Concern - Personal and Collective

Now, therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Eternal your God, that He may remove (v’yaser) from me only this death.                                        Exodus 10:17

Ba’al haTurim connects our verse’s use of the word “v’yaser” with that in two additional verses:

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said: “Entreat the Eternal, that He may remove the frogs from me, and from my people, and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Eternal.” [Exodus 8:4]

and

And the people came to Moses and said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you, pray to the Lord that He remove the serpents from us.” [Numbers 21:7]

            The verses present contrasting approaches. Pharaoh’s primary concern is himself. Even when he asks for relief for his citizens (from the plague of frogs), he presents himself first, while in the plague of locust, Pharaoh does not even mention his people in his plea with Moses. The Israelites, on the other hand, do not couch their request in personal terms, but in the collective: “remove … from us,” each individual seeing him/herself as part of Klal Yisrael, and praying for the salvation of the entire nation.