The Significance of the Tenth
Jan 15, 1994 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Bo
The tenth plague finally shatters Pharaoh’s resistance.
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Labor & Leisure
Jan 31, 2004 By Joshua Heller | Commentary | Bo
The eve of the Exodus, as described in Parashat Bo and as we relive it in the Passover seder, reflect a peculiar admixture of labor and leisure. On the one hand, as the Mishnah (Pesahim 10:1) teaches, on the seder night, “even the poorest in Israel should not eat until he reclines.” (In this context, reclining is the classic sign of leisure.) At the same time, we eat matzah, the bread of poverty and affliction. In ancient times having more than one “tavlin” (dipping sauce), was a sign of luxury, and yet even as we dip twice, one of the things that we dip is bitter herb, and one of the sauces is salt water. This contradiction has its beginnings in this week’s parashah, Bo, which describes the Paschal sacrifice (the true first seder) and carries through to a central paradox in modern life.
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Free Will and Dental Care
Jan 26, 2007 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Bo
After years of neglect and in response to the prodding of my dentist, I have undertaken a much more rigorous program of care for my teeth.
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The Final Plague
Jan 28, 2012 By David Levy | Commentary | Text Study | Bo
Each year, when we read the Exodus story and again when we encounter it at the Passover seder, we are confronted with a serious moral question. We must ask ourselves how we feel about the nature of the collective punishment of the Egyptians.
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Lighting the Darkness
Jan 11, 2008 By Lisa Gelber | Commentary | Bo
It’s difficult not to notice darkness at this time of year; so many of us set out for work in the dark and leave our places of business long after the sun has set.
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Out of the Darkness, into the Light
Jan 3, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Bo
As Parashat Bo opens, the intransigence of Pharaoh increases as well as the determination of God, Moses, and Aaron.
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Realpolitik and the Exodus
Jan 23, 2010 By Burton L. Visotzky | Commentary | Bo
This devar Torah is about religion, politics, and war. We are a country currently fighting two foreign wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) and a war on terror at home and abroad. My intention is not to tilt Republican or Democrat; rather, the point of these words of Torah is to reflect on what it means to be Jewish under these circumstances. Or to ask in the classic rabbinic formulation: what can this week’s Torah portion teach us?
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Discovering Love at Dawn
Jan 15, 2016 By Benjamin Resnick | Commentary | Bo
The photograph above—my last before becoming a parent—was taken early in the morning on January 7, 2015, the coldest day of a very young year. In my imagination, Jonah was born just after, as the sun was rising over the city. In reality, he was not. He was born at 11:11a.m., when the sun was already high in the sky. But, like the Doe of the Morning, I remember him coming at dawn.
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