In the 13th century BCE, perhaps at this time of year, a few weeks before the new moon of spring, Moses said to Pharaoh: “We won’t know what we need until we get there.” That remains true. We won’t know what we need until we get there. All we can do is cultivate a trust, a faith, an emunah, that even though conditions going forward are beyond our ability to imagine, we will respond with love and empathy and resolve to the best of our ability.

When do we become fully adult? When we accept total responsibility for our actions. In this commentary on Parashat Bo, Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben examines Pharaoh's life and decisions to shed light on our own sense of moral responsibility for our deeds.