Parashat Bo - Action Forms Us

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Good evening, everyone.

I’m still trying to send you some food for thought this evening. I’m doing this l’ilui nishmas Maras Malka bat Rav Moshe and l’ilui nishmas Yisroel ben Rav Moishe. May both their neshamot have an aliyah.

I’m also very happy to share some wonderful news. Our granddaughter got engaged this week, and we have an aufruf this Shabbos. We are so, so grateful to the Ribono Shel Olam for showering us with blessings, and may there be simchas by each and every one of you.

Parshas Bo Introduction

Parshas Bo, as we all know, relates three makkot. “Bo” is spelled with a bet (= two) and an alef (= one), hinting to the final three makkot of the ten plagues, which are mentioned in this parsha.

I was looking for some different explanations, because we have spoken so many times over the years about the importance of the makkot and the foundations of emunah that Pesach represents. So tonight we’ll try to gain a slightly different perspective on the makkot.

3 last Makkos

This parsha speaks about the last three makkot: arbeh (locusts), choshech (darkness), and makat bechorot (the killing of the firstborn). After that, the Torah discusses the preparations for leaving Mitzrayim—the preparations for geulah.

Hashem begins with the mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh, sanctifying the new moon and preparing for Rosh Chodesh. Then, of course, we have the mitzvah of the Korban Pesach and all the mitzvot connected to Pesach.

Makat Choshech - Darkness

The Torah mentions the final three makkot, and I would like to focus mainly on choshech. There is one fundamental difference between the plague of darkness and all the other makkot.

All nine other plagues came as a punishment to the Egyptian nation. Makat choshech, however, did not come as a punishment for the Egyptians—it was primarily for the benefit of Am Yisrael. Chazal explain its purpose.

On one hand, the darkness allowed Bnei Yisrael to enter the homes of the Egyptians. Hashem wanted them to see where all the hidden treasures were. During those six days, they discovered the Egyptians’ gold and silver. Later, when Hashem commanded them to ask the Egyptians for gold and silver, the Egyptians could not deny having it—because the Jews had already seen it in their homes. Hashem ensured that the Egyptians willingly gave over their treasures.

The second reason for makat choshech was to punish those who did not want to leave Egypt. We are told that four-fifths, about 80% of Bnei Yisrael, did not leave Mitzrayim and perished during this plague. Why? Because they refused to leave.

When Moshe Rabbeinu told them, “Prepare yourselves—we are leaving,” they responded, “We’re not leaving. We want to stay here.” We have seen this attitude many times throughout history, especially in exile, when Jews felt comfortable where they were and refused to leave.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: You don’t want to leave? You don’t trust Me? You don’t realize that I have something far better prepared for you? If so, you will die in Mitzrayim.

This was a tremendous tragedy. If 80% of the people died, that means every family was mourning—brothers, sisters, parents lost.

Lo Rau ish Et Achiv

Chazal tell us that the main day these people died was the 13th of Adar, the day of Ta’anit Esther. The Midrash explains that one reason we fast in Adar is to remember those who perished in Mitzrayim.

The Torah says, “Lo ra’u ish et achiv”—they could not see one another. Chazal explain this on a deeper level: when does darkness descend upon the world? When you do not see your brother. When you fail to recognize the person next to you as your brother, when you don’t care for him, don’t feel empathy, and don’t try to help—that brings total darkness into the world. 

Length of the Maka

Makat choshech lasted six days. All other plagues lasted seven days. Why only six?

Chazal explain that the six days were for Egypt, but the seventh day was reserved for Kriat Yam Suf, when Hashem brought darkness upon the Egyptian camp so they would panic and not see what was happening as Bnei Yisrael crossed the sea.

Kiddush Hachodesh

Immediately after makat choshech comes the very first mitzvah given to Am Yisrael: Kiddush HaChodesh. Rashi famously asks why the Torah didn’t begin with this mitzvah, if the entire purpose of creation was Torah and mitzvot. Hashem wanted first to teach us about creation of the world and about our ancestors, our Avot.

What is so fundamental about this mitzvah that it is the first one given to us as a nation?

Yeush and Yishuv

Now I'll just go into a brief thought that since this mitzvah appears after makat choshech, a time of deep tragedy. Even though Bnei Yisrael knew they were about to leave Mitzrayim, knowing that 80% of their people were left behind was devastating.

