BO_EXODUS X:1-XIII:16

God assures Moshe that Pharaoh has a “hardened” heart and therefore will not allow the exodus of the Hebrews from the country. This fact in turn will make Egypt suffer many plagues in a clear demonstration of the superiority of the God of the Hebrews over the Egyptian deities. Moreover, the extraordinary demonstration of God’s power will serve to assure the Hebrews that they need not fear their foremen, because notwithstanding the development of Egyptian culture, God is really the one who guides the destiny of humanity and with the exodus will teach future generations, about the perversity of slavery, the evil of imposing a yoke on another people.

The patriarchs were the ancestors of the Hebrew people, but the one who assumed the greatest responsibility for fashioning the nation and left his personality forever stamped on this people was Moshe, their celebrated legislator and liberator. The most striking historical events were the exodus from Egypt, the giving of the Tora at Mount Sinai, and the conquest of the Promised Land. 

Moshe starred in the first two episodes and laid the groundwork for the third episode.  What were the characteristics of Moshe’s personality? The Tora only recounts a couple of episodes from his formative years. It highlights the common denominator of his concern for the fate of others, especially the weak, and a visceral reaction to injustice. 

These characteristics are manifest when he kills the Egyptian foreman who ruthlessly beat the Hebrew slave, without taking into consideration the possible consequences to himself. He defends young shepherds who want to get water for their flocks. Where did he learn these qualities: solidarity with the persecuted and an inescapable commitment to justice? Although Moshe was breastfed by his mother (thanks to the intervention of his sister Miryam), Pharaoh’s daughter raised him and was his adoptive mother. 

In Pharaoh’s palace he learned to act and, perhaps, to think from a royal perspective, because he received the education of a prince. However, when he left the palace to inquire about the fate of the Hebrews, he did not show a characteristic of royal nobility who many a time remain unperturbed by the suffering of others. On the contrary, the nobility of his character led him to risk his personal safety in the palace when he felt it necessary to rescue a Hebrew victim.

Moshe demonstrated that at least 3 elements are required for leadership: vision, passion and compassion. The leader’s commitment to values cannot be lukewarm, half measures. Their action must be accompanied by firmness and decision. The leader must act with total dedication and passion.

In the episode of the Sne, the burning bush of the desert that was not consumed, Moshe refused at first to fulfill the task that God wanted to impose on him, because he did not believe he was prepared for the mission, he considered that he did not possess the indispensable qualities for leadership. How different is our current environment, where excessive confidence in personal skills is taught. Moshe shows modesty, because he knows that leadership is the result of the trust that others must place in the person. The Chassidim are the ones who make the leader their Rebbe.

Even in the moments of greatest difficulty, faced with the refusal of Pharaoh, who imposed greater limitations on the Hebrew slaves, by demanding from them the same number of bricks without offering the elements previously granted. Notwithstanding the different rebellions due to the discontent of the Hebrew people during the long journey through the desert, Moshe always saw clearly what the mission of the people was. His vision was never clouded.

According to Moshe’s vision, the goal was focused on the welfare of the long-suffering Hebrew people. He probably neglected his own family because his children do not figure later in any events. His actions were directed to solve the problems of the collective, his people. His vision to act was framed with passion, which in turn was accompanied by compassion and solidarity with others.

MITSVA: TORA ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 9 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 11 PROHIBITIONS

1. Exodus I2:2 Consecrate the months (includes keeping the calculation of the years and calculating the Hebrew calendar)
2. Exodus I2:6 Ritual sacrifice of the Paschal offering
3. Exodus I2:8 Eat the meat of the Passover offering (on the night of Nisan 15, first Passover Seder)
4. Exodus I2:9 Do not eat the Passover offering when cooked or insufficiently roasted
5. Exodus I2:10 Do not allow the flesh of the Passover offering until tomorrow
6. Exodus I2:15 Remove all Chamets (leavened food) from the house
7. Exodus I2:18 Eat Matsa (bread without leavening) on the first night of Passover
8. Exodus I2:19 Do not possess Chamets during Passover
9. Exodus I2:20 Do not eat foods containing Chamets during Passover
10. Exodus I2:43 Do not share the Passover offering with an apostate Jew
11. Exodus I2:45 Do not share the Passover offering with a partial convert or a Gentile resident, even if he has ceased to worship idols
12. Exodus I2:46 Passover Offering Meat should not be taken outside the house
13. Exodus I2:46 No bone may be broken from the Passover offering
14. Exodus I2:48 He who is not circumcised cannot eat of the Passover offering
15. Exodus I3:2 Sanctify the firstborn in the Land of Israel
16. Exodus I3:3 Do not eat Chamets on Passover
17. Exodus I3:7 No Chamets should be seen inside Jewish property during Passover
18. Exodus I3:8 Narrate the events of the exodus from Egypt
19. Exodus I3:13 Redeem the first-born of an donkey
20. Exodus I3:13 Strip the first-time donkey naked if it was not redeemed