Bo – Peninim on the Torah

תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו

Roberto Szerer In Bo, 5778

Teka b’Shofar Gadol l’cheiruseinu. Sound the great Shofar for our freedom

Teka b’Shofar is the tenth blessing of the Shemoneh Esrai. The specific designation of the number ten with regard to the ingathering of the exiles is not lost. Kibbutz galuyos, ingathering of the exiles, and returning to the Holy Land have been our national dream since the tragedy of the destruction of the Temple, which was provoked in part by the infighting among the people – sinaas chinam, unwarranted hatred. The return must be one embraced and personified by unity. Divisive quarreling among Jews is the sad result of arrogance and envy. One who is humble does not envy, since…

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והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבדה הזאת לכם

Roberto Szerer In Bo, 5778

And it shall be that when your children say to you, “What is this service to you?” (12:26)

The Torah addresses four “sons” – each one different from the other. One is wise; one is (called) wicked; one is simple; the last one is uninitiated, unable to ask. They all have one common denominator: they are sons. One deals differently with a son. One does not attempt to “best” a son; one seeks to teach a son, to enlighten, to help him understand, to inspire him. Thus, regardless of who the son is, how he acts, or how he presents his questions – remember, he is still your son. We do not seek to prevail, to triumph, over…

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שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם

Roberto Szerer In Bo, 5778

For seven days, leaven may not be found in your houses. (12:19)

Preparing for Pesach is a daunting task – one made increasingly more difficult with the stipulation that not even the smallest crumb of leaven may be in one’s possession. It goes without saying that this measure is prohibited for human consumption. At first glance, this law is strange. Indeed, the laws concerning chametz are unique in comparison with other maachalos asuros, prohibited foods. The halachah of mashehu, whereby even the slightest measure of chametz is prohibited, and, if it mingles with other food, the entire unit is prohibited, is different from other prohibited foods in which bitul, nullification, applies. Even…

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ושמרתם את המצות... ושמרתם את היום הזה לדרתיכם חקת עולם

Roberto Szerer In Bo, 5778

You shall safeguard the matzos… you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. (12:17)

Procrastination is a major hindrance when it comes to getting something done. Certainly, no one will hire a worker to complete a job knowing that this worker has a reputation as a procrastinator. On the other hand, one would find himself hard-pressed to call a procrastinator evil. Unreliable perhaps, but evil? Certainly not. Horav Shlomo Wolbe, zl, teaches us that, with regard to mitzvah performance, procrastination, delay of any sort, is characteristic of the pull of the yetzer hora, evil-inclination, over us, and, thus, sufficient reason to refer to it as an evil trait. The Torah admonishes U’shemartam es ha’matzos,…

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ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים שלשת ימים

Roberto Szerer In Bo, 5778

And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for a three-day period. (10:22)

Egypt was plunged into three days of overwhelming darkness, a blackness so heavy that the Egyptians were unable to move. If the purpose of the darkness was to impede the Egyptians’ ability to see, Hashem could have struck them with blindness. It happened in Sodom, when the townspeople were about to attack the Angels who had come to save Lot. Hashem could simply have blinded the Egyptians without creating such a heavy darkness. The Chasam Sofer, zl, explains that it is well-known that when a person loses the power of one of his senses, the other senses become more acute….

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תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו

Teka b’Shofar Gadol l’cheiruseinu. Sound the great Shofar for our freedom

והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבדה הזאת לכם

And it shall be that when your children say to you, “What is this service to you?” (12:26)

שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם

For seven days, leaven may not be found in your houses. (12:19)

ושמרתם את המצות... ושמרתם את היום הזה לדרתיכם חקת עולם

You shall safeguard the matzos… you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. (12:17)

ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים שלשת ימים

And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for a three-day period. (10:22)

YEARS

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