bechira chofshis 1

Bechira chofshis comes up big time in this week's parsha with the hardening of pharoah's heart - so commonly discussed that it is difficult to imagine having anything interesting to say.  Nonetheless, two points:

1. rashi (often overlooked): ג) ואני אקשה - מאחר שהרשיע והתריס כנגדי, וגלוי לפני שאין נחת רוח באומות עובדי עבודה זרה לתת לב שלם לשוב, טוב לי שיתקשה לבו למען הרבות בו אותותי ותכירו אתם את גבורותי. וכן מדתו של הקב"ה מביא פורענות על האומות עובדי עבודה זרה כדי שישמעו ישראל וייראו, שנאמר (צפניה ג ו) הכרתי גוים נשמו פנותם וגו', (שם ז) אמרתי אך תיראי אותי תקחי מוסר, ואף על פי כן בחמש מכות הראשונות לא נאמר ויחזק ה' את לב פרעה, אלא ויחזק לב פרעה:

This Rashi seems to be like the ibn ezra / rambam we quoted last week - how is it just that hashem stole the bechira chofshis of the goyim and then punished them, or brings tzaros upon them with apparently no justification (it is fascinating to note the two possible ways to formulate the question about bechira - are we bothered with the punishment brought afterwards for something which the person did not do, or are we bothered with the very fact that G-d takes someone's bechira / makes them do an aveirah.  it seems that rashi is only bothered with the former, but I'm not yet convinced that the other rishonim all agree with rashi's formulation of the question.)  Answers Rashi, G-d doesn't care - he does it for klal yisrael.  This sounds exactly like the rambam about shechitas behemos.

2.  The famous teretz of the ramban / rambam (whom most people put them together) is that pharoah lost his bechira chofshis due to his prior sins.  Hashem has the right to take away someone's bechira and keep punishing them as part of what they deserve for their first sins that were done with full free will.  Whats fascinating about this answer is its implications for the distinction between persuasion / coercion.

That is, isn't there a much easier way out of this dilemma - just because hashem manipulates a person towards one direction, is that automatically coercion to the point where this person has lost his free will?

The gemara in brachos (10a) has a story where r meir wanted to daven that some people who were really bothering him should die, and his wife told him to daven instead that these people do teshuvah.  The maharsha asks, how can you daven for someone to do teshuva - doesn't that impinge upon their bechira?  The answer commonly given is that Hashem can manipulate/ persuade people in a way that somehow still leaves them with bechira chofshis - so how do we know that that isn't what hashem did to pharoah?

A similar question comes up in halacha (this is nogea to the news that ba-avonoseinu harabbim keeps coming up) with regards to get meuseh.  A get that is forced is invalid.  Obviously, however, one is allowed to persuade someone to give their wife a get, as long as the persuasion does not cross the line and become coercion.  The question is, where is that line?  (If hashem had made pharoah give a get, would it have been kosher?)