PARSHAS BO | 8 SHEVAT 5770 | 23 JANUARY 2010

In the verse quoted above, the Torah charges us with the obligation to retell the story of the exodus to our children and grandchildren. Curiously, the verse ends with “…and you will know that I am G-d.” As the purpose of retelling the story is presumably to strengthen the faith of our children and grandchildren, it would seem more appropriate to conclude by saying,”…and they, your children, will know that I am G-d.”

The commandment to educate our children is discussed in the second paragraph of the Shema. There (Deuteronomy 11:19), the verse states, “…and you shall teach [Torah] to your sons, to discuss [Torah] while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise.” Here as well, the question begs to be asked: if the goal is teaching our children to discuss or study Torah at all times, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the verse to say, “…and you shall teach [Torah] to your

sons…while they sit in your home, while they walk on the way, when they retire and when they arise?”

A teaching from the renowned mystical work, the Zohar, explains the verse in our Torah portion as well as the verse in Deuteronomy with the following basic principle in educating children: Our effectiveness in educating children about morals, faith, or Torah law, will only be effective if we have first trained ourselves in these matters. If we as parents and educators do not act as role models for the standards we wish to inculcate in our children, all our educational efforts will be in vain. If we are not honest, our children will also be dishonest. If we are not respectful of others, our children too will be disrespectful. And if we are not careful about the words we use or the tone in which we express ourselves, our children will likewise follow suit. We must genuinely live the lessons we intend to impart before

we can expect our children to aspire to those ideals.

The story is told of a young couple who celebrated the birth of their first child. Eager to set their child on a path of greatness, they consulted with a prominent rabbi. “When do we begin educating our child?” they asked. The rabbi quipped, “Twenty-five years ago.” His message was clear; one must first work on his own character before he can effectively educate his children.

This is the idea behind the Torah’s seemingly incongruent language in obligating us to retell the exodus story. The first step is, “that you know that I am G-d.” Only once you have internalized this faith can you pass it on the next generation. This concept similarly explains the message about education in the Shema. If you want to teach your children Torah, don’t tell them to discuss Torah thoughts. Rather, educate them by what they see and hear you doing when you are at home and when you are traveling, both in the morning and in the evening. Your children will pick up from your example how they should act.

A Yeshiva high school principal made the following interesting observation after hearing a parent lie about his child’s age at an amusement park: This parent spends thousands of dollars a year in tuition to give his children a Jewish education. Along with teaching calculus and chemistry, he expects the school to impart lessons in ethics and Jewish values. He’s willing to undo a $10,000 education to save five dollars? “I don’t get it!”

Moshe Gewirtz can be reached at: parsha@partnersintorah.org

ויאמר השם אל משה בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו למען שתי אתתי אלה בקרבו ולמען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי

במצרים ואת אתתי אשר שמתי בם וידעתם כי אני השם“Hashem said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the hearts of his servants stubborn so that I can put these signs of Mine in his midst; and so that you may

relate in the ear of your son and your son’s sons that I made mockery I made of Egypt and My signs that I placed among them, that you may know that I am Hashem.” (Exodus 10:1-2)

I n the opening section of this week’s Torah portion, G-d commands Moses to carry out the final three plagues, which would culminate in Pharaoh driving the Jews out of Egypt. G-d reinforced Pharaoh’s stubbornness

during these final plagues to intensify the faith of the Jewish people as they observed the miraculous downfall of their enemies.

Parsha Perspectives MOSHE GEWIRTZ

B O Talking Points RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

1. ALL ACCOUNTS PAID IN FULL “Moses said [to Pharaoh] in G-d’s name, ‘Around midnight, I will go out into the midst of Egypt. Every firstborn in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl behind the millstones, and every firstborn animal.” 11:4-5

To the firstborn of the slave girl – Included were those less important than the firstborn of Pharaoh and more important than the firstborn of the slave girl. All of them would be wiped out. Why were the firstborn of the slaves struck too? Because they too enslaved the Israelites and rejoiced in their oppression. – Rashi

And every firstborn animal – Why were the firstborn animals struck? Because the Egyptians worshipped them, and when G-d punishes an idolatrous nation, He punishes its deities first. – Rashi [In this manner, G-d demonstrates their utter impotence, and this allows their followers to repent their ways before they are entirely destroyed.]

