When the Almighty commanded Moses to contact Pharaoh, He specified that Moses must confront him in the morning, when Pharaoh was coming out of the water”. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that Pharaoh arose early in the morning each day to secretly perform his bodily functions in the river.

The Egyptian king claimed to have divine qualities and told his subjects that he was a deity of sorts. He therefore needed to perform his bodily functions just once each day, early in the morning, before anybody was present to observe him just in case anyone suspected of him being human.

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz points out the significance of the fact that Pharaoh, according to the Midrash, subjected himself to substantial discomfort, relieving himself just once a day, in order to project this image. Although it was not critically important that people viewed him as a divine being, he nevertheless felt that this image was significant enough to warrant the pain of restraining himself the rest of the day.

As it so often does, the Midrash here depicts an extreme model that exemplifies a more moderate and common characteristic. We are all capable and at times guilty, to one extent or another, of the same kind of behaviour which the Midrash attributes to Pharaoh, namely, going to exaggerated lengths in order to project a certain image.

Sometimes people feel pressured to conduct themselves in a manner which does not necessarily suit their personality or engage in activities which they dislike, solely for the sake of their reputation. Like Pharaoh, we are fully aware that we are human and far from perfect, but we desperately try to project an impressive image and to that end we are prepared to make our lives difficult and subject ourselves to a great deal of pressure.

The Midrash’s comical depiction of Pharaoh warns us against this natural tendency. It reminds us not to compromise our own happiness for the sake of winning the respect of our peers and to instead live the life that best suits us without overly concerning ourselves with what others may think.