Parashat Bo

15 January 2016                                                                                                              Shevat 6  5776

Parashat Bo
Exodus 10:1-13:16; Jeremiah 46:13-28; Mark 3:7-19

Moses and Aaron continued to wage a war of signs and wonders while Pharaoh continued to harden his own heart until God began to harden it for him. Two distinct Hebrew words are used for ‘hardened’. In Exo 14:4, when HaShem says ‘I will harden
Pharaoh’s heart’, the root word for ‘harden’ is ‘chazak’, which means ‘to strengthen, to make obstinate’.

However, when we read that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, it is a different Hebrew word. After the plague of frogs, we read: Ex 8:15 – “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and did not listen as HaShem had spoken”. Here, the Hebrew word for ‘hardened’ is derived from the root ‘kabad’, which means ‘to make heavy, to make grievous’.

HaShem didn’t want Pharaoh to cave in just because of the pressure of the plagues, for He desires true repentance that leads to inner transformation. So, he stiffened Pharaoh’s sinews, as Shakespeare once said, to help him to continue believing the lie. 

A plague of locusts descended upon Egypt, turning the sky black with their sheer numbers, stripping the ground as they devoured every living piece of vegetation. A plague of darkness blotted out the lights of Egypt creating darkness so heavy that it felt palpable — yet, in the houses of the children of Israel, light still shone.

Finally, the signs and wonders culminated with a terrible and awe-inspiring final plague that struck at the heart of Egypt, even breaking through Pharaoh’s resilient pride: the plague of the slaying of the firstborn.

The LORD described how He would pass over Egypt around the middle of the night, striking dead the firstborn of every family—from the least to the greatest. The slayer would not even spare the firstborn of the cattle. Even Pharaoh’s firstborn son, heir to the throne of Egypt and heir to Pharaoh’s divinity, would not escape. The slayer of the firstborn took no account of merits of innocence or guilt as he passed through Egypt. Faith and creed did not enter the equation.

This sign was promised even before the first plague struck Egypt. This final plague was actually the first to be foretold to Moses: And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go to return to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand, but I will harden his heart, so that he shall not let the people go. And you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus said the Lord, "Israel is my son, my firstborn. And I say to you, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, your firstborn."'" (Exodus 4:21-23).

The Midrash tells us that ultimately this judgment resulted in the killing of the firstborn: Exalted be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, who foretells the end at the beginning. In connection with Abraham it says: And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge (Genesis 15:14).

What was the judgment? The slaying of the firstborn was called a plague, as it says: Yet one plague more (11:1). What is the meaning of: "I will judge"? God said: "I will punish them with the slaying of the firstborn," for it says: "Behold, I will smite thy son, even thy firstborn." (Midrash Rabbah - Exodus 15:27)

The killing of the firstborn stands out from all the other plagues as Divine retribution directed toward Pharaoh and all of Egypt. Another Midrash teaches that this was to be the only plague. The others were a reaction to Pharaoh's insolence.

When God at first sought to bring the plagues upon Egypt, He intended to commence with the plague of the firstborn, for it says: Behold, I will slay your son, even your firstborn (Exodus 4:23). Pharaoh then retorted: "Who is the Lord that I should hearken unto His voice?" (5:2). Then God said: "If I bring the plague of firstborn upon him at the outset, he will send them out at once; no, I will bring other plagues upon him first, by this means will I bring them all." (Midrash Rabbah 18:5)

Again we see that the central form of the retribution was the striking of the firstborn. The other plagues were afterthoughts. What was it about the killing of the firstborn that was so severe?

Needless to say, the death of any child is horrific. The logic dictated by God is clearly understood: If you are callous to my children, I will wreak vengeance on yours. This, though, does not explain why specifically the firstborn are singled out.

In order to fully understand this plague we must appreciate the hierarchy within Egyptian civilization. This insight is by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. It was a society ruled by the status extended to the first born (primogeniture). The first born had absolute power within the family unit. Pharaoh was the firstborn of the firstborn of the firstborn. It was from his birth right that he exercised his power.

The attack against the first born was therefore a powerful polemic against the entire culture of Egypt. The eldest ruled the younger siblings. And, perhaps this is why HaShem chose to overrule this by electing the second born over the first born.

This is why having slaves was so important to the Egyptians. This gave the lower classes someone else to control and dominates. Pharaoh controlled the first born as first born of the firstborn; the firstborn controlled the other Egyptians, and the "plain" ordinary Egyptians controlled the slaves. This is another reason why Pharaoh was reluctant to release the Israelites as the slaves of the lowest of the low in the Egyptian hierarchy! This could also be a reason why G-d reversed this with the sons of the Patriarchs. In each case, HaShem decreed that the older would serve the younger in a reversal of the Egyptian model.

The Netziv (Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin) in his commentary to Exodus explains this idea based on a fascinating observation concerning the song that was sung after the splitting of the sea. The verse reads:

Then sang Moses and the people of Israel this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea."(Exodus 15:1) ...And Miriam answered them, "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea." (Exodus 15:21)

The main part of the song seems to be this idea of the "horse and the rider." The Netziv explains that this verse encapsulates the defeat of Egypt: the philosophy of the "horse and the rider." As the rider rides on the subjugated horse, so must the rider listen to the officer, and that officer listen to the general, and that general listen to the commander in chief. According to the Netziv, this describes the horrors of the Egyptian society, a series of horse and riders, where the Jewish slaves became the bottom of the proverbial "totem pole" - the lowest horse supporting the entire structure.

This is why the Egyptians were loath to release the slaves; the entire society would crumble without them. We now understand why the death of the firstborn was so essential to the Exodus, and why the splitting of the sea evoked such a powerful response. The horse and rider philosophy had sunk at sea, they were free. The death of the firstborn was the beginning this final chapter, of the liberation. The leading "riders" were to die.

Juxtaposed against the drama unfolding in Egypt, the Passover sacrifice strikes an indelible impression on the mind of the reader. God set the stakes high. Death came to  the land of Egypt—a judgment from heaven, a terror in the night, and it did not spare even the firstborn sons of the Israelites. The slayer of the firstborn took no account of merits of innocence or guilt. Faith and creed did not enter the equation. Previous plagues had shown particularity, sparing the children of Israel in the midst of Egypt. The tenth plague, however, dealt its blow impartially. Just as in life itself, death knows no boundaries, the final plague brought death to the righteous and the wicked alike.

The LORD required only one condition for salvation in this instance: the blood of the lamb on the doorway of the home. Only homes marked by the blood of a lamb could escape.

The Torah commanded the children of Israel to keep the Passover every year as an appointed time. For 3,400 years, the Jewish people have kept the legacy of the Passover alive with the annual celebration of Passover, the time appointed for redemption.