G-d waited for 210 long years before He finally took action against Egypt, our wicked oppressors. Yet, when the moment of retribution arrived, He made certain to give each of our oppressors his due. No one escaped the wrath of G-d, not even the gentile slave who delighted in our oppression. Excuses such as, “We were only following orders,” or, “We too were oppressed by the Egyptians,” proved useless. The leaders, the followers, their enablers, and the underlings, all paid the price for their tyranny. When the Messiah will arrive, a similar fate awaits all those who partook in the persecution of the Jewish people throughout our years in exile.

2. PLEASE ASK “When you come to the land that G-d will give you, as He promised, you must also observe this service. Your children will ask you, ‘What is this service to you?’ You must answer, ‘It is the Passover service to G-d for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians, sparing our homes, and the people bent their heads and prostrated themselves.’” 12:24-27

Bent their heads and prostrated – They demonstrated their joy over having been given this commandment. – Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor

Bent their heads and prostrated - In gratitude for the news of the impending redemption, and their

coming into the Land, and the news of their having children. – Rashi

Why was the news that they would have children a source of distinct joy? Isn’t it obvious that a nation of 600,000 would produce offspring? They were not just told that they would have children, but that these children would study Torah and ask about the mitzvos. This was the true source of their joy. – Darash Moshe [Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l]

Interestingly, this passage of the Torah is recited in the Haggadah and represents the wicked son of the Four Sons. Why would they offer thanks over the news that they would have wicked sons? The commentators explain that so long as a child, even one with wicked tendencies, is willing to engage in conversation and ask relevant questions, there’s still room to hope for his improvement. Once a child ceases to be fascinated by Judaism to the point that his interest cannot even be piqued, his eventual return is far less assured. They rejoiced over the news that even their disaffected children will care enough to ask about Judaism, if only in mocking fashion.

3. JEWISH WRAPPERS “Your child may later ask you, What is this? You must answer him, With a show of power, G-d took us out of Egypt, the place of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to allow us to leave, G-d killed all the firstborn in Egypt, man and beast alike…These words shall be a sign upon your arm and a remembrance between your eyes for G-d took us out of Egypt with a show of strength.” 13:15-17

A sign upon your arm – The Hebrew word “Yadchah” [your arm] is written with an extra letter hey at the end. This teaches us that the word should be read, “Yad Kehah,” which means, “The weaker arm,” and alludes to the fact that the tefillin of the arm must be worn on the weaker arm. - Rashi

Another reason for the extra hey, whose numerical value is five, is to symbolize the five chambers that contain holy parchments in the two tefillin boxes; one in the tefillin of the head, and four in the tefillin of the arm. – Rabbeinu Bachya

A sign upon your arm…between your eyes – Although the mitzvah of tefillin is comprised of placing a box on the arm and a box on the front center of the head, one need not don both boxes in order to fulfill the mitzvah. Each box is a mitzvah independent of the other. Thus, by donning both boxes, one has fulfilled not one, but two

commandments.

Just as we don tefillin daily pledging our allegiance to the Almighty, He too, dons tefillin each day. In the Almighty’s tefillin, however, the glories of and His loyalty toward the Jewish people are transcribed. - Talmud, Tractate Berachos 6a

Creating a kosher pair of tefillin is not as easy as it looks. There are many details that must be carefully attended to, only certain materials may be used, and the writing requires great expertise. Sadly, many are unaware of this and purchase inexpensive tefillin that are often unacceptable for use in the mitzvah. One must only purchase tefillin from a reputable dealer, and spend enough to ensure that he is obtaining a kosher pair. Just as one cannot purchase a reliable automobile for less than a certain sum, a kosher pair of tefillin cannot be purchased for less than $250-$350.

