Shalom Friends;
This week, our Parshat HaShevua — Parshat Bo is being sponsored by Ayton & Ayelet Lefkowitz dedicated Lilui Nishmas Ayton’s Grandmothers: Chana Michla bas Zeev Yitzchak and Miriam bas Avraham and his Grandfather Klonimus Yechezkel ben Yehuda, and dedicated for the safe return of all Chayalim — physically, mentally and spiritually and for the Liberation of all remaining hostages and for Kol Klal Yisrael . To the Lefkowitz family, many thanks for your sponsorship and kindnesses through the years.
You can celebrate a Simcha — a birth, a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, a Chassuna or other Simcha event in your life, or commemorate a Yahrtzeit of a loved one, or for whatever other reason by sponsoring a Parshat HaShevua.
Please forward to your relatives and friends and encourage them to sponsor a Parshat HaShevua. And please be in contact with me with any questions, or for further details.
Best Regards,
Moshe Burt
olehchadash@yahoo.com
skype: mark.burt3
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For this author, Parshat Bo annually relates to that nutty parody, composed by Guess Who, of a crazy tune which got a lot of radio play back “in the Old Country” a few decades ago, “Does Your Korbon Pesach Lose It’s Flavor Tied to the Bedpost Overnight?” (Actually, the real title to the song was “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?”) Here’s hoping that subscribers to this Parshat HaShevua, especially newer subscribers will click on the above YouTube link for a bit of levity.
Over the years, this author’s nutty parody has cut right to the chase, to the very heart of our Parshat. The lamb was seen by the Mitzriyim (Egyptians) as one of their myriads of “gods”. Therefore, Hashem mandated the Mitzvot of taking the Korbon Pesach publicly, slaughtering it and applying the da’am on Jewish doorposts. The going up from Mitzrayim (Egypt), enroute to their ultimate goal “…a land flowing with milk and honey …” — the Yetziyat Mitzrayim is, at least, as relevant to the National entity (B’nei Yisrael) today, particularly today during the war against the wild beast terrorists of Hamas and their terrorist friends on multi-fronts, as it was then, as it relates to emunah (belief in) and yirat (fear of) Hashem.
Just a note here for historical perspective: from the point where Moshe experienced the revelation of the Burning Bush on the 15th of Nissan in the year 2447, to Moshe’s first approach to Pharaoh, through the ten plagues (the asseret makot), to the Jews’ liberation from the Egyptian slavery and oppression: there spanned exactly one year. (Cited from “The Jewish Timeline Encylopedia,” by Mattis Kantor, page 26) “The Jewish Timeline Encylopedia” notes:
The B’nei Yisrael who left Egypt on the 15th of Nissan included 600,000 men between twenty to sixty years of age. In normal demographic extensions, this would add up to a population of approximately 2,000,000 people.
Torah records Moshe’s words to Pharaoh regarding the Plague of the Newborn (Mako HaBechorot):
“Moshe said, ‘So said Hashem, At about midnight I shall go out in the midst of Egypt. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh… to the firstborn of the maidservant…'” (Sefer Shemot, Perek 11, posukim 4-5, as rendered to English both in the Artscroll Stone Chumash and in Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Sefer “Growth Through Torah”, pages 162-163)
The Artscroll Stone Chumash provides a Rashi on Sefer Shemot, Perek 11, posuk 4 explaining Moshe’s words to Pharaoh “At about midnight” in this way:
Moshe did not say that the plague would occur exactly at midnight, because Pharaoh’s astrologers might miscalculate the time and think that the moment of the plague was somewhat before or after midnight. If so, they would claim that Moshe was a charlatan for predicting the wrong time.
R’ Bachya adds that since the third plague [the mako of lice], when the magicians were forced to admit that Hashem was at work in Egypt, their belief in Moshe’s veracity had been reinforced as the plagues progressed. Now, if Moshe were to “err” in predicting the exact time of the last plague, the Egyptian wise men would retroactively lose faith in Moshe.
The above Midrashic comment gives an insight into a less than savory aspect of human nature. Even though the firstborn were dying around them, the astrologers would snatch at the most minuscule straw to discredit Moshe.
