Aliya Summary: Pharaoh summoned Moshe again, offering to release the Israelites if they leave behind their cattle. Moshe refused the condition. Pharaoh sent Moshe away, warning him to never appear in his presence again, “for on the day that you see my face, you shall die!” Moshe agreed, but not before he delivered a final message that G‑d relayed to him at that moment. G‑d told Moshe that he would visit one more plague upon Egypt, after which Pharaoh will actually drive the Israelites from his land. Parenthetically, at that time G‑d also instructed Moshe to ask the Israelites to borrow from their Egyptian neighbors jewels, silver and gold. The Israelites complied, and the Egyptians readily lent out their valuables.

Moshe’s words to Paroh are: “We will also take our animals with us, for from them we will take to serve G-d.” The plain understanding of the passuk is that Moshe was referring to sacrifices. The Malbim has another beautiful interpretation of Moshe’s statement to Paroh. “From the animals we will take lessons in how to serve G-d – from the cat we will learn modesty, from the doves fidelity, from the ants industry and honesty, etc.” Had we not received the Torah, which teaches us proper conduct, we would learn these lessons from our animals (and even with the Torah to teach us, we can see practical examples of its lessons in nature.)

Aliya Summary: Moshe stretched out his hands and swarms of locusts swept down on Egypt. They consumed absolutely every blade of grass and all the crops. Pharaoh beseeched Moshe to pray to G‑d for the removal of the locusts, promising to then release the Israelites. Moshe prayed, and no sooner than a wind carried the locusts back to the Red Sea and Pharaoh changed his mind yet again. Plague Nine: A frightful darkness descended upon Egypt. For days, the entire nation was incapacitated by the debilitating pitch darkness. “But for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.”

“Man did not see his fellow, nor did a person rise from his place…” The Chidushei HaRim writes that this is a description of the worse kind of darkness in human life, when a person does not see the suffering of his fellow. Not only does he not extend his hand to help the other, but the ultimate result is the inability of the individual to even help himself. The opposite must be true as well, then. Seeing the suffering of others is the ultimate “light at the end of the tunnel”, both for the sufferer, and for their “fellows.”

General Overview: In this week’s Parsha, Bo, the last three plagues – Locust, Darkness, and Death of the Firstborn – are inflicted upon the Egyptians. Moshe commands the Israelites concerning the Paschal Offering and the laws of the seder. After the final plague, Pharaoh unconditionally releases the Israelites from his land.

Aliya Summary: Plague Eight: At G‑d’s behest, Moshe and Aaron went to Pharaoh and delivered a warning: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let My people go so that they can worship me!” They informed Pharaoh that if he does not allow the Israelites to go, Egypt will be attacked by a plague of locust. After Moshe and Aaron left, Pharaoh’s servants begged him to allow the Israelites to leave. “Don’t you yet know that Egypt is lost?” they argued. Pharaoh called back Moshe and Aaron and offered to allow the Israelites to leave—provided that they leave behind their children as security. Moshe and Aaron refused the offer, and Pharaoh stubbornly refused to allow the Israelites to go.

Aliya Summary: G‑d gave the Israelites several mitzvot: 1) All male Israelite firstborn were henceforth sanctified to G‑d. 2) Eat matzah on Passover. 3) Recount the story of the Exodus at the Passover seder. 4) Bring all male firstborn of kosher as sacrifices. 5) Redeem all male firstborn donkeys for a sheep—which is then brought as a sacrifice. 6) Don tefillin on the head and arm.

If the donkey owner refuses to redeem it, he must destroy it. Although this too is counted among the 613 commandments of the Torah, it is clear that the Torah prefers the owner to redeem it and not resort to the wasteful alternative. Although one can get out of this mitzvah by selling a part interest in the mother donkey to a non-Jew before the firstborn is delivered, the Shulchan Aruch forbids doing so, since the opportunity to do a mitzvah would be lost. The reason the Shulchan Aruch had to warn us not to get out of this mitzvah is that in the previous section it taught the same “legal technicality” (partnership with a non-Jew in the expectant mother) that would succeed in our not having a mitzvah to perform. In one case, kosher animal, it is too problematic without a temple to allow the mitzvah to exist (so to speak). In the other, donkey, the mitzvah can be performed any time, and so it should not be avoided.

Aliya Summary: Moshe stretched out his hands and swarms of locusts swept down on Egypt. They consumed absolutely every blade of grass and all the crops. Pharaoh beseeched Moshe to pray to G‑d for the removal of the locusts, promising to then release the Israelites. Moshe prayed, and no sooner than a wind carried the locusts back to the Red Sea and Pharaoh changed his mind yet again. Plague Nine: A frightful darkness descended upon Egypt. For days, the entire nation was incapacitated by the debilitating pitch darkness. “But for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.”