Hashem teaches them to learn from the moon. The moon goes through cycles—times of darkness, followed by renewal and light brought by the molad. Darkness and suffering are temporary. Just as the moon diminishes and then grows again, so too must we never give in to despair.

Despair in Lashon HaKodesh is ye’ush (י-א-ו-ש). But a person who does not despair lives with yishuv hada’at— with understanding that everything comes from Hashem. The difference between ye’ush and yishuv is just one letter: alef and bet.

But we are told we have to open our eyes and understand that all what happens in the world comes from Hashem . Unfortunately, in Eretz Yisrael we have witnessed this past week tragic events that led  unfortunately  to a lot of lashon hara to things being said that were unnecessary. That's why we are told, when events take place, have yishuv hadaas , don't react in an impulsive way, and start saying things eventually, with time when things settle down, Hashem will help us get some clearer understanding.

Rewarding the dogs

Rav Eliya Lopian shares a beautiful idea. After leaving Mitzrayim, Hashem commanded that non-kosher meat be given to dogs as a reward: “la’kelev tashlichun oto.” Why?

Because during makat bechorot, when death filled the land, not a single dog barked. They remained silent, even though usually when there's death in the surroundings, dogs start barking. —and for that silence, they were rewarded for generations.

Frogs and Silence

On the other hand, we know there were other animals who also acted heroically. Hashem sent the frogs into the whole land of mitzraim. Some went into the fields, some went into the stables, some went into the homes. And there were frogs that jumped in the heated ovens, even though they knew they would die and they would be burnt. But they didn't care, and then they jumped into the ovens. What happened after the Maka, almost all the frogs died.They were killed. There  were mountains and mountains of frogs.

On the other hand, those frogs that had jumped into the ovens. Those were the only ones that were saved. They had made mesirush nefesh. They sacrificed themselves. They jumped in and did something tremendous. They were willing to give up their lives to sanctify the name of Hashem, to make a Kiddush Hashem, those specific frogs did not die, they were saved, and they returned to the river. They returned to the water, and they lived a few weeks or one more month. . the question is asked. 

why were the frogs who were willing to give up their lives,  not rewarded for generations to come with something , just like the dogs. 

The answer is that remaining silent is much more powerful and much more difficult than jumping into fire to sacrifice. For a person to sacrifice his life is something he believes in, is something he's willing to do, but to remain silent when being confronted often with difficult situations is one of the most difficult challenges in life. And that's what we saw, unfortunately this week, everyone started talking and giving opinions, and that is what we have to avoid doing. 

Kiddush HaChodesh: Slavery vs. Freedom

So now let us continue with the mitzvah of Kidush HaChodesh, which is the very first mitzvah that was given to Am Israel. Why is Kiddush HaChodesh the first mitzvah? And we've spoken about that, many times, because as long as a person is enslaved, time has no value for him. He doesn't care. It's not his time. He belongs to a master. He cannot control his time, but the minute a person is free, he is the one who controls his time. He is the one who decides what he's going to do with each minute of his life. 

And when you are a free person, each minute counts. What is the difference between matzah and chametz? 1 minute, matzah has to be baked for no more than 18 minutes. If there's one extra minute, it becomes chametz. It cannot be eaten on Pesach. 

If you have to light your candles for Shabbat, you have to be on time. One extra minute makes the whole difference. 

We have to know that in Avodat Hashem, when we serve HKBH each minute counts. One minute can make the whole difference. When a person has one extra minute of prayer, an extra minute of chessed we cannot imagine the value of one extra minute. And that's why Moshe Rabbeinu tells Israel now that you're becoming free people, Hachodesh Haze Lachem. Time is going to belong to you, now you can do with your time, with your lives, whatever you want. It's in your hands. You're not enslaved. You can do what you want. So appreciate the value of time. 

And that is the reason why when a young man gets engaged, he receives a watch, and that is usually what is given in Jewish circles so that a young man should realize that when starting a new stage in life , he should appreciate the value of time and use it in the best way possible. 

Korban Pesach

After speaking about Kiddush Hachodesh, Bnei Yisrael were commanded to take a lamb on the 10th of Nissan—Shabbat HaGadol—and keep it for four days in their house. And the question is, why? Why did they have to do that? Many reasons are given.

