Torah Commentary Bo 5774

A Taste of Torah

A commentary by Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz, director of Israel Programs, Torah from JTS The Rabbinical School, JTS.

Out of the Darkness, into the Light Bo 5774

As Parashat Bo opens, the intransigence of Pharaoh increases as well as the determination of God, Moses, and Aaron. Pharaoh’s heart ossifies, and God brings the wrath of the final plagues upon the Egyptians. And although it is the death of the firstborn that brings Pharaoh PARASHAH COMMENTARY to the cathartic release of the Israelites, the penultimate plague of darkness is a profound turning point as the Israelites near their freedom. The moment reminds one of the creation This week’s commentary was written by Rabbi Mordecai Schwartz, assistant of the world, when God initially separates light from darkness. How fitting it is that this sym‐ professor Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS. bol comes into play as the Israelite nation is born. A tangible darkness blankets the Egyp‐ The Many Languages of Torah tians in chaos as the Israelites “enjoy light in their dwellings” (Exod. 10:23). Ostensibly, since the Egyptians cast the Israelites into the darkness of enslavement, Pharaoh and his country‐ Sometimes basic questions are the hardest to answer. For example, I know men now become the victims of their own ruse. They are now enslaved to and imprisoned that one plus one equals two, but when asked to prove it logically, I may by darkness. How may we understand Israelite illumination in the midst of Egyptian dark‐ ness? struggle a bit before I can express it. Here’s another question that you can use to throw rabbis for a loop: “what is the Torah?” Professor Ze’ev Falk sheds his on light on this plague as he explains, At first blush, this seems like an easy one. The Torah is the Five Books of The motif of light, that shone upon Israel during the plague of darkness, symbolizes the righteousness of Israel juxtaposed to the evil of Egypt . . . This same theme re‐ Moses. But what are they? What are they trying to be? What is the program, peats itself in connection to the righteousness of Israel at the end of days and the the project that stands behind them? Is the Torah a law code, a book of com‐ redemption of humanity: “I will also make you a light of nations, that My salvation mandments? Is the Torah a narrative, a book of stories? Is it designed to en‐ may reach the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6), and in connection to the joy of the tertain? Or perhaps to rebuke? Or is the answer to all these questions “yes”? city of Shushan on the salvation of the Jews, “The Jews enjoyed light and gladness, Or “no”? happiness and honor” (Esther 8:16). This imagery is also employed in the descrip‐ tion of the king of Israel sitting amidst his people when King David compares a Famously, near the beginning of his commentary on the Torah, Rashi puts righteous ruler’s fear of God to light: “He who rules men justly, He who rules in awe forth a tantalizing problem. He proposes that it might have been more ap‐ of God is like the light of the morning at sunrise” (II Samuel 23:3–4). (Divrei Torah Ad Tumam, 137) propriate for the Torah to begin at Exodus chapter 12, midway through this week’s parashah, Bo. It is really only at this chapter that the Torah’s com‐ The light of the Israelites, Falk explains, reflects the righteousness of their cause; darkness is mandments begin to appear. Sefer Ha‐Hinnukh, a 13th‐century listing of the a condemnation of Egypt. Yet Falk also connects the moment of Israelite redemption to other redemptive points—light appears in the Jewish redemption of Purim and at the end of mitzvot (commandments) organized by weekly Torah reading, lists only three days. Most importantly, though, Falk cites King David’s teaching on a just ruler: namely that commandments in the entire Torah before this week’s parashah. For one who rules in awe or fear of God “is like the light of the morning at sunrise.” In Egypt, the Parashat Bo, it lists 20, all from chapter 12 on. If we assume that the Torah’s light of the Israelites shines brightly because of the injustices of the Egyptians; once the Isra‐ purpose is to be a record of God’s commandments for the people Israel, then elites leave, God challenges them to become a different kind of light. The Israelites must Genesis chapter 1 through Exodus chapter 11 seem largely unnecessary. If all create their own illuminative powers—not in relation or in comparison to darkness. Their own light must come from ruling justly and with a sense of the awe of God. Such is the only these chapters tell us to do is propagate the species, circumcise our sons, path toward eschewing darkness and creating a world in which God’s salvation may indeed and avoid eating the sciatic nerve, it may seem to us that we have a quantity “reach the ends of the earth.” of wasted time (not to mention ink and parchment) on our hands. So, it must

The publication and distribution of A Taste of Torah are made possible by a generous grant be that the Torah’s purpose is broader than presenting the commandments. from Sam and Marilee Susi. The mitzvot are a part of Torah, but Torah is not only about mitzvot.

