Parashas Bo

This weeks Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Rachamim ben Adina
(If you would like to sponsor next weeks Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)

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When I was about ten years old, my brother told me, "Nisso, come outside, we are making a mini bonfire." I thought to myself, "What, are you crazy?! We live in Brooklyn, the cops will arrest us!" (We lived a block away from the 61st precinct.)When I got outside, I saw my brother, and a couple other people throwing their 'breads' into a small fire. My brother gave me a few pieces and said, "come, do the mitzva of burning bread." Two things entered my mind: 1) How long will it take before we get arrested by the cops; and 2) I was embarrassed to perform this mitzvah because of what the non-Jews would think about us. I asked him, "Why are you doing this in the front yard? Let's bring it over to the backyard, where nobody can see us." He told me "There's no reason to be embarrassed to do Hashem's mitzvos. We should be proud to be Jewish, and perform Hashem's commandments with happiness, not self-consciousness!"

Parashas Bo starts with the eighth plague, Locusts; followed by the ninth plague, Darkness; and then the tenth plague, Slaying of the first-born.

Before the tenth plague (on the first day of Nissan,) Hashem commanded that we offer a Pesach Sacrifice, and observe Pesach for all generations. His instructions were, "On the tenth day of Nissan, the heads of each house-hold were to take a male-lamb with no blemishes, in it's first year. He shall tie it to his bedpost for four days, and examine it to make sure it is fit for sacrificing. In the afternoon of the fourteenth (of Nissan,) it should be slaughtered as a Pesach offering. You should take its blood, and smear it on the side of the door post, and the lintels..."

Hashem specifically asked for a lamb to be slaughtered, because it was a test for the Jewish people. The Egyptians worshiped and prayed to sheep, thinking they were G-d. It was a big risk, taking the sheep, and tying it to the bedposts for four days, slaughtering it and then roasting it for all to see. Hashem said to Moshe, "I swear the Jews will not leave the land of Egypt unless they first slaughter the gods of Egypt, demonstrating the helplessness of the deities of the nations." The Egyptians felt powerless to take action. [Shemos Rabba 16:3]

A lesson derived from this week's parasha: The Jews proved [to Hashem] that it wasn't the Egyptians they feared, rather it was Hashem. They performed His commandment as He instructed us. They did the mitzvah with pride and joy, as they also walked through the (splitting) sea, singing "Az Yashir" (in next week's parasha). All the nations heard of this miraculous event, and witnessed it.

The next time you feel self-conscious about performing a mitzvah, or worried about what the other nations will think, direct your thoughts to this weeks parasha. We slaughtered the Egyptian's gods, not caring what they would think about us. It was a commandment given by Hashem, the One and Only G-d. Therefore, there's no reason to be embarrassed to do Hashem's mitzvos. We should be proud to be Jewish, and perform Hashem's commandments with happiness, not self-consciousness!

Thank you for reading,

Nisso