Overview
of the Weekly Reading
To be read on Shabbat Bo,8 Shvat 5777/Feb.8
Torah: Exodus 10:1-13:16; Haftorah: Jeremiah 46:13-28
(about another downthrow of Egypt by G-d, eight centuries later)
Bo is the 3rd Reading out of 11 in Exodus and
it contains 6149 letters, in 1655 words, in 106
verses
Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) opens with the
plagues of locusts and darkness. Then, Moshe warned Pharaoh of the last
plague, the death of the firstborn. G-d commanded the Jews to designate
a lamb as a pascal offering which would be slaughtered and its blood
put on the doorpost, a sign so that in that Jewish home, no Jewish firstborn
would be harmed. G-d commanded that Jews not do labor on the first and
last days of the holiday, to eat matzahs, and not to own any
leavening. The Jews did as they were commanded, and the night of Passover,
the non-Jewish male and animal firstborns were killed. The Egyptians
sent the Jews away, bestowing upon them many riches. They hurried the
Jews so much so that the Jews' dough did not have time to rise and remained
unleavened matzahs. Next are listed a few of the Passover laws
for future generations. Also mentioned are laws of consecrating firstborn
Jewish males and animals, and the mitzvah of tefillin.
 An
essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
The Torah's weekly portion begins with G-d telling Moshe, "Come
to Pharaoh", when the grammatically correct way to say it would be,
'Go to Pharaoh'. Commentators -explain that 'come' is in the sense of
'come with'-that G-d will accompany Moshe, so to speak. The Lubavitcher
Rebbe added an additional and unique interpretation. Since the name of
the weekly Torah portion is a hint to the content of the entire portion,
and since the entire portion is speaking about the redemption from Egypt,
the name 'Come' is teaching us that the way we can bring the redemption
for ourselves and for the community is in a 'come to' way, rather than
a 'go to' way.
One of the Torah's commandments is to set regular times for studying
Torah. Regardless of how committed one is, a person who 'goes to' study
Torah, even though he participates and is truly there, still, the study
does not affect him or transform him. He and the Torah studied are two
separate things. That is why G-d tells Moshe to "Come to Pharaoh."
When a person studies or plays music or creates art or plays sports, it
is crucial to 'come to' it, then what he or she is doing or studying will
'come to them', enter into their innermost being, affect them and unite
with them with the most sublime unity. This is particularly the secret
to success with anything, but especially with studying Torah -- G-d's
will and wisdom -- and serving G-d, which has to be true attachment and
inner unity between the server and the service.
When Moshiach is here everyone will be connected to G-d not just with
their soul, but with their body also. When a person serves the Almighty
now, whether studying Torah or doing the commandments in a 'come to' way
uniting with it, living now like it will be when Moshiach comes, they
hasten the final redemption with Moshiach that it should come quickly
in our days.
The Rebbe once spoke about an elderly chossid (follower) of his great-great
grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek, the 3rd Rebbe in the Chabad dynasty.
This chossid lived many days journey away from Lubavitch, the town where
his Rebbe lived. Many of the Rebbe's followers would make the journey
to spend quality time with the Rebbe. Even though the way was very arduous,
the chossid would never agree to ride in a wagon. He had to walk. Because
of the difficulty of the journey, as he became older he was not able to
make the trip every year, only every other year. His children and grandchildren
complained to him, why are you so stubborn? Why must you walk? Why couldn't
you take a horse and wagon?
The elderly chossid explained that when he gets to the World of Truth,
after his life in this world, all of his life's deeds would be measured
to decide his place in heaven. He knows with a certainty that the heavenly
court would add to the weight of his good deeds all of the merits of his
walking to Lubavitch such and such amount of times. He would get not only
the merit of going to Lubavitch but also a merit for each step, also a
merit for walking. As long as he walked, all the weight would be on his
side, his alone. If he would take a wagon and horse then the horse would
claim some of the weight and therefore some of his merit. Therefore, why
get started at all with the horse, whether in this world or in the world
to come.
For this chossid, even the journey to Lubavitch was a 'come to' experience,
not a 'go to' one.
Shabbat Shalom, Shaul
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's
Reading, see the archive.
FROM
THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org
Specifically, for
an overview of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary
Kabbalists, and more, click to Bo
one sample:
Mystical Classics
Secrets of the Jewish Leap Year
From Shenei Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz
The Shelah teaches that whereas the gentile nations arrange their calendar
according to the orbit of the sun, the Jewish people count according to
the orbit of the moon.
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