Readings for Saturday, January 20, 2024
Bo (Go)
10:1 - 13:16 Shemot (Exodus)
Bo is the
third sedrah in the Book of Shemot (Exodus). The Hebrew word “Bo” means “Go.” The sedrah takes its name from the fifth
Hebrew word in the first verse, “And the Lord said unto Moshe: Go (Bo) in unto Pharaoh.” Bo includes a description of the last three
plagues, the Deliverance from Egypt, a series of laws including those relating
to observing Pesach, Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon) and the Redemption of the
First Born. Summarizing this sedrah is
difficult because the material, as just described, does not always follow in a
smooth narrative. Rather, these items
are dispersed throughout the text. Also,
the amount of material presented in the sedrah and its significance is almost
overwhelming. Bo marks the beginning of
the significant rollout of the 613 Commandments. The entire Book of Bereshit contains three
commandments. The sedrah of Bo, alone,
contains 20 commandments. The list of
these commandments is at the end of this and subsequent weekly guides. Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph
Telushkin is the source for the wording and numbering.
The Plagues
Even though some commentators have divided the plagues
into 3-3-3-1, the Torah readings divide them into seven (Shemot) and three
(Bo). As we continue to see in our
studies, the combinations of three, seven and ten are quite common, reinforcing
the belief that these numbers have certain mystical “powers.”
Eighth Plague (10:1-20) - The Plague of Locusts follows
the previous pattern with Pharaoh promising to obey God if the plague is lifted
and then going back on his promise.
Ninth Plague (10:21-29) - The Plague of Darkness deviates
from the pattern of the first eight. The
other plagues supposedly each lasted a week.
Darkness only lasts six days.
According to some the seventh day of darkness will come later at the Sea
of Reeds. The narrative of the ninth
plague ends with Pharaoh threatening Moshe’s life. He still stands haughty in the face of the
Almighty.
Tenth Plague (11:1-9, 12:29-30) - The Death of the First
Born is divided into two parts. First
comes the promise of the plague. Then
comes a description of the plague itself.
However, these two parts are separated by 25 verses pertaining to the
observance of Pesach.
Rosh Chodesh
(12:1-2)
The Commandment to Observe the New Moon is the second law
given to the Hebrews. It is the first
commandment given to the entire Israelite nation. This position of narrative primacy is
probably an indicator of the importance of this commandment. Additionally, since the Jews have spent most
of their time living without a land, the calendar is of supreme importance
because we have spent so much of our existence dwelling in the fourth dimension
- the dimension of time.
The Deliverance
From Egypt (12:31-42)
Pharaoh finally gives in.
He orders Moshe and Aaron to take the Israelites and leave. In the sparest possible language the text
describes the hurried departure of the Israelites carrying their unleavened
dough and the wealth of Egypt. Tradition
states that 600,000 men plus their families departed Egypt. Others have translated the word “elef”
differently so that the number leaving is more like 6000 men plus their
families. Additionally, the Torah tells
us that a mixed multitude departed with the Israelites. These were probably non-Israelite slaves who
took advantage of the chaos to leave Egypt.
According to some, this mixed multitude will stay with the Israelites
until Sinai and the Golden Calf.
Regardless, their departure at the time of the Exodus can be interpreted
as proof that freedom is for all
people.
The Laws of
Pesach (12:3-28) (12:43-51) (13:3-10)
The laws themselves are listed below in the section
entitled “Commandments.” The laws of
Pesach can be divided into two parts.
The first set of laws addresses the behavior of the Israelites at the
time of the first Pesach, the actual deliverance from Egypt. Here we find the commands concerning the
sacrifice of the lamb and dabbing the doorpost with blood. The second set of laws covers additional
requirements for observing Pesach for all time.
The laws are not mutually exclusive and are actually supportive.
Redemption of
the First Born (13:1-2,11-15)
Since God spared the first born males of the Israelites,
they now belong to Him. Hence the law
comes to us requiring their redemption.
This has given rise to the ceremony known as “Pidyon Ha Ben” or
Redemption of the First Born.
Tefillin
(13:16)
The Sedrah ends with one of those strange sentences that
seem to have no connection with what has gone before or what is about to
happen. “And it shall be a sign upon
your arm and ornament between your eyes, for with a strong hand Hashem removed
us from Egypt.” This statement will give
rise to the wearing of the Tefillin. In
other words, when one dons the Tefillin each morning he is performing another
ritual that reminds us of the Exodus.
Themes:
Commandments
4. The
obligation to bless the new moon each month.
12:2
5. The
slaughtering and preparing of the Paschal lamb.
12:6
6. The
obligation to participate in the eating of the Paschal lamb. 12:6
7. The
prohibition against eating the Passover lamb raw or boiled; it must be
roasted. 12:9
8. The prohibition against leaving remains from
the Paschal lamb. 12:10
9. The requirement to remove chametz from one’s
possession before the beginning of Pesach.
12:15
10. The
obligation to eat matzah during Pesach.
12:18
11. The
prohibition against having any chametz in one’s possession throughout
Pesach. 12:19
12. The prohibition against eating any
food containing chametz during Pesach.
12:20
13 -14. The
forbidding of certain individuals to eat the Paschal lamb. 12:44
15. The
prohibition against removing any part of the Paschal lamb from the house in
which it was first eaten. 12:46
16. The
prohibition against breaking any of the Paschal sacrifice’s bones. 12:46
17. The
stricture against an uncircumcised man eating the Paschal lamb. 12:48
18. The
command to redeem the first born. 13:2
19. The
prohibition against eating any chametz during Pesach. 13:3
20. The
stricture against chametz being seen in any Israelite dwelling during
Pesach. 13:7
21. The
obligation to tell one’s child the story of the liberation from Egypt. 13:8
22. The
requirement to redeem a firstborn donkey.
13:13
23. The
obligation to break the neck of a firstborn donkey that is not redeemed. 13:13
Pesach
The term itself can be translated as pass over and has
given rise to the English name for the holiday.
It is also the name of the sacrifice offered in observance of the
holiday. In reading the laws of Pesach,
one can see the outline of the Seder and hear words found in the Haggadah. Some of the practices that come from the laws
found in Bo include:
· The observance of Pesach on the 14th
of Nissan in the evening for seven days;
· The Seder as a way of telling our
children of the Exodus in a family environment;
· The eating of bitter herbs and Matzah;
· The placing of the Shank Bone on the
Seder Plate;
· The removal of chametz from our homes;
· The eating of only Kosher for Pesach
foods during the holiday; and
· The Fast of the First Born.
(There may be more, but there are space limitations.)
Creation and the Exodus
These are the two seminal events in the Torah. One marks the beginning of mankind; the other
the beginning of the Jewish people. We
are reminded of this in the Shabbat Kiddush when we invoke the commemoration
“of the work of creation” and the commemoration “of the exodus from
Egypt.” Also this explains how we can
have more than one “new year.” Rosh Hashanah
comes in the seventh month but is the New Year.
It is the New Year marking the start of creation. The month when Pesach is observed is the
“beginning of the months…the first of the months for you” (12:2). This is the “New Year” of the Jewish
people. The Exodus marks the beginning
of the Jewish people as a unique nation.
Tefillin
The actual commandment concerning the wearing of Tefillin
will come later in the Torah. But in
this sedrah we read “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as
reminder on your forehead that with a mighty hand the Lord freed you from
Egypt” (13:9). This is an obvious
reference to donning Tefillin. We are
being told that when we wear them we are doing so to remember the Exodus from
Egypt. Since donning Tefillin is one of
the first things a Jew does every weekday morning, we can see that remembering
the Exodus is a conscious act that should infuse our thoughts and behavior on a
daily basis.
Pidyon Ha Ben
The ceremony for the Redemption of the First Born finds
its origins in this sedrah (13:1-2). The
ceremony is really a rare one. It must
only be observed when a woman’s first born is a male. If a daughter was born first or if there has
been a miscarriage the ceremony is not performed. Also, in the event of a cesarean birth, the
ceremony is not performed because the commandment has to do with “the first
issue of the womb.” Finally, the
ceremony is not performed when the first male issue is of the tribe of
Levi. The ceremony cannot take place
until the youngster is at least thirty days old. Usually the ceremonial table is set with
Challah and a Kiddush cup. The mother
brings the youngster to the father and the Kohein, to whom the father has given
five silver coins. A highly stylized
dialogue takes places between the father and the Kohein that includes a special
Blessing of Redemption and a Shehecheyanu.
