Parsha Bo Part 1
The first plagues were
nuisances to the Egyptians. However, the beasts started to eat the source of
meat and plowing via oxen of the Egyptians. Then more animals died in the “Dever”
black plague and finally in the hail that killed servants and beasts. With the
loss of crops in the plague of hail the economy was is tatters but still the
wheat and the spelt gave the Egyptians still hope.
10:1 And
the LORD said unto Moses: 'Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart,
and the heart of his servants, that I might show these My signs in the midst of
them;
I know that you will be
rejected by the Egyptians but this will make for generations a Kid
2 and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy
son, and of thy son's son, what I have wrought upon Egypt, and My signs which I
have done among them; that ye may know that I am the LORD.'
I could have freed
Yisrael in one plague, but I want you to tell the story to your son and your
son’s son for all generations.
3 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and
said unto him: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: How long wilt thou
refuse to humble thyself before Me? let My people go, that they may serve
Me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let My people go, behold, to-morrow will
I bring locusts into thy border; 5 and they shall cover the face of
the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the
residue of that which is escaped, which remains unto you from the hail, and
shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field; 6 and thy
houses shall be filled, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of
all the Egyptians; as neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen,
since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day.' And he turned, and
went out from Pharaoh.
This plague they were
warned but plagues 3, 6 and 9 came by themselves without warning.
7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him: 'How long
shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD
their God, know thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?' 8 And Moses
and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them: 'Go, serve
the LORD your God; but who are they that shall go?' 9 And Moses said:
'We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our
daughters, with our flocks and with our herds we will go; for we must hold a
feast unto the LORD.' 10 And he said unto them: 'So be the LORD with
you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; see ye that evil is before
your face. 11 Not so; go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for
that is what ye desire.' And they were driven out from Pharaoh's
presence.
Only the men shall go
but not the women, children, flocks and herds.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch out thy
hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the
land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath
left.' 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt,
and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all the
night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
Now Egypt is getting the
plague full force and they are eating everything from within the borders of
Egypt but not Libya or Sudan thus ending a long border dispute with Sudan.
14 And the locusts went up over all the land of
Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt; very grievous were they; before
them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be
such. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the
land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit
of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing,
either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
Everything was darkened
and filled with locusts and nothing was left for man or cattle except in the
land of Goshen.
16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in
haste; and he said: 'I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against
you. 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once,
and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death
only.'
Pharaoh knows that he
has sinned against the L-RD G-D.
18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the
LORD. 19 And the LORD turned an exceeding strong west wind, which
took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea; there remained not one
locust in all the border of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's
heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
But as soon as the
danger ends he has his heart hardened.
21 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch out thy
hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even
darkness which may be felt.' 22 And Moses stretched forth his hand
toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three
days; 23 they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place
for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their
dwellings. 24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said: 'Go ye, serve
the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed; let your little ones
also go with you.' 25 And Moses said: 'Thou must also give into our
hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our
God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be
left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know
not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.'
Pharaoh knows that if he
withholds the flocks and herds that the slaves must return.
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he
would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him: 'Get thee from
me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou see my face
thou shalt die.'
If you come into my presence again, you will die.
29 And Moses said: 'Thou hast spoken well; I will
see thy face again no more.'
Very well, you will get
your wish and not see me again but you will come begging us to leave.
11:1 And the LORD said
unto Moses: 'Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt;
afterwards he will let you go hence; when he shall let you go, he shall surely
thrust you out hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of the
people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her
neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.' 3 And the LORD gave
the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was
very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the
sight of the people.
The Egyptians are so
scared of the L-RD that they willing give their jewelry to the Bnei Yisrael so
that they might live.
4 And Moses said: 'Thus saith the
LORD: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; 5 and all
the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh
that sits upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is
behind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle. 6 And there shall
be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none
like it, nor shall be like it any more.
Why about Midnight
because the absolute clock and the clocks and hour glasses of men are different
so if man errs it is approx.
7 But against any of the children
of Israel shall not a dog whet his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may
know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and
Israel. 8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow
down unto me, saying: Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and
after that I will go out.' And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
For not whetting their
tongues dogs are given something of value to them and valueless to the
Bnei-Yisrael and that is a Nevaila.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses:
'Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; that My wonders may be multiplied in the
land of Egypt.' 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before
Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children
of Israel go out of his land.
So as terrifying the
darkness that came out of Gehenna was, Pharaoh did not let the Bnei Yisrael
go.
12:1 And
the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
saying: 2 'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it
shall be the first month of the year to you.
If you recall the first
Rashi in Beresheis this is the real point where the Torah starts for Am Yisrael
for now we are a nation. G-D teaches Moshe to calculate the calendar with leap
months.
3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel,
saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a
lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household;
Although a Rabbi never
stops working, I took off this week a beautiful working vacation and since Tuesday
I delayed writing commentary on Chapter’s 12 and 13.
The Vacation
This week I took some
time off. My wife had injured herself two weeks ago by dislocating a shoulder
in a bathtub fall. We went on a planned vacation to the dead sea. She inside
the heated pool and in the mild weather we were having with water temperatures 22C
or
71.6F.
I
got to walk at least 6000 steps on the flat surface daily and managed to sit in
a tub like area near an iron bar for getting up as I have not received
permission from my cardiologist to try to swim.
The
Atmosphere was refreshing. It was almost like visiting FL for quiet but I had
the constant Israeli News and the leftwing propaganda.
The
Elites like a man named Olmert owning a start-up company and a woman who spoke
at the leftist rally worth hundreds of millions were saying that investors
would leave Israel if the Judicial System Changed.
