Bo – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5779

Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn. (10:1)

Rashi explains that Hashem sent Moshe to warn Pharaoh of the upcoming plague. Why warn Pharaoh if his reaction would be negative as a result of Hashem hardening his heart? A warning should serve a purpose. Apparently, this warning did not. Horav Yosef Dov Soloveitzchik, zl, Rosh Yeshivas Brisk, Yerushalayim, explains this based upon a principle quoted from Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, Mashgiach Yeshivas Mir. When Sarah Imeinu gave birth to Yitzchak Avinu at the age of 90 years old, the Torah makes a big “to do” about the overt miracle that she had experienced. In contrast, when Yocheved gave…

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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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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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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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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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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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החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5777

This month shall be for you the beginning of the months. (12:2)

Time is our most precious Divine gift. Time is life. When we give someone our time, we are giving him a part of our life. The time we give up is a part of our life, which we can no longer retrieve. Thus, it is best that we take great care in how we spend that time. The quantity and quality of time we spend with our children manifests how much we value our relationship with them. If our relationship is all about talk, but does not involve our input of time, it is a sad commentary on that relationship….

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והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם?

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5777

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

The Mechilta considers this to be the question presented by the ben rasha, wicked son. He has removed Hashem from the service, refusing to recognize that what the rest of the family is doing is Divinely ordained. The wicked son has essentially removed himself from the community. This is a common excuse: “I do not have to do this, because I am not Orthodox.” Being Orthodox is not a choice. Reneging Orthodoxy is also not a choice. One either follows the law, or he does not. Excuses to justify one’s errant behavior, to assuage one’s guilt, are meaningless. On the…

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והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5777

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

As presented in the Haggadah, this pasuk is both the response to the ben rasha, wicked son, and to the lack of questioning by the she’eino yodea lishol, child who does not realize or know that there is much to question concerning the Pesach observance. The parents of such a child must endeavor to pique his curiosity. They have an obligation to guide and teach him that he is not like everyone else. He has a destiny, a historic mission, to carry on the legacy of the Exodus and its seminal standing as the critical commencement of our becoming a…

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והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Bo, 5777

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying,” It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

In the Haggadah, this is the father’s response to his errant son, the ben rasha, wicked son. He makes a derisive statement, and his father responds with a litany underscoring his historical connection with yetzias Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exodus. Does the response really clarify anything in the wicked son’s mind? For that matter, is the wicked son really seeking an answer? When someone reaches the point of derision, nothing anyone says really matters to him. He is interested only in “hit and run,” ridiculing and skewering the subject of his derision and leaving, supposedly satisfied that he has shot his…

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בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו

Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn. (10:1)

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)

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)

שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם

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

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)

תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו

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

החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים

This month shall be for you the beginning of the months. (12:2)

והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם?

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

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ד' לי בצאתי ממצרים

And you shall tell your son on that day, saying,” It is because of this that Hashem acted on my behalf when I left Egypt.” (13:8)

YEARS

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