Commentaire sur L’Exode 5:23

הרע This is an expression denoting “he has caused something to happen” — he (Pharaoh) has brought even more evil upon them. It must be translated in the Targum by אבאיש “he has treated badly”.

והצל לא הצלת, the overseers of the Israelites who are being beaten for showing empathy with the people.

לדבר בשמך…והצל לא הצלת את עמך. "to speak in Your name…but You have not saved Your people." Moses added another argument to his previous ones. He wanted to know how it was possible that since he had spoken to this wicked king in the name of G'd, not only had He not responded but He had actually made things worse for the people whom Moses represented. He emphasised the word מאז to point out that Pharaoh's obstinacy appeared to have been a direct consequece of G'd's intervention through Moses. Clearly what Pharaoh did was motivated by his hatred for G'd. He was unparalleled in his rebellious behaviour against the king of the universe. Moses was amazed at G'd's apparent lack of jealousy of His reputation. Surely G'd now had an additional reason to redeem Israel immediately. Even if Israel did not merit redemption at this time due to its own merit, it had to be redeemed as a gesture against the blaspheming Pharaoh! The words והצל לא הצלת should be read as a question expressing Moses' amazement that G'd had not yet saved His people. Moses spoke of two "salvations," i.e. the one due to Israel's merit and the one due to Pharaoh's excesses.

למה הרעות לעם הזה?, “Why did You allow more evil to be done to this people?” Some commentators are stymied by Moses’ reaction, seeing that G’d had warned him beforehand that things would be tough for a while. Ibn Ezra thinks that Moses had thought that from the moment he would speak to Pharaoh there would at least be a gradual improvement in the people’s situation. Instead, the people’s lot had actually worsened. This is why he asked G’d what such worsening was meant to achieve. He could not square this with G’d having told him that He had observed the terrible condition His people were in and that He was about to respond to their pleas. This is why G’d immediately tells Moses that he would witness an improvement in short order. Nachmanides is not content with this answer, seeing that Moses had accused G’d of not having saved His people thus far, one of the promises made in 3,8 and there is no other way of “saving, i.e. rescuing” the people except by leading them out of Egypt. He explains therefore that Moses had thought that although G’d had prepared him for the fact that Pharaoh would turn a deaf ear to his request, his refusal would be followed by G’d beginning to orchestrate the plagues immediately. When this did not happen, and Pharaoh appeared to carry the day by imposing even stricter decrees, Moses was nonplussed, and sought answers from G’d. Three days had passed since his interview with Pharaoh and he had not received any additional instructions from G’d. He thought that enough time had elapsed for the people’s condition to undergo a healing process. When he saw that he had miscalculated G’d’s timetable, he wanted to know why G’d had not waited with sending him on this mission until the time for the redemption was at hand. According to a statement in Shemot Rabbah, when Moses saw that the Jewish foremen had been beaten and nothing happened to Pharaoh, he went back to Midian with his family to Yitro, leaving his family in his care until after the redemption would have materialized.