This author now excerpts from Rabbi Shmuel Goldin’s Parshat Bo Summary in his sefer “Unlocking the Torah Text” (Sefer Shemot, page 67):
As the final plague [mako] approaches, Hashem informs Moshe of the imminence of the Yetziyot Mitzrayim and tells him to have the B’nei Yisrael prepare for their departure by accumulating wealth from their Mitzri neighbors. Hashem further commands Moshe to launch the transmission of Judaism’s law with the first Mitzvah of Kiddush HaChodesh and to instruct the people concerning the Pesach offering and the Pesach festival itself.
…The B’nei Yisrael… proceed to perform the rituals surrounding the Pesach offering.
At [about] midnight on the fifteenth day of Nisan, as the Am Yisrael sit in their homes consuming the Pascal Lamb, Hashem strikes the Mitzriyim with the final devastating blow: the tenth plague, the plague of the firstborn. Buffeted by the calamity, Pharaoh orders Moshe and Aaron to lead the Am Yisrael out of Mitzrayim. As they prepare to depart, they fulfill Hashem’s …request by turning to their Mitzri neighbors, who willingly give them their gold, silver and garments.
At midday on the fifteenth of Nisan, … the Am Yisrael begin their journey, accompanied by a mixed multitude from the other nations. So tumultuous are events surrounding their departure that the dough of Am Yisrael’s bread does not have time to rise.
Torah records:
“The B’nei Yisrael journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from their children. Also, a mixed multitude went up with them…” Sefer Shemot, Perek 12, posukim 37 – 38 as rendered to English in the Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)
The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash (page 359) notes on posuk 38 — “A mixed multitude” :
A multitude of people [“eirev rav” — transliteration of the Hebrew in posuk 38] of various nationalities converted to Judaism and accompanied the Jews out of Mitzrayim.
This author asks what the possible time-frames could be where numbers of this mixed multitude in Mitzrayim sought to be and were converted to Judaism and what was their respective level of sincerity and seriousness?
Five posukim further in our Parsha, Torah records:
“Hashem said to Moshe and Aaron, ‘This is the decree of the Pesach-offering: no alienated person shall eat of it.'” (Sefer Shemot, Perek 12, posuk 43 rendered to English in The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash)
The Artscroll Stone Edition Chumash (page 360 – 361) cites Rashi:
“Alienated person.” The term refers to two kinds of people: (a) a Jew who is an apostate, i.e., one who worships avodah zora, desecrates Shabbos, or denies the validity of any of the Torah’s Commandments; and, (b) a non-Jew. Neither may participate in or eat from the Pesach-offering, because they are alienated from belief in the Torah.
The Sapirstein Edition, “The Torah with Rashi’s Commentary” renders “Alienated person” as “any stranger” in rendering to English Sefer Shemot, Perek 12, posuk 43 (page 132) in citing Gur Aryeh on Mechilta; Zevachim 22b:
“Stranger,” Generally refers to a non-Jew. “Any” allows the expansion of the term to include one who knowingly rejects all, or even part of the Torah.
Torah indicates that this “mixed multitude” was kept separate from the Jews. This author further questions, as it seems unclear, were this mixed multitude able to take part in the Jews’ Korban Pesach, or did they have their own Korbanot Pesach, or were they not permitted to partake in a Korban Pesach due to their recent conversions, or could it be understood that they were denied due to Sefer Shemot, Perek 12, posuk 43?
Insight into these questions might be found in these excepts from the Chabad.org article Mistake of the Mixed Multitude, from the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria; translated and edited by Moshe Yaakov Wisnefsky :
Kabbalah reveals the spiritual drama soul-roots.
When the Jews, led by Moses, left Egypt, Moses acceded to take along a “mixed multitude” of non-Jews with them. Although his intentions were good, these people had not been fully educated about the ways of Judaism and the path of the Torah, and so they made numerous errors in judgment throughout Israel’s trek in the desert, often drawing the Jewish people into their errors as well.
Evil can be defined as consciousness not sufficiently oriented toward and focused on G-d – or, worse, oriented away from or against G-d. Just as with people, who must undergo a selfish period of childhood in order to develop their sense of self before emerging into the mature, adult world, so must any revelation of Divinity, or any soul, undergo a maturation process before it can descend into the world. Although the soul will mature again during its lifetime as it goes through childhood, etc., this is a second stage of development. Thus, to a certain extent, the character of the individual is already developed during its fetal life.
The Mixed Multitude thus reflected this idea of premature introduction into holiness. Insecure in their sense of self, they were not ready to abandon it in favor of the truth to which they were being elevated.