I
don’t like it when people starting to tell me an organic fertilizer story. How
many of you own stock in China? Maybe your retirement fund has shares of
Exxon-Mobil from Saudi-Government? When you put your money in the retirement
fund did you do so to make money or worry about not investing in Alibaba and
other Chinese Stocks because of their Justice System.
In
short, there will always be a BDS from the children of Esav and perhaps
Yishmael. What disturbed me this week was the lies from the Israeli Left trying
to spread panic or lower the Hi-Tech Salaries for their own profits.
As
for me the Torah is Truth and I prefer a non-profit Prophet like those in the Tanach
vs. the characters with an agenda.
In the rocking chair
by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles
http://ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=1311-18
Joshua [Dr. Yehoshua Ritchie] and I [his wife, Liliane] were
privileged to hear the extraordinary story of a special friend, who had surreal
interactions with Baba Sali.
Do you think angels are ethereal beings that are very rarely seen
in our world? I have known angels in human form - they are the gentlest, most
humble, deep, loving and caring human beings ever encountered in our busy,
anxious, pragmatic world. Perhaps you have also met some, without realizing who
they were.
I was fortunate to meet one of these angelic beings a number of
years ago in Los Angeles. We both felt blessed with an immediate connection. A
beautiful woman in every way, Rifka [not her real name] radiates an aura of
grace, kindness and beauty. Her voice is melodious and comforting, her words filled
with sparkling, inspired, unique healing thoughts and ideas. Her laugher is
catchy, communicating a joyful lightness of spirit. In her company, life seems
like an exciting adventure filled with potential yet to be discovered.
Before we met, life had not been easy for her. She had learned to
survive an abusive husband, had given birth to five children, divorced and,
being strong and courageous, she lovingly raised her children on her own until
they were grown. Then a spiritual awakening turned her life around. She focused
in her search for what is the loftiest, purest, loving and meaningful purpose
in her life.
With our help and encouragement as well as of a soul brother who
was going through a similar spiritual process, she began to draw closer to her
Jewish spiritual roots. Loving to read about our great tzadikim (holy
spiritual masters), Rifka felt especially drawn to the revered father ["Baba"]
of Sephardic Jewry, the Baba Sali.
Unexpectedly, to Rifka's delight, people began to bring her
photographs of Baba Sali, even though they knew nothing about the deepening
soul connection with him that she felt. And more photographs kept coming her
way from different sources.
Rifka came to settle here in Jerusalem alone with $450 in her
pocket, her entire savings. She was welcomed at the family home of our son
David and wife Natanella. Roaming about Jerusalem, she was thrilled and awed by
the holiness of the atmosphere of this city.
When Rifka's money had dwindled down to $20, she gave it away to
someone who seemed to need it more than her. The next day, an unexpected check
arrived for her in the mail for $20.
As soon as she could, Rifka took the bus with her spiritual soul
brother to the desert town of Netivot to meet with Baba Sali. When she arrived
at his home, she was quite disappointed to hear that he does not see women at
any time. Her soul brother reassured her that Baba Sali was just as effective
in his connection and blessings towards women when he received their written
request. So Rifka wrote down her request, gave it to the gabbai (personal
attendant) and took a seat in the waiting room.
There, she began to enjoy listening to the stories of the other
people in the room. She was fascinated to hear of the healings which had
occurred for them after they had connected with their holy master Baba Sali.
At one point, she asked for directions to the bathroom and walked
her way through some meandering corridors. Suddenly, she saw an open door,
peeked inside -- and there was Baba Sali [whom she recognized from her photos,]
sitting in deep meditative study, waiting for the next person who needed his
blessing.
Rifka just stood there transfixed, hardly daring to look at him.
How long? It seemed a moment touching eternity. Then someone came bustling
about and re-directed her to the bathroom.
Thereafter, Rifka felt that Baba Sali knew who she was, that he had
directed her to him so that she wouldn't be too disappointed at not being able
to see him in person.
A few days after receiving Baba Sali's blessings, two of them were
fulfilled when Rifka found a small apartment in the Jewish Quarter of
Jerusalem, as well as work as a caterer for a yeshivah. She
couldn't bear to give less than quality meals for the students, even though
there was very little funding from the Yeshivah. She even went into debt buying
the right kind of food for them.
Aside from that, her kitchen was open to many young spiritually
searching souls wandering through Jerusalem. Whomever she touched was uplifted
and comforted.
In the meantime, the beloved master of loving kindness, [divine
inspiration and Torah scholarship,] Baba Sali, left this world in 1984. Many
hundreds of thousands of Jews mourned his departure. He had been fasting most
of his life, yet he lived until 94[1] years of age. He left behind an
awesome legacy: his radiance of loving kindness, of powerful strength,
humility, purity, clarity and wisdom, through his ceaseless, absolutely
committed devotion to God and man. The countless miracles he engendered
throughout his life were uplifting and strengthening the entire nation in many
ways.
Almost a year later, as Rifka was returning home from an errand,
she found her helper, a simple, humble and devoted man who was doing the food
shopping for her, standing there looking a bit bewildered.
"Rifka," he said empathically, "you really should
lock your door."
"Why?" she responded. "There is nothing much here
worth stealing. Besides, somebody might need a place to eat and rest."
"Nevertheless, I really think you should lock your door."
"Why?"
"I found someone sitting here in your rocking chair."
"So?"
"He was an old man, all dressed in white."
"That doesn't surprise me. There are all kinds of mystical
souls roaming around here. You don't need to be worried."
Rifka's helper looked pensive and awed. He didn't say any more.
A few days later, Rifka was invited to attend a Hilulah (celