One of the most powerful questions that arises from the story of the Exodus is how could God harden Pharaoh’s heart without stripping him of his free will to decide between good and evil? I’d like to convey two answers offered by one of the greatest Torah scholars of the early twentieth century, Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin ZT”L, in his classic “La-torah V’La-Moadim”. 1) We are all born with innate characteristics, or Middot. It is up to us to decide how to apply them. For example, someone who is born with a tendency toward spilling blood, can choose to...
Posts Tagged ‘ bo ’
Parshat Bo – The Big Difference
The Torah and the Sages teach that the Jews were spared the hardships of the plagues. For example, while the Egyptian was stricken with boils the Jew standing beside him was completely healthy. The final plague, however, presented a different scenario. God tells Moses to tell the Jews to place the blood of the slaughtered paschal lamb on the doorposts of their homes as a sign for Him to pass over them when smiting the first born of Egypt. It follows that those Jews who chose not to place this sign upon their doors were smitten along with the...
Shabbat Bo
In this week’s parsha, Bo, Moshe demands that Pharaoh let the Jews out to worship God. When Pharaoh asks who would go, Moshe tells him everyone, men women, children, and even their animals. Pharaoh accuses Moshe of trying to “pull a fast one”, and agrees to release only the men, for only they worship. Was Moshe, in fact, trying to trick Pharaoh? Not at all. Moshe was teaching Pharoah that everyone can connect with, and serve, the Divine, each in their own unique way. Yes, even animals serve God, usually with the help of man. This is a fundamental...
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