02-07-2025 Torah Commentary

Due to a heavy travel schedule, we shall examine both  “Parashat Bo” (Exodus 10:1-13:16) and the parashah for the upcoming week Parashat b’Shlach (Exodus 13:17- 17:16). Although these two long parashiyot (plural of  parashah) may at first seem disconnected, if we carefully  examine their themes, we see that each weekly section in  many ways is philosophically almost the other’s mirror  image. 

Parashat Bo deals with the theme of death. The section  speaks of the last three plagues that G-d visited on Egypt,  culminating in the death of Egypt’s first-born sons. The  final plague forces us to remember that Pharaoh’s  genocidal intentions by ordering the drowning of the  Israelite male children.  

Not only do we sense a foreshadowing of death, in  Parashat Bo but throughout the parashah we are aware of  the heavy hand of the past, of living in a present marked  by fear and of wondering about the future. In many ways,  Parashat Bo expresses the feelings that so many of us  have had after Hamas’ attack of October 7th.

In Parashat b’Shlach, on the other hand, there is a new sense of life and the desire to take risks. This parashah is  the first section in the Bible where Israel is now a free  nation. Parashat b’Shlach makes it clear that the path to  freedom would not be easy. It describes Israel’s first “baby  steps” away from the so called “Egyptian paradise of  slavery” and toward individual and national responsibility.  

In the second parashah as the people of Israel travel  through the wilderness it becomes clear that the people of  Israel can no longer blame others for their difficulties.  What happens now is their responsibility. In Egypt and as  slaves we might call them “children. ” Now in the  Wilderness of Sinai,” we might call them teenagers. With  G-d’s help and guidance, the Israelites, just like teenagers,  would begin to learn to forge their own destiny. Sinai would  be the bridge taking them from being children/slaves to  teenager and upon entering the Land of Israel ultimately to  full adults. 

Both Bible sections deal with bread, symbolizing the  substance of life. In the first section, the bread is “matzah.”  baked in haste and without leaven. It is called the bread of  affliction, the bread of slavery. Is the people’s lack of  preparation the Bible’s way of teaching us slaves are  forced to live in an eternal present; deprived of both their  past and future.  

In the second section, Parashat b’Shlach, the bread was called “manna.” This was the bread of freedom, the  miracle bread, the bread of many different tastes. Manna  is a gift of G-d, and unlike the matzah of slavery where  there is no distinction between human beings, the manna  of freedom offered each person a uniqueness of taste.  

Perhaps these two types of breads symbolize the  difference between slavery and freedom, between being  an infant and becoming an adult. Politically the slave is  forced to be an eternal child. Being afraid to plan for the  future the slave lives shackled by the past and in an ever-present state of fear. On the other hand, the free person,  the adult, sees the present as gift. The free person, the  adult, views time as both a challenge and as a gift. For the  free person, history is a lesson that allows him/her to take  part in shaping the future.  

Together these two Biblical sections pose a challenge to  each of us. We too must decide if we wish to be a slaves in an “Egypt of own making.” Do we wish to be shackled  by the fear and live on the side of eternal childhood? Or do we desire to confront reality with hope and courage  daring to challenge our trepidations and becoming an  adult who take responsibility? Which of these options do  you prefer? Do you desire to live as a slave stuck in the  past or as a free person headed toward freedom and  personal responsibility?