There is a legend I heard as youngster.
Because of the Exile, there was a sage who was not quite sure if those
who claimed to be Kohanim really were in the purest sense of that term. So every time he met a Kohein, he would go
through the ceremony for his son just to ensure that at least one time it had
been done right.
Rosh Chodesh
The obligation to bless this New Moon creates a monthly
mini-holiday. Every month on the first
day of the month (and some months we observe this for two days), Hallel is
recited. An extra section is added to
the Amidah. The Torah is read and Musaf
is recited. On the Shabbat before Rosh
Chodesh, there is a special Blessing of the New Month, when the leader
announces the exact time when the upcoming month will begin. There are no prohibitions against work on
Rosh Chodesh. According to some
traditional sages (and they base this on Rashi) Rosh Chodesh should be regarded
as a “mini-mother’s day honoring women for their superior piety by which the
Jewish people is eternally recreated.”
The Tenth Plague
The Tenth Plague is different in many ways from the other
nine. While the other nine are
considered educational, the tenth is for punishment. The tenth is to come at a stated time, around
Midnight. And the tenth requires active
behavior on the part of the Israelites.
They must put blood on their doorposts and they must stay indoors. The tenth plague also required an act of
physical courage on the part of the Israelites.
They must take lambs ahead of time, days before the actual exodus. But the lamb was sacred to the
Egyptians. By taking the lamb in this
way, the Israelites were being asked to risk death at the hands of the
Egyptians so that they could be part of the Exodus. It is one thing to have faith. It is quite another thing to lay it all on
the line including risking your own life.
The Coming of the Messiah
The Exodus from Egypt is a harbinger for the ultimate
redemption. In the words of the prophet
Micah, “Like the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will demonstrate
wonders.” As Rabbi Schneerson points
out, “the deliverance from Egypt was a reward for the faith, which
was…internalized by the Israelites.”
“So, too, will the future redemption be a reward for faith - the faith
which disregards the great concealments of God that our exile brings, and which
still holds firm to the belief in the Messiah.
A faith which does not hover at the outer edges of our minds but which
constitutes our most inward certainty and extends to every facet of our being.”
Punishment
The Tenth Plague troubles many people. “Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall
die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh…to the firstborn of the maidservant who is
behind the millstone…” seems to be a very harsh punishment. To the modern eye this seems to be punishing
children for the sins of the parents, something later prohibited by Jewish
law. Also, it seems to punish the
powerless along with the powerful. This
could spark a lively discussion should your Seder become routine or boring.
Visualizations
In her commentary on “Bo” entitled Sign on the Door, Fredelle Z. Spiegel points out the role that
visualizations play in the final act leading up to the Exodus. The Israelites were not just commanded to
slaughter and eat the lamb, they were commanded to “take some of the blood and
put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to
eat it (the paschal lamb).” Why were the
Israelites to do this? The popular
answer is found in the second half of verse 13, “when I see the blood I will
pass over you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt.” In other words, the Israelites
needed to put the blood on so that God would know that they had identified
themselves as His Chosen People. But
there is a second reason for this visualization, a reason that should affect
our behavior today. In the first half of
verse 13 it says, “And the blood on the houses in which you dwell shall be as a
sign for you.…” What does this mean that
the blood will be a sign for you i.e., the Israelites? By marking the doorposts, the Israelites were
letting God know that these were Jewish homes.
They were letting the Egyptians know these were Jewish homes. But most important they were reminding
themselves that they were Jews living in Jewish homes. Today we put a mezuzah on our doorposts. The mezuzah does let the world know that Jews
live in the house. But more importantly,
it reminds the Jews, as they kiss it on the way in and out of the house, that
this is a Jewish home and that they are Jews.
When parents adorn their homes with Jewish objects - Kiddush cups, seder
plates, Chanukah menorahs and Jewish books - they are reminding their children
that this is a Jewish home. At the
Seder, it is the visuals, the items on the table, that trigger the Children’s
Questions that lead to the entire recitation of the Haggadah. In the home, it is the visuals that trigger
the children’s curiosity about their Jewish heritage. Just as the Blood on the Doorposts reminded
the ancient Israelites that, despite all the privations of slavery, they were
still Jewish, so it is that when we enter our homes, touching the mezuzah with
our fingertips, we are reminded that, regardless of what we have experienced
that day in the secular world, we are still Jews tied to the Promise of Sinai
and the ultimate Redemption.
