Table for Five: Vaâeira One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist So Pharaohâs heart stiffened and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had foretold through Moses. -Ex. 9:35 Miriam Yerushalmi Advertisement The Torah warns us not to blindly follow our heartâs desires. The name âIsraelâ is an anagram of Rosh Li, âmy head,â indicating that our mind is capable of ruling over our heart and controlling our destructive passions. Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler, allowed himself to become captive to the wicked desires of his heart, which overrode his intellectual capacity.