by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2024 | Bo
In our fast-paced modern world, where the deluge of information and the constant demand for productivity can often lead to a disconnect between thought and action, the ancient Jewish ritual of donning phylacteries, or tefillin, offers a profound insight into the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 16, 2024 | Antisemitism, Bo, Light Unto the Nations
The Torah portion of Bo (Exodus 10:1–13:16) tells of the final three plagues visited upon the Egyptians before the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah notes that during the ninth plague of darkness, while the Egyptians could not see one another or move around, “all the...
by Rabbi Elie Mischel | f 22, 2023 | Bo, Zechariah
Before Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) became the chief rabbi of pre-State Israel, he served as the rabbi of Boisk, Latvia. On the holiday of Purim, 1897, Rabbi Kook sat together with some of the young men who were students in his religious school and shared...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 8, 2023 | Bo
The portion of Bo is packed with both action and laws. We learn of the last three plagues suffered by the Egyptians, as well as the eponymous Exodus itself. In addition, we are given the laws of Passover, both as they were observed that first time and as they are...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2023 | Bo, Nisan
By Chaim Barzel “God said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:1-2) This first month of the Hebrew calendar is now known as Nisan...
by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki | f 26, 2023 | Bo, Light Unto the Nations
The opening verses of Exodus 12 introduce God’s instructions to the children of Israel regarding the preparations for the Passover lamb. God begins his words to Moses by telling him that the month in which the Exodus falls shall forever be known as the first month....