Moses, as a leader, should have known that this was the case. But his acceptance of the Mixed Multitude reflected a weakness on his part, an unwarranted tolerance and acceptance of that which is imperfect and unripe, erroneously allowing it to take part in mature, adult life before its time. (Perhaps this over-fascination with the raw, the untamed, and the immature echoes Isaac’s fascination with and preference of Esau over Jacob, as well as modern society’s worship and indulgence of youth at the expense of its reverence and appreciation of the wisdom of age.)
G-d did not want to accept these unfit converts. [Had they not joined the Jewish people], there would have been no death or exile, as it is written, “[The tablets were the work of G-d, and the writing was the writing of G-d,] chiseled on the tablets.” (Ex. 32:16)
But Moses accepted them, thinking that it would be good to absorb them into holiness.
This way, Moses reasoned, their unrefined power could be harnessed for holy purposes. Their desire to join the Jewish people seemed to indicate their readiness for this. Aspects of his soul return as the leader of each generation in order to rectify the spiritual heirs of the Mixed Multitude….
We often lament the eirev rav — the “mixed multitude”, whether in Israel where we tend to equate the title with leftist political opposition to the government, whether it is politicians, bureaucrats, the military high command, as well as academic and media spheres, or worldwide Jewish leaders who often seem meek and particularly in the United States and Canada where Jews are often proponents [noun: a person who argues in favor of something; an advocate, who supports a cause or doctrine; adherent] often to the detriment of American or Canadian Jewry, or World Jewry.
But this author would venture the opinion that there could be descendants of the “mixed multitude” among us who may actually be the most observant Jews, whereas there may be descendants of the twenty percent (according to some commentators) of Jews who ascended from Mitzrayim who evolved into the most virulent leftist, self-hating Jews.
Israel’s governmental leaders, as well as our political, bureaucratic, military, academic and media spheres need to learn and internalize the lesson of Moshe’s last words to Pharaoh: “At about midnight…” And we, Am Yisrael, need to learn and internalize this lesson and minimize, if not eradicate the often splitting-hairs of polarizing divisiveness among ourselves — even among our observant sectors
Rabbi Goldin Concludes (sefer “Unlocking the Torah Text,” Sefer Shemot, page 97):
We would do well to keep the image of the first Pesach table before us as we continue our travels. The lessons learned around it continue to inform our journey to this day.
May it be that our Chayalim, regardless of the machinations of their high command, emerge totally victorious — eradicating from the face of the earth Hamas, their terrorist buddies and the so-called “innocent civilians” of Gaza who joined with Hamas in their murderous deeds, that the Chayalim return home whole — physically, mentally and spiritually and that the Chayalim Liberate and bring home all remaining hostages. And may we see the restoration of true unity within Am Yisrael.
May we, the B’nei Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently re-settled in Gush Katif, once the IDF, by the Yad Hashem, destructs and eradicates the wild beasts of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, all other terror entities, and if necessary Iran, and that our brethren be made totally whole — be totally restituted for all that was stolen from them, that the thrice expelled families of Amona be restored to their rebuilt homes and the oft-destroyed Yeshiva buildings in Homesh be rebuilt, as well as the buildings of Yishuv Elchanan, all at total government expense. May our Chayalim return from battle unharmed — physically, mentally and spiritually and may all of the remaining hostages brutally taken by the wild beasts of Hamas be liberated and brought home to their families. Baruch Hashem that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard is now in his fifth year at home in Eretz Yisrael and continues in a new chapter in his life. May Esther Yocheved bat Yechiel Avraham have an aliyah in Shemayim and may her spirit and memory continue to lift Jonathan to at least 120 years. May the MIAs be liberated alive and returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem — as with the return in April, 2019, via Russia, of the remains of Zachariah Baumel, as should the remains of the two chayalim from the Gaza War of ten years ago. May we have the courage and strength to stand up and physically prevent the possibility of Chas V’Challila any future eviction of Jews from their homes and prevent Chas V’Challila the handing of Jewish land over to anyone, let alone to enemies sworn to Israel’s and Judaism’s destruction and eradication. May we see, in 5785, the REAL Jews from the Ukraine and Russia as well as the US and Canada, the real Jews via matrilineal descent, make Aliyah enmass — via thorough review by Misrad HaPanim. And may we soon and finally see the total end to the Communist Chinese Wuhan Lab corona virus pandemic and all like viruses and variants. May we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nei Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha to see the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Ki Karov Yom Hashem Al’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bimhayrah b’yamainu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.
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