“Man did not see his fellow, nor did a person rise from his place…” The Chidushei HaRim writes that this is a description of the worse kind of darkness in human life, when a person does not see the suffering of his fellow. Not only does he not extend his hand to help the other, but the ultimate result is the inability of the individual to even help himself. The opposite must be true as well, then. Seeing the suffering of others is the ultimate “light at the end of the tunnel”, both for the sufferer, and for their “fellows.”

General Overview: In this week’s Parsha, Bo, the last three plagues – Locust, Darkness, and Death of the Firstborn – are inflicted upon the Egyptians. Moshe commands the Israelites concerning the Paschal Offering and the laws of the seder. After the final plague, Pharaoh unconditionally releases the Israelites from his land.

Aliya Summary: Plague Eight: At G‑d’s behest, Moshe and Aaron went to Pharaoh and delivered a warning: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let My people go so that they can worship me!” They informed Pharaoh that if he does not allow the Israelites to go, Egypt will be attacked by a plague of locust. After Moshe and Aaron left, Pharaoh’s servants begged him to allow the Israelites to leave. “Don’t you yet know that Egypt is lost?” they argued. Pharaoh called back Moshe and Aaron and offered to allow the Israelites to leave—provided that they leave behind their children as security. Moshe and Aaron refused the offer, and Pharaoh stubbornly refused to allow the Israelites to go.

Aliya Summary: G‑d gave the Israelites several mitzvot: 1) All male Israelite firstborn were henceforth sanctified to G‑d. 2) Eat matzah on Passover. 3) Recount the story of the Exodus at the Passover seder. 4) Bring all male firstborn of kosher as sacrifices. 5) Redeem all male firstborn donkeys for a sheep—which is then brought as a sacrifice. 6) Don tefillin on the head and arm.

If the donkey owner refuses to redeem it, he must destroy it. Although this too is counted among the 613 commandments of the Torah, it is clear that the Torah prefers the owner to redeem it and not resort to the wasteful alternative. Although one can get out of this mitzvah by selling a part interest in the mother donkey to a non-Jew before the firstborn is delivered, the Shulchan Aruch forbids doing so, since the opportunity to do a mitzvah would be lost. The reason the Shulchan Aruch had to warn us not to get out of this mitzvah is that in the previous section it taught the same “legal technicality” (partnership with a non-Jew in the expectant mother) that would succeed in our not having a mitzvah to perform. In one case, kosher animal, it is too problematic without a temple to allow the mitzvah to exist (so to speak). In the other, donkey, the mitzvah can be performed any time, and so it should not be avoided.

Aliya Summary: Plague Ten: At the stroke of midnight G‑d slew all the Egyptian firstborn. No Egyptian home was spared, and Egypt erupted in a great outcry. Pharaoh awoke and raced to Moshe and begged him to take the Israelites and leave. The Egyptians pressured the Israelites to leave as soon as possible, and the Israelites complied. Equipped with all the valuables they had borrowed from the Egyptians, and provisions for the way – dough that was baked before having time to rise – the Israelites left Egypt at midday of the fifteenth of Nissan. This Aliya concludes with some more rules that pertain to the Paschal Offering.

The period of Egyptian “Slavery” is given as 400 years and as 430 years. An interesting Drash on the extra 30 years is that it corresponds to 210 years of Egyptian slavery where they were not granted rest on Shabbat. A reasonable master would allow his slaves one day a week off, but Paroh was excessively oppressive, not allowing the Jews to rest even one day. These extra 30 years of Shabbatot are acknowledged by G-d, so to speak, by being added to the total, and by being featured in the Jews’ new code of law.

Aliya Summary: Moshe gathers the elders of the People and relays G-d’s instructions. He also tells them that when the People get to Israel, they will continue to commemorate the events of the Exodus, with questions and answers between the generations.

Not only is going into Israel part of the Promises of Redemption, but in the statement of the laws of the Pesach offering there is reference to “when you will come to the Land…”, almost like going to Israel is a law, and an inevitable fact (when, not if).

Parshat Bo contains the very first commandment the Jews received as a nation; the Mitzvah to have a first Rosh Chodesh (new month), and to mark the beginning of every month thereafter (Exodus 12:2). What makes this commandment so important for it to be the very first commandment for the Jews? Also, when describing the first month that the Jews need to acknowledge, the Torah fails to name that month. If the Torah values the months, wouldn’t it be important for the Torah to name those months, just like the Torah names important places the Jews had traveled through?

The Ramban explains that the Torah called the months as first, second and so on because the numbers refer to how many months the Jews were removed from the moment when we were established as a people. This helps focus our attention to the most important moment we had as a nation. But it also focuses us on something else; The months we now control (both in name and in timing) dictate when holidays occur, when customs are performed, and even when G-d judges us. The very first commandment is the one that empowers us. The first commandment as a nation makes us partners with G-d, because although we didn’t determine the holidays to celebrate, we do determine when they are celebrated. So every time we celebrate Rosh Chodesh, we should celebrate our partnership with G-d, and our being empowered to individually “name” the month as we, as a people, see fit!