Promises
Made/Promises Kept
In Bereshit (Genesis), God told Abraham
that his descendants would be slaves for 400 years before He would punish their
masters and free them from bondage.
“Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs,
and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; but I will execute
judgment on the nation they shall serve and in the end they shall go free with
great wealth.” (15: 13, 14). The book of
Shemot (Exodus) opens with a description of the first part of the promise. In this week’s portion we read the
description of the second part of the promise including going free with great
wealth. “Tell the people to borrow, each
man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold. The Lord disposed the Egyptians favorably
toward the people.” (11: 2, 3) “The
Israelite had done Moses’ bidding and borrowed from the Egyptians objects of
silver and gold, and clothing. And the
Lord had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people…” (12:35). The message to the our forbearers, and
hopefully for us and our descendants, is that God makes promises and God keeps
his word.
Passover
Customs
For those of you who are looking for new ways to enliven
your Passover celebration you might want to follow the custom of some Jewish
communities in which the people would create dramatizations of the Exodus based
on this week’s Torah portion, as part of their Pesach observance. “So the people took their dough before it was
leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks upon their shoulders.”
(12:34). After their Seder, the Moroccan
Jewish men would “rush out of the house and run up and down the street
shouting, ‘In this manner our forefathers went out of Egypt, their
kneading-troughs bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.’” As part of their dramatization, Jews living
in the region of the Caucasus Mountains would dress “in their festive best” for
the Seder and the women would “adorn themselves with jewelry of all kinds”
possibly as visual reminder of the gold, silver and clothing that the Egyptians
had given the departing Israelites.
The Haggadah
and Shemot
As we saw last week, the creators of the Haggadah relied
heavily on the Torah as a source for the actual text. “Maggid” - the lengthy portion that retells
the story of the Exodus - includes several lines from “Bo.” In explaining the reason for the Pesach
sacrifice, the text says, “You shall say, it is a Pesach sacrifice for the
Lord, because he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt,
when He struck the Egyptians and He saved our houses; and the people bowed down
and prostrated themselves.” (12:27). In
explaining the reason for eating Matzah, the text says, “And they baked
unleavened bread from the dough which they had taken with them from Egypt, for
it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay
there; nor had they prepared for themselves any provisions for the way.”
(12:39). As the Seder moves forward
toward the first Hallel, the Haggadah again uses the words of “Bo” to explain
why “in every generation” each of us
should feel that we individually were freed from the Egyptian bondage. “You shall tell your son on that day
saying: for the sake of this, the Lord
did for me when I went out from Egypt.” (13:8).
And for those of you who are looking for “extra credit,” read the
section of the Four Sons and see how much of that interplay comes from this
week’s Torah portion.
Problem with translation
At the start of Chapter 11, God tells Moses about the
coming of the final plague. And then,
according to the modern translations, He says, “Tell the people to borrow, each
man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold.”
(11:2). The term “borrow” implies that
the items will be returned to their owners after some period of time. But we know that there is no intention of
returning these items to the Egyptians, so is this a case of God being
disingenuous or deliberately misleading?
I think not. A more literal
translation says “Speak now in the ears of the people and let them request each
man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor vessels of silver and
vessels of gold.” The literal
translation would seem to remove the moral ambiguity created by the use of the
term “borrow.” Why would the Egyptians
acquiesce to such a request? Possibly,
because, unlike their king, they had come to fear the plagues and they might
have viewed surrendering their values as a “bribe” that would bring them to an
end. Regardless of what the Egyptians
thought, this was a fulfillment of a divine promise that they “would go forth
with great wealth.” These vessels of
silver and gold will appear again in the Torah.
They are the material from which the Golden Calf is made. Note that the command to “request” these
items is sex-segregated. According to
later commentary, the men surrendered their valuables for the Golden Calf while
the women kept theirs and gave them to be used in the building of the
Tabernacle. It is one of those examples
of the higher level of spirituality which we attributed to women.