One of the reasons is they had to learn all the laws, all the dinim, connected to shechita, preparation of the animal, salting the animal, rinsing it. So four days was a very short time to learn all that. 

Secondly, and that is the main reason, we know that the lamb was the idol of Mitzraim. We know that Am Yisrael had reached the 49th level of impurity, because Hashem said, one more minute there would be no more Jewish nation. There wouldn't be a possibility to free you spiritually. You would be lost. There wouldn't be a way to lift you out of the depravity of Mitzraim.

So HKBH tells Moshe Rabbeinu, since most of Am Israel were idol worshippers, and the idol of Egypt was the lamb. Hashem said, “Let them bring a lamb into their homes, and for four days they're going to understand that what they consider an idol, it's a plain animal that eats and makes a mess and makes a noise. They will lose all respect for this idol, and they will understand that they have been misled by the whole Egyptian culture, by believing in the power of idol worship.”

Secondly, it was a great danger for them. The moment they were bringing the lamb into the house, the Egyptians would come and see “what you're doing, you're taking our idol?!” and they knew that at any minute, the Egyptians could come and kill them. So they had to prove their loyalty to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And as you know, they also had to put blood on the doors. They had to prove their loyalty to Hashem, showing we are not afraid of the Egyptians. We trust Hakadosh Baruch Hu and we’ll do exactly what He said. 

Rapidity of Yetziat Mitzraim

The essence of the whole Mitzvah of Korban Pesach and Moshe Rabeinu repeats this many times. He says, bechipazon, everything has to be done with rapidity. You're going to leave Mitzraim in a very rapid way. , the next morning that we're going to leave, and everything will be done very fast. He tells them to be very careful when you're going to bake your matzot for Pesach, it may not be one minute more than 18 ushmartem et hamatzot. And we wonder, why must it be done in such a fast way? 

As we say in Shir Hashim kol dodi dofek medaleg al hagbaot. Just like Hashem jumped over the houses of am Israel. It's as if the Divine Presence jumped over in a very fast way, Hashem was speeding through Mitzraim. So what is this whole zrizut?

Hashem is teaching Am Israel. Now that you're starting to keep mitzvah for the first time, you have to understand that the essence of Mitzvah is not to procrastinate, not to push it off. Do it with rapidity. Let's say I have to do something. I have to daven. I have to help someone. I have to make a phone call. Often it just doesn't feel so comfortable. So I'm going to push it off and I'll wait. until you know I really don't have a choice. 

So we are told, when you, when you want to do something, when something is precious for you, you do it right away. You don't push it off. Rashi says, do not read ushmartem  hamatzot, but read mitzvot. You should know that the essence of a Mitzvah is to do it with rapidity. Heve Ratz Ketzvi Never push things off, as we say. That is what HKBH is demanding of us. That's why this animal was grilled. It was not cooked, which takes a long time. But when you grill meat, it's done very rapidly. 

Hashem says, just like, you can't stay one extra minute if I would have left you there for another minute, I wouldn't have been able to free you. I wouldn't have been able to bring you out because you were so close to being lost spiritually. Hashem says there wouldn't have been a way to redeem you. So we have to understand that this is a lesson for life. When you do something, you should know it's important to do it now. Do not push it off. This has to be done in the fastest way possible. 

Emuna of the generation

Another tremendous thing that we are taught here. We said before that, after all,  there had been tragic events. 80% of the people died in makat chosheh, and they could have had questions and said, Hashem, why are you doing this to us? This was for them, a real holocaust. So many people have died when they're about to leave, even less than four weeks later, they have to sit down and make a seder and eat the Korban Pesach, and they have to sing the Hallel. 

And that is what the Midrash tells us was that tremendous emunah, even though they had reached the 49th level of impurity of Tuma, as chazal teaches  on the other hand had tremendous faith in Hashem. Whatever Moshe Rabbeinu told them, they believed him, and they trusted Hashem as the prophet Yirmiyahu says, lehtech, when you had to leave mitzraim, you didn't ask questions. They could have asked Moshe Rabbeinu, what are we going to eat? I mean, everybody knows when you're going on a trip, the first thing you have to have is food for the children. And they all had a lot of children. They did not ask. They just said, we have to leave. 

