There has always been one question that irked me when it came to the Pesach story. After finally granting permission to B’nei Yisrael to leave Egypt, Pharaoh gets the urge to bring them back after a mere three days. Obviously, we have the mefarshim who tell us that it was Hashem making him change his mind, but let’s leave that out for the purposes of this conversation. Let’s say it was actually Pharaoh who realized he was losing out on slave labor and wanted to bring B’nei Yisrael back on his own.
After having seen ten plagues brought about by the G-d of the Hebrews, why didn’t Pharaoh try to negotiate with Moshe for their return to Egypt? As a leader of a nation, he should have realized that he had subjects who were clearly unhappy—so unhappy that they wanted to leave his country. Why not make staying a little more enticing instead of chasing after the Israelites? Sure, there wouldn’t be free labor anymore, but maybe there was some wiggle room.
But last week, I got my answer.
We now see a modern-day example of the same logic used by Pharaoh, and wouldn’t you know it? That leader is right here in New York.
Back in 2022, Pharaoh Hochul told the people who supported the policies of Donald Trump and her then-gubernatorial opponent, Lee Zeldin, to “just jump on a bus and head down to Florida where you belong. Okay? Get out of town. Because you don’t represent our values.” And just like the ancient Israelites who were given permission to flee the clutches of their oppressor, flee they did.
The population of Florida has jumped by over a million since 2022. The population of New York has also increased—by about 130,000. However, that is mostly due to an increase in international migration to the state, which, according to the Census Bureau, totals about 600,000 since 2022.
It didn’t take three days for Hochul to realize her mistake. Honestly, I don’t think she’s smart enough to have figured it out in three days. It did, however, take her over three years to realize that if you tell your constituents—who pay taxes—to leave because they don’t share your values, and replace them with people who, if they pay taxes, are nowhere near paying the same amount that has been lost, you’re going to end up with a budget problem.
In fact, the new constituents who replaced the old ones don’t just produce less tax revenue for New York State—they also use more services than the people they replaced.
So how does Pharaoh Hochul plan on paying for all her progressive handouts? By calling on those she pushed out of the state to return.
During her remarks at Politico’s “New York Agenda: Albany Summit” last week, Hochul explained that she would like to see individuals with a “high net worth” support the generous social programs “that we wanna have in our state.” She added that these high-net-worth individuals should go down to Palm Beach and “see who you can bring back home, because our tax base has been eroded.”
Well, I wonder who eroded the tax base. Who could that be? Why would a tax base just up and leave?
So what does Pharaoh Hochul offer to get the tax base she motivated to leave to return?
A title.
You see, in that same speech, Hochul referred to those billionaires who stayed in New York as “patriotic.” So, if you are a taxpayer who fled New York after being told that your values don’t align with the state, you can return, pay even more in taxes, and be called “patriotic.”
There will be no change in the policies that made you want to leave in the first place. There will be no breaks. You should just come back because New York needs your money.
What’s in it for you? We’ll say we like you—for now—until we decide to vilify you for making too much money and remove police from your area because you’re probably racist.
So now I understand why the original Pharaoh didn’t use this negotiation tactic.
Because it’s stupid.
Pharaoh never wanted to elevate B’nei Yisrael. He wanted cheap—or free—labor. He wanted a group of people to return to his land, provide resources, and receive nothing in exchange.
Even Pharaoh understood that asking slaves to come back nicely while promising to call them “patriotic Egyptians” wouldn’t work—so he never bothered. In fact, he never attempted any sort of negotiation with his Hebrew slaves during the makos.
Hochul doesn’t understand that. She thinks people will want to stay in New York simply because it’s New York. She still believes there is prestige in having a Manhattan address. She still thinks no other state offers a major city with nightlife. She believes people will willingly return to a state she has damaged while catering to the whims of her socialist mayor friend.
No one is buying it.
Hopefully, this year, we will see our own form of freedom—when Pharaoh Kathy Hochul is replaced in November.
Izzo Zwiren is the former host of the Jewish Living Podcast. Follow him and his brothers on their health journey on their YouTube Channel, Brotherly Lovehandles. Izzo lives on Long Island with his wife and three adorable, hilarious children.
