The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 1:8) tells the story of a king who placed a statue of his likeness in the center of the city. One day, a man was caught throwing stones at the king’s statue in the town square. The police apprehended him and brought him to court. The judges considered imposing a severe punishment to deter others from repeating such an act. However, they were greatly surprised when the king himself requested to participate in the trial. When the king arrived, he ordered the man to be executed by decapitation. Everyone was shocked by the harshness of the sentence. While the man had indeed committed a wrongful act and deserved punishment, was such an extreme sentence warranted? Seeing their astonishment, the king explained, “Today, he acted only against my statue, but if given the chance, he would do the same to me.”
Using this story, the Midrash illustrates Pharaoh’s wickedness. Initially, the Torah states that Pharaoh “did not know Yosef,” (1:8) and later it says Pharaoh declared, לֹא יָדַעְתִ ּי אֶת ה’ - “I do not know Hashem.” (5:2) “One who denies the goodness of their fellow will ultimately deny the goodness of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.” We might wonder: Is this really the essence of Pharaoh’s wickedness? After all, he was cruel—he slaughtered infants, threw babies into the Nile, and committed numerous atrocities. How can his ingratitude be considered the root of his evil?
But Chazal teach us that this was not a minor flaw; rather, it was the foundation of all his wickedness: the lack of gratitude.
It is known that one of the chachamim had a practice: after performing acts of kindness for others, he would give them a small stone. When asked why he gave them the stone, he replied, “So that when you want to throw stones at me, at least you’ll throw a small one.”
The holy Chazal emphasize the great importance of gratitude. Every Jew must reflect on whether he is truly grateful, starting with recognizing the kindness of his parents, who brought him into this world and raised him to the best of their ability. It is well known that this was one of the traits in which the great Jewish leaders of all generations excelled—recognizing and expressing gratitude. To become a righteous person, one must toil and strive greatly, but the foundation is gratitude—at the very least, so that we do not become like Pharaoh!
