Exodus Bo

Bo
Exodus 10:1−13:16

I. Summary

A. Bo = (Then God said to Moses,) “Go” (to Pharaoh) or “enter” as into negotiations

B. Moses asks Pharoah to let Israelites go and warns Pharoah of locust plague. Pharoah’s courtiers warn Pharoah that Egypt is already lost and ask Pharoah to let Israelites worship God. Pharaoh then gives permission to Moses for adult males to worship God but not all Israelites (as Moses requested). God therefore sends plague of locusts upon Egypt. Pharoah asks Moses to have God forgive him. God removes locusts. God “stiffens Pharoah’s heart”. Pharoah still won’t let Israelites go. (10:1-20)

C. God then sends plague of darkness upon Egyptians. Pharoah relents a bit more and gives permission for all Israelites to go but without their flocks and herds as Moses requested (to provide animals for sacrifice). Pharoah rejects request. God tells Moses to have Israelites borrow objects of silver and gold from their neighbors (“God disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people”). Moses warns Pharoah of plague of death of first born of all Egyptians and even their animals. Pharoah still won’t let Israelites go. (10:21-11:10)

D. God declares that month of the Israelite departure from Egypt shall be "the beginning of months ... the first of the months of the year for you" despite the fact that this is not the beginning of the Jewish New Year (reinforcing the Exodus as the determinative experience of the Israelites). God commands Moses and Aaron regarding the Passover offering of sacrificial lamb (putting its blood on doorposts) and festival (eating unleavened bread for seven days v. traditional story that Israelites were so rushed in their departure from Egypt that bread did not have time to rise). Moses passes words to Israelite elders. Israelites do as they are told (12:1-28)

E. God enacts the final plague, striking down all the firstborn son of all Egyptians (including Pharoah, captives in dungeons and cattle). Pharaoh finally allows the Israelites to leave (driving them out in the middle of the night) though, at the same time, asking Israelites to bring a blessing on him (Pharaoh - also a first-born - is negotiating to save his own skin). After spending 430 years in Egypt and after taking unleavened bread and borrowing objects of silver, gold and clothing from neighbors (“stripped the Egyptians”), Israelites leave (numbering “600,000 men on foot aside from dependents”). (12:29-42)

F. God tells Moses and Aaron more about Passover observance … paschal lamb eaten only by circumcised males but not by foreigners or bound/hired laborers). God requires that every first born (“human and beast”) be consecrated to God. God further explains Passover observances required of Israelites … 1) eat only unleavened bread for seven days, 2) explain to young children that reason for observance is to commemorate God’s slaying of every Egyptian firstborn while redeeming every Israelite firstborn (“serve as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead” = basis of tradition of t’fillin … also at Deut 6:8 and 11:18). (12:43-13:16)

II. Commentary (Plaut, various websites and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Passing knowledge and faith as a responsibility of parenthood - Parents are told to “recount in the hearing of your sons and of your sons' sons how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them--in order that you may know that I am Adonai.” (10:1-2) This emphasizes the important pedagogical principle that the responsibility of remembering, learning and transmitting the foundations of our faith is an obligation of parenthood.

B. Perils of stubbornness - We generally admire people who adhere to their principles even in the face of opposition. However, when they doggedly refuse to change their minds even when they are presented with convincing evidence to the contrary (Pharoah), we tend to lose patience: They have crossed the line between being determined and being just plain stubborn. A midrash teaches: “Those who stubbornly refuse to learn from the negative consequences of their behavior will suffer doubly for their stubbornness”.

C. Significance of darkness – Portion revolves around darkness of devastation and death; however, darkness can be an incubator of hope. In Egypt, the Jewish people become a nation. We are conceived in the darkness of bondage and delivered through light of God. Suggests that seeking real light comes only by dwelling for a time in the dark, i.e. we need the darkness no less than the daylight in order to grow.

D. Last three plagues as a path to God - Ba'al Shem Tov offers three pieces of advice to help clarify whether we are really serving God or ourselves: 1) remove all pleasure, 2) meditate and 3) allow God to reveal Himself and light the path for us. Three plagues in this week's parsha correspond to the three pieces of advice … 1) plague of locusts, ate up all the food and removed all pleasure. 2) plague of darkness was the perfect opportunity for meditation. 3) Death of the Firstborn came in the middle of the night and in that darkness God revealed himself.

E. Israelites "borrowing" silver and gold from their neighbors – Rationale: The Israelites had not received any wages for all the centuries they toiled as slaves in Egypt. Thus, justice demanded that the Jewish people be granted a form of reparations - i.e. compensation for the exploitation they had undergone at the hands of the ancient Egyptians; however, if the Jews had legitimate claims to Egyptian wealth, then why did God have to tell Moses to encourage them to take it? (11:2) At least four explanations: 1) The Israelites were so anxious to escape the misery of Egypt, that they didn't want to stay around in order to enrich themselves. 2) The Israelites feared that such an action could provoke their former masters into pursuing them as they left Egypt. 3) As victims of enslavement by Egyptians, the Jews simply abhorred having contact with anything connected to Egypt. 4) They did not want their seizure of Egypt's wealth to be seen as some type of "quid pro" for all the suffering they had endured (issue revisited when Germany’s offer to pay reparations to victims of the Nazi regime was met by heated debate in Israel).

F. Arrogance v. humility - In the material world, the biggest personalities - movie stars, politicians, business tycoons - are usually the most arrogant. Somehow arrogance is regarded as a virtue, a sign of having risen above the others. In contrast, the higher a person becomes spiritually, the more humble he becomes.

G. Faith v. action - Departure from Egypt is representative of the task facing every generation … to have faith to allow God to guide us in overcoming hardship and destructive tendencies of mankind. Which comes first … faith or action?

H. Journey v. destination – Description of 10th plague shifts from telling of story of ancestors to dictating how their descendants are to behave. This makes us all participants in story. Suggests that it is the journey (from a bad place to a good place … from darkness to light) that defines us … not the destination itself.

I. Parallels to American history - The freeing of the slaves should resonate as Jewish history, to be sure, but also as American history. That latter example of slavery still reverberates in our prejudices (moving Israelites out of slave mentality takes at least a full generation … similar to difficulty of purging American attitudes of prejudice), economics theories and feelings about “states’ rights.” Moses speaks on God’s behalf to deliver domestic policy legislation ... legislation declaring a Memorial Day, immigration law, a national service act, taxation regulation, and even a national ID policy. And all of the domestic laws enacted in this week’s Torah reading are directly tied to the big event of the week’s reading, which is certainly related to war and foreign policy (again paralleling our current involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq).

(Revised 1/26/10)