Torah Talk – January 3, 2014
This week’s Torah portion is BO or go, really go. This of course refers to God telling Moses to go to Pharaoh and plead his case once again and eventually go to the land that He will show him. It recounts the three last plagues or in a direct translation of the Hebrew, signs, marvels or wonders. They are locusts, darkness and the slaying of the first born. The portion ends with the Israelites escaping from Egypt unharmed. This is due to the omnipotence of the God of Israel. The signs or plagues are to prove to the Egyptians that the God of Israel is the most powerful. This is also to prove to the Israelites that God is the most powerful of all the Gods. After leaving Egypt our people come to that realization and God has been successful in teaching them this very important adage. God is the God of all peoples and that God will look over and protect the Children of Israel.
Another very important message is that we are a people of long memory. God tells the Israelites to teach this story to their children, and we do every Shabbat and holiday.
The miracle of this week’s Torah portion of course is the liberation of the slaves of Egypt and perhaps more importantly is that we still remember it and teach it to our children.
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