Did you know that Partners in Torah distributes high-quality pairs of tefillin to our students for a nominal fee? If you study with a mentor regularly and wish to begin fulfilling the mitzvah of tefillin, give us a call, and we will be glad to assist you. Hundreds of participants have availed themselves of this wonderful service, and you can be the next. In just a few minutes a day, you can recall and relive the special events surrounding our exodus from Egypt!

Rabbi Meisels can be reached at: rabbimeisels@partnersintorah.org

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Dear Joel,

The sheer scope of the loss of life, misery, pain, and suffering in Port au Prince is clearly of “Biblical proportions,” to quote our Secretary of State. The whole world should give serious consideration to this tragedy. Jews in particular, must do so as the Talmud tells us that G-d expects His people to derive life lessons from calamities.

As our Sages have taught us, prophecy ended more than two thousand years ago. We are therefore incapable of precisely identifying the root causes of such a catastrophe. Only a prophet would be able to communicate G-d’s message as they did regarding the destruction of the First Temple or the exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel. Anyone who believes he “knows” the ‘why’ behind G-d’s actions is merely deluding himself. However, the absence of prophecy does not preclude our attempt to derive lessons from such a highly unusual event.

1. The Talmud relates an allegory: Once a group of people were sailing aboard a ship and approached a very big fish at sea. Silt had washed up on the back of the fish, and it was later covered with soil and sprouted grass, so the fish appeared to be a meadow in the middle of the ocean. The people aboard the ship disembarked and decided to barbecue on their newly found “meadow.”

After their cooking fires burned for a while, the fish became overheated and rolled over in the water to cool down. Had the ship not docked so close to the fish, the people “aboard the fish” would have drowned.

The earth-like nature of the back of the fish was an illusion. Perhaps we could equally say that whatever we experience as solid ground is also an illusion. The study of tectonics, which explains the nature of our planet, reveals that the vast majority of earth is molten rock, not solid ground. (Of the 8000 mile diameter of the earth, perhaps only 200 miles is solid; that would mean that some 93% of the earth is molten.) Each morning we recite the blessing thanking G-d for “Firming the earth on the water.” The commentaries (see Eliyahu Rabba) explain that by reciting this blessing, we acknowledge G-d’s miraculous establishment of earth floating on water – clearly contrary to the laws of physics. In essence, what appears as solid earth is as illusory as the back of the fish. Only if we see or hear what happens when earth succumbs to the laws of physics – shifting and sinking on its liquid base – can we appreciate the fact that we can walk around on this planet.

2. Everyone suffers – on different levels – in this world. However, when we do not maintain a proper sense of proportion, we can let our annoying experiences and

disappointments cause excessive pain and depression. These reactions, however, are also a result of not recognizing the illusory nature of this world. Real suffering is having one’s legs crushed under the weight of a collapsed building, never knowing if he will be rescued. Real suffering is represented by the orphaned children who have been maimed without any parents to care for them. Oftentimes it takes tragedy to regain the sense of balance; most of our unfulfilled expectations create only illusory suffering, not truly objective suffering.

3. Finally, our response to the Haitian tragedy needs to be with aid. Our Rabbis teach us that just as G-d shows great compassion to all of His creatures, so too we are equally required to demonstrate compassion to all of His creatures, to whatever degree possible. Therefore, the true Jewish response is to send aid through organizations that have proven efficacy to insure that all the donations given truly go to the aid of the victims.

Of course, we know that lessons are not reasons. G-d’s reasons remain obscured. As Jews, who are referred to as “rachmanim bnei rachmanim,” compassionate people, sons of compassionate people, we should and must react.

Sincerely, Rabbi Reuven Drucker

Rabbi Drucker can be reached at: rabbidrucker@partnersintorah.org

HAITI RABBI REUVEN DRUCKER

Dear Rabbi,

I’m obviously quite troubled to hear about the terrible loss of life and devastation in Haiti this past week, but when my partner asked me why G-d brought about such a catastrophe, I was truly at a loss as to how to respond. How would you answer this question?