If Hashem says he's taking us out, Hashem is the One who will provide for us Lectech acharai Bamidbar beeretz lo zarua when you were going into a wilderness where there would be no food, but you trusted Hashem fully, that Hashem would provide for us. 

Action forms us

And the interesting thing is that Hashem said this exile that had been foretold to Avraham Avinu would last exactly 400 years veavadum veins  otam 400 shana. The Midrash says 400 years exactly after the birth of Yitzchak. Yitzchok was born the night of Pesach, and exactly 400 years later, we left Egypt. And this is a tremendous lesson of Emunah, HKBH promises something, then everything will take place exactly as Hashem has promised. 

Now I'll just remind you of what the Sefer haChinuch says. Why are there so many mitzvot that are connected to Pesach, that you were preparing for Pesach, removing the chametz from the house, the night of the Seder, the way we prepare ourselves. Why are there so many mitzvot connected more than any other Yom Tov of the year? The Chinuch says his most important teaching is Hadam Nif’al al pi Peulosav, what forms human character? It's only action. Learning is important. Thought is important, but what transforms a person is the way he acts. So HKBH says the more actions are connected the more the more mitzvahs are connected to Pesach that will have an impact on your character, and that will transform you. 

And so that is what we have to remember, that what Pesach is about. Pesach is about trusting Hashem. It is about never pushing things off, zrizut. It's about, about sitting together, lirot ish et achiv. That's why the korban Pesach had to be eaten by families together, we have to strengthen the unity with Israel. 

Double bloods

My father z”l always used to say there was in Pesach, vaerrech mitboseses bedamaich, what gave me such tremendous nachat was to see the blood in mitzraim. And why the plural form of blood? Because Hashem saw the blood of the Corban Pesach, and Hashem saw the dam milla, because in order to eat the Corban Pesach, they had to make Brit Mila. Dam milla and dam Pesach. So you have here the sacrifice of the animal, this idol of Egypt, that they came and they said, we now admit that it has no power whatsoever. And they sacrificed the animal. 

And on the other hand, they had to also make Brit Mila and why these two, two separate actions? Was korban Pesach not enough? Hashem says, when you do things together, it's extremely important. But Hashem says, I want to see the commitment of the community all together, but I also want to see the individual commitment, each one of you has to prove how close he is to Hashem. So that is Dam Mila, and that Dam Pesach, and that is the foundation of am Israel, on one hand, the individual connection to Hashem. But on the other hand, Kol Israel Arevim Ze la Ze all connected. We do things together, and that is what strengthens us. And that is what HKBH saw in mitzraim. 

Yahrzeit of Baba Sali - Story

You know, today was the yahrzeit of the Baba Sali so I'll just end with a story that I heard today. We spoke now this evening about having emunah. What is emuna? Trust. Emunah is not asking questions, not trying to gain in this understanding from things that we cannot grasp. And so there's a very beautiful story that in the time of the baba Salih, he lived in Netivot, and there was a certain man who used to always come to ask him for guidance. And he lived in a place called Yavne, which must be about an hour away. I don't know, in those times, they didn't have, you know, such a fast means of transport. 

Anyway, he decided he had to go and ask Baba Sali a certain question. So he left his work and he came to the home of the Baba Salah. And as he was about to enter the gabai of the baba Sali came out and told him, Is this someone who came from Yavneh now? And he said to me, I have to speak to the baba Salih. And he said, The Baba Salah said, return immediately to Yavneh, go back home. The man could have said, let me in. Let me ask my question. I came the whole way, but this is what we call emunah. He heard this. He just turned back.

I don't know if he was by bus or by car, whatever, and he returned to Yavne. The minute he came home, he opened his apartment. Yes, there was a very strong smell of gas. He ran into the apartment, and he saw that, apparently, his wife must have put something on the gas to boil. The gas had gone out, and there was an extremely strong smell of gas. His wife was sleeping in a room with two children. The moment he came in, he closed the gas, opened the windows, saved his wife from death. This is what we call emunah. Had he stayed a bit longer, then started asking questions,  Why are you sending me home? He believed he trusted.

Have a wonderful Shabbos, and may we always share simchas together!