanded the release of Israel, nevertheless HaShem tells Moshe that the mission has not been completed, and he must continue to come to Pharaoh since he and his servants are still hardening their hearts.
 

So we explained the division of the plagues between the parshiot, in which the subject of parshat Bo is the new stage which came into being after the plague of hail.
 

According to this, we can answer the question regarding the attitude toward Pharaoh. Indeed, Moshe and Aharon were commanded to pay respect to Pharaoh, but this was only by virtue of his being "the king of Egypt." And this is the source for Chazal's drasha: Moshe asks HaShem 'and how will Pharaoh listen to me' and in response, Hashem commands him 'to Pharaoh the king of Egypt' and the extra words of the title 'the king of Egypt' indicate that HaShem commanded Moshe to honor Pharaoh, in spite of his stubborn refusal. It follows that this is true only as long as he is, in fact, 'the king of Egypt.' But since after the plague of hail the Egyptians oppose Pharaoh, he no longer represents Egypt, and therefore the obligation to honor him is null and void.

And behold, in the parshiot Shemot – Va'Ere Pharaoh is called 'the king of Egypt' 11 times (and another 4 times in the parshiot in the Book of Bereshis which tell about Yosef in Egypt). However, in Parshat Bo this expression doesn't appear even once, and he is only referred to as Pharaoh.

However, the expression returns another two times, only after Pharaoh agrees to send B'nei Israel out, at the beginning of Parshat BeShalach, when Egypt hear that 'the nation escaped' – there again is written 'and it was told to the king of Egypt that the nation escaped… and he took his nation with him… and HaShem hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.'
 

So we have merited to understand the Torah' preciseness on this point, as well as Moshe Rabbenu's behavior in our Parsha.
 

May we very soon see the manifestation of 'as in the days of the Exodus from Egypt I will show you wonders' and may HaShem's full kingship appear over the entire world soon and in our days.

[1] Not the well-known division that in the first five plagues Pharaoh hardens his heart, and in the five last ones HaShem hardens his heart. And not the more analytic division offered by several commentators, inspired by the words of Rabbi Yehuda who 'gave them signs' and divided the plagues into three series of three plagues, where each series follows a similar pattern but has a unique characteristic and purpose, and the series follow each other in an orderly and stratified manner.

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