To read more Torah from JTS, visit ww.learn.jtsa.edu To learn more about JTS, visit www.jtsa.edu Perhaps a better way to approach this question, for the moment, is to con‐ Though this kind of interruption may heighten the suspense for some read‐ sider the Torah’s narratives. Maybe we should look at the Torah primarily as ers, to me this seems to dampen the narrative flow. Just when things are a book of uplifting stories. So let’s be inspired by the stories: we follow God’s really exciting, let’s stop and recite some laws(!). creation of the world with high hopes and see a series of failures, followed by the selection of first Noah and then Abraham to carry out a divine mis‐ So, the stories are not the totality of the Torah either. Just what is this sion. Abraham’s family grows into a nation. Leaving the land God promised thing then? What is Torah? to give them, they are enslaved in Egypt. God (and Moses) frees them from I am convinced that the Torah—paraphrasing Canadian literary theorist slavery and gives them the Torah, which they seem to fail to follow. Repeat‐ Northrop Frye for a second—presents an interconnected group of impera‐ edly. Finally, they don’t quite make it to the Promised Land, and Moses dies. tives. The author of the Torah—Moses or God or Whoever—has a series of This is a strangely large number of failures for a (supposedly) uplifting book, strong values to convey. These are for Him/God/Whoever the most impor‐ not to mention that downer of an ending. tant things in the world. But the problem, as any parent knows, is that val‐ So maybe we should see it as tragic drama. There’s a bit of a problem with ues are very hard to instill using ordinary language. When I express impera‐ that too, though. From Exodus chapter 12 on, when things get really dra‐ tive values in ordinary language, it sounds stilted, trite, overly pious. No matic, the Torah will often break off the narrative to recite a long list of com‐ one will listen to that. So He/God/Whoever uses the powerful symbolic mandments. For instance, just as Israel is about to dramatically escape from language of story. But really, even this is inadequate for the task at hand. Egypt, here is the long list of commandments that consume the lion’s share So He/God/Whoever tries to do it in the powerful symbolic language of of two chapters: commandment. But, this is also inadequate for the task. The only way to get close enough is to employ both languages at once. And this gets us 1. Courts must calculate to determine when a new month begins closer to the goal. Of course, there is a third, unwritten language that To‐ 2. To slaughter the Passover lamb at the specified time rah must use to get us even closer. That we call Oral Torah—but that is a 3. To eat the Passover lamb with matzah and maror on the night of the matter for another time. 14th of Nisan 4. Not to eat the Passover meat raw or boiled May we find in the languages of the Torah the liberation that the Children 5. Not to leave any meat from the Passover lamb over until morning of Israel found at the splitting of the sea. And may we sing a new song to‐ 6. To destroy all leavened bread on the 14th of Nisan gether.

7. To eat matzah on the first night of Passover The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible 8. Not to find hametz in your domain seven days by a generous grant from Rita Dee and Harold (z”l) Hassenfeld. 9. Not to eat mixtures containing hametz all seven days of Passover 10. An apostate must not eat from the Passover lamb 11. A permanent or temporary hired worker must not eat from it 12. Not to take the paschal meat from the confines of the group 13. Not to break any bones of the Passover lamb 14. An uncircumcised male must not eat from it 15. To set aside the firstborn animals 16. Not to eat hametz all seven days of Passover 17. Not to see hametz in your domain seven days 18. To relate the Exodus from Egypt on the first night of Passover 19. To redeem the firstborn donkey by giving a lamb to a Kohen 20. To break the neck of the donkey if the owner does not intend to re‐ deem it