Greetings friends and welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, based in Mason City. A reminder that services will be held on Friday the 10th of February starting at 7:00PM and then our Midrash (Torah Study) will take place on Shabbat starting at 10:00AM. Hope you can make it to one or both! The Parsha we'll be studying then will be Yitro (Ex. 18:1 - 20:23). See you then!
Parsha Bo
This week we read Parsha Bo (Ex 10:1 - 13:16). This Parsha is very meaningful to me, on a personal basis. You see this was my Father's z"tl favorite. In shul he loved to talk about it and during dinner on Erv Shabbat he enjoyed expounding on what all was going on. By the way, the word "bo" in Hebrew means either "come" or "go" it denotes action as we read the first line (Ex. 10:1): "Hashem said to Moses, 'Come (or go) to Pharaoh for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn so that I can put these signs of Mine in his midst."
The first question might be: "So, wait...G-d is making Pharaoh and his servants stubborn and having he and his ministers double down on the evil? Why is that?" G-d gives the answer in this first sentence. He is doing this to show the Egyptians that he, alone, is G-d. That all of nature obeys his commands and that the idols and the gods of Egypt are powerless the stop what is going on. Egypt was the most powerful nation on the planet yet it and its gods were no match for Hashem.
Respect
One of the interesting points in this reading is what Moses did after he told Pharaoh about the eighth plague...that of locusts. The Torah says, "And, he (Moses) turned and left Pharaoh's presence." (Ex. 10:6) Because the Torah does not waste words what is it we can learn from this?
The commentators have several explanations for this. One is that he turned and faced Pharaoh's advisors and said to them to talk to their boss and convince him to let the Jews go. And, if worked. They go to Pharaoh and plead with him to let the people go. One of the other commentators said that what it does not mean is that he (Moses) turned on his heel and simply left showing disrespect to Pharaoh.
Digging Deeper
Early on Moses is told by G-d to show no disrespect to Pharaoh. Why was that? Because nothing happens unless G-d allows it we now know that the most powerful person on the earth, Pharaoh, was actually placed there by...G-d. Even if this guy was evil. So if Moses shows disrespect to Pharaoh he is, in effect, showing disrespect to, you guessed it...G-d.
I was watching a video on this subject and found this story to be impactful. There was a guy talking to others who said something derogatory about the President. We're not sure if it was the current president or the past president...frankly that doesn't matter. There was a rabbi among the group who said to the man making the remarks that he should not say bad things about the president. The man said, "Why not?" and then said his derogatory thing again.
The rabbi said, "The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. Because nothing happens unless G-d commands it we know that Hashem had a hand in making this person president. So, by saying bad things about the president you are, in fact, showing disrespect to G-d."
Wow...something to consider. While we may have issues with each other or even the president perhaps we might think first and then respectfully let our feelings and opinions be known. It truly would be a kinder and more peaceful world.
And all of that within the first couple of verses of this portion.
What Else?
This week we conclude the ten plagues with the plagues of locusts, darkness, and the death of the first-born. The laws of Passover are presented, followed by the commandment to wear tefillin, consecrate the first-born animal, and redeem one’s first born son. The Torah tells us that, at some time in the future, your son will ask you about these commandments and you will answer: “With a show of power, G-d brought us out of Egypt, the place of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us leave, G-d killed all the first-born in Egypt, man and beast alike. I, therefore, offer to G-d all male first-born (animals) and redeem all the first-born of sons. And it shall be a sign upon your arm, and an ornament between your eyes (tefillin), for with a strong hand the Almighty removed us from Egypt” (Ex. 13:15).
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom!
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