Sifting the Flour
There is so much going on this portion - so
much action packed narrative, so many lessons to learn. So, how do we begin to rank order them? How do we, so to speak, sift this “flour” so
we are left with Maimonides’ “finely sifted flour?” For Rabbi Jonathan Sacks it would seem that
the following three verses are of great importance since he uses them in three
separate commentaries on “Bo.”
And
when your children ask you, "What do you mean by this rite?" you
shall say, "It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, because He passed
over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians, but
saved our houses." (Ex. 12:26-27).
And
you shall explain to your child on that day, "It is because of what the
Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt." (Ex. 13:8).
And
when, in time to come, your child asks you, saying, "What does this
mean?" you shall say to him, "It was with a mighty hand that the Lord
brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage." (Ex. 13:14). These verses remind us of what is
really important to Jewish survival and growth.
Taken together, they show that at the time of these great events, Moses
was thinking of the future, not just savoring the present victory. They show the importance of education and
training for all children. And it shows how
we teach. We teach and we learn with
questions. As the Nobel Prize winner’s
grandmother would ask him when he came home from grammar school, “Did you ask
good questions?” As Sacks pointed out,
teaching like this led to the creation by the Jews of the first compulsory
education system (1st century) that included providing opportunities
for orphans who did not the wherewithal to pay tuition. While our ancient contemporaries were
building pyramids, ziggurats and triumphal arches, Jews were creating an educational
system. It is this system, based, in no
small part on these three strictures that has meant the Jewish people continue
to thrive while our ancient contemporaries are consigned the musty dust bin of
history.
Haftarah
46:13-28
Jeremiah
With so much to cover in the sedrah, we will keep this
brief. As one of three Major Prophets,
Jeremiah is worthy of a lot of time. He
provides three of the haftarot for sidrot from the book of Vayikra (Leviticus),
so we will have plenty of time to give him his just deserts later on.
The Man: Jeremiah lived at a time of
great political and social turmoil during the 7th and 6th
centuries B.C.E. He was active during
the last days of the Southern Kingdom and lived through destruction of the
Temple and the early days of the Exile.
He was born about 645 B.C.E. in small town outside of Jerusalem called
Anatoth in the lands of the tribe of Benjamin.
He was part of a priestly family that had found favor with King David
but was subsequently banished from Jerusalem by King Solomon. So from his birth, Jeremiah appeared to be
destined to play the role of the quintessential outsider. The Jews of Jeremiah’s time were confronted
with the challenge of Babylonia.
Jeremiah’s advice was to make peace with the Babylonians. His advice was repeatedly ignored. He was branded a traitor and imprisoned. His life was threatened on more than one
occasion and he suffered the indignity of having his writings burned before his
eyes. Jeremiah told the first exiles
sent to Babylonia (pre-586) to become good citizens of their new home. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah
was taken to Egypt against his will.
According to some he died there under questionable circumstances.
The Message: It
is complex, multi-faceted and beyond what we can cover this week. He is the reluctant prophet who chastises the
people. Some see him as the embodiment
of harsh meanness and his name has come into the language in the word
“jeremiad.” But he was also a man who
put a premium on social justice and ethical behavior. He provided guidelines for identifying false
prophets and is the prototype for those who are willing to challenge the
military and foreign policy actions of their government while remaining a loyal
citizen. Considering events in the
United States, this is an excellent example of the timelessness of the
teachings of the TaNaCh. Last, but not
least, Jeremiah provided a message of hope when all that was going around him
should have led to despair and hopelessness.
If you want to swim against the stream, Jeremiah will show you how. More importantly, he will tell you when and
why you should make the effort.
Theme-Link: The
sedrah tells of the humiliation of Pharaoh and the redemption of the Israelites
from bondage. In the haftarah, Jeremiah
tells of the humiliation of a contemporary Pharaoh. He is relating his message to the battle of
Carchemish in 605 B.C.E. when the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians
led by Nebuchadnezzar. This is the same
Nebuchadnezzar who will become King of the Babylonians and destroy Jerusalem
and the Temple in 586 B.C.E. This brief
haftarah then ends with a message of restoration for the Israelites. It predicts a future redemption that will be
even greater than the redemption from Egyptian bondage.
Copyright
January 2024 Mitchell A Levin
1/16/19
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