Sincerely, Joel P.

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It was at midnight when G-d smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn animal. Pharaoh rose up at midnight, and he and all his servants and all of Egypt, and there was a great outcry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was no corpse. He called to Moses and Aharon at night and said, “Rise up, go out from amongst my people, even you, even the Children of Israel; go and serve G-d as you have spoken! Take your sheep and even your cattle, as you have spoken, and go and bless me, as well!” (Shemos 12:29-32)

Rashi’s comment on the words “Pharaoh (א

rose up at midnight”: (That he rose up) “from his bed” makes clear that Pharaoh

had gone to sleep that night. After nine plagues which came precisely as foretold by Moses, how could Pharaoh, who was himself firstborn (and presumably intelligent), have gone to sleep that night when Moses clearly told him about the upcoming plague of the firstborn?

What was unique about the plague of the (בfirstborn that convinced Pharaoh to finally send the Children of Israel out of Egypt?

Rashi explains Pharaoh’s request for a (גblessing as stemming from his fear as a firstborn that he not be killed. If he feared

that his life was at stake, why would he express himself so vaguely (“bless me”), instead of unambiguously pleading for his life?

Rabbi Lam can be reached at: rabbilam@partnersintorah.org

TABLE TALK FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

RABBI LABEL LAM

Parsha At-A-Glance Moses and Aharon, as commanded by Hashem, informed Pharaoh that if he would not send out the Jews, a terrible plague of locusts would cover the land of Egypt the following day. Pharaoh agreed to send them out, but demanded that only the adult males go. He angrily dismissed Moses and Aharon. As Hashem had warned, a swarm of locusts consumed everything edible left after the plague of hail. Pharaoh admitted to Moses and Aharon that he had sinned, and asked that they pray on his behalf to end the plague. Hashem ended the plague, but hardened his heart so that he would not send out the Jews.

Hashem brought down the ninth plague, palpable darkness, for three days. The darkness was so tangible that it paralyzed the Egyptians. Pharaoh told Moses that the Jewish people could leave, without their cattle. Moses replied that not only would B’nei Yisrael go with the animals, but also that Pharaoh would give them animals to sacrifice. Pharaoh was furious and told Moses not to come to the palace again.

Hashem told Moses that He would bring one more plague upon Egypt. He promised that after this plague, Pharaoh would send out the Jews. Hashem requested that the Jews ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver in preparation for leaving Egypt. Moses told Pharaoh that the firstborns of the Egyptians would die at midnight. Pharaoh refused to send out the Jews from his land. Hashem established Rosh Chodesh Nissan (the New Moon). He then detailed to Moses the Pesach-

offering, whose blood the Jews would put on the lintel of their houses to keep them untouched by the plague.

On the night of the plague, the Jews would remain indoors, ready to depart from Egypt. During their celebration, Hashem would slay every firstborn Egyptian. Moses taught B’nei Yisrael the laws of Passover, the requirement for matzah, and the prohibitions of using or owning chametz during Passover.

On the night of the fifteenth of Nissan, the plague of the firstborn struck, and a great outcry filled Egypt. No Egyptian home was spared. Pharaoh – as well as the rest of the Egyptians – begged Moses to take all the Jews from the land. The Jews asked the Egyptians for their valuables and received them. They then began their journey from Egypt – 600,000 men together with their wives, elders, and children. Their only food was a supply of dough which they prepared hurriedly as unleavened matzah. It had been 430 years to since Hashem had told Abraham that his children would endure a period of servitude from which they would emerge a wealthy nation.

The parshah concludes with the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn sons and firstborn cattle as a reminder of the miraculous manner in which our ancestors were spared the destruction of their own firstborn sons. Tefillin also are mentioned here as a further reminder of Hashem’s outstretched arm which redeemed us from Egypt.