Bo

The Torah portion of Bo is a wealth of riches when we look to learn from it’s lessons. We have the remaining 7 of the 10 plagues. The struggle of Moses as he comes to terms with being thrust back into the limelight, originally as an adopted son of Pharoah’s household but now as spokesperson for the Children of Israel. The signs and symbols leading to the renewal of our people’s faith in G-d. Their bravery with putting blood on their doorposts.

I would like to talk about Passover. Parashat Bo is not only the first mention of Passover, it irrevocably talks about this festival as being the one where we

hold our faith, tell our story, generation to generation.

’והיגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ח׳ לי בצאתי ממצרים’

“And you shall tell you son on this day saying because of this G-d brought me out of Egypt”

- Exodus 13:8

In the Torah portion of Bo, we see the majesty of our traditions, passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, we were slaves in Egypt and G-d brought us out.

We live in a time of slavery, from being tied to a rat-race with work stealing more of our lives than necessary, to the modern day idols of cellphones and on demand technology. We are at a crossroads where we are so busy rushing ahead in search of the future that we ignore the present and disregard our past.

Yet our very being is infused with the DNA of our history. Variations of the famous saying, “before you know where you are going, you must know from where you come” have come not just from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) and many philosophers, but also modern poets such as Maya Angelou.

It is a known fact that children of adoption often search out their birth families. This is generally not a reflection or comment on their adoptive families but instead an inexorable need, a keening of the soul, to know where they come from.

Almost like the question “Does G-d exist?” the questions of “Who am I and where do I come from?” are bandied around as we try and search for meaning in our cluttered and harried lives.

And we have the answer.

It is in front of us, in this weeks Torah portion, we are the Children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And the L-rd our G-d brought us out from Egypt. We are told this very week that this story is where our history will be shared, and it is at our Passover tables as we tell of our deliverance generation to generation.

We know where we come from, when we remember this and teach it to our children then we are left with the natural progression.

Where are we going?

I’m writing this dvar Torah on MLK Day and it is poignant.

There is a reason that Passover is the first festival even mentioned in the Torah. In this portion of Bo, we learn about Passover and our escape from slavery. As we commemorate, embrace and enjoy our own freedom, now more than ever, we have to choose and honor this commitment. We are blessed with the ability to contribute, to guide, to lead, and to support. Look around, who needs our help? How can we help? Freedom, equal rights, for everyone. Let’s make it happen.