Welcome to Parshat Bo. Many of us have been troubled by God’s devastating decrees in the biblical story of our people’s liberation from enslavement.
Welcome to Parshat Bo. Many of us have been troubled by God’s devastating decrees in the biblical story of our people’s liberation from enslavement. Many of us have wondered about the people of the land, Egyptians and others, who suffered economically and physically. It doesn’t seem right. Last Shabbat, one of our members, remarked how, when she was a youth, hearing about the slaying of the first born of Egypt turned her off to Judaism. It seemed so cruel. Someone else in our community asked if this was a kind of revenge for the Pharoah’s killing of new born baby boys. Does Judaism teach revenge?
Our ancestors, particularly several sages over the centuries, wrestled with the “plagues” and , especially, this plague. How do we understand this?
Taking the narrative literally clouds the deeper meaning of the story. An article in the New York Times during Pesach of 1991 tries to address this from a scientific point of view offering that all these disasters did in fact occur in ancient times, modern times as well. What’s unique about the biblical narrative is the sequencing of these catastrophic events. Our Jewish commentators have noted the progression of the plagues from the water, to the land and then to the sky and the realm of the highest power(s). We learn how the “plagues”, or demonstrations again tyranny,
increase with intensity. We know well that social changes in a society do not take place overnight. It can take years, or even decades, of struggle.
We see how the evolution of humankind mirrors the biospheric flow from the waters to the higher consciousness of the mind-spiritual realm where radical change takes place.
But what about the death of the first born? The first born can be understood as a metaphor for those who hold power in the society. As we know the biblical narrative repeatedly breaks with that social reality with leadership not going to the eldest. The first born in ancient times were also identified with idolatry. And it’s not just the “ first born of the Pharaoh, it’s also the first born of the maid servants and the first born of the beasts…” (Exodus 5). It's an attack on the first born receiving godly powers and holding greater authority than others. It is a notion that needed to be eradicated. It’s a notion that can lead to tyranny and injustice.
We are afflicted with terrible plagues today. The plagues increase in intensity until we see how our lives are so controlled by others and forces around us. The "plagues" will cease when we embrace the “God” of freedom and fight against injustice and inequity in society.
In our nation today we see how “plagues” have hardened the hearts of our Pharoahs. Is this a Higher Power calling us to respond more vigorously to address the “plagues” - Covid19, greed, racism etc etc…?
At the end of the Parsha we learn how, finally, the people, protects itself from the angel of death. How do we protect ourselves today?
Be hopeful, be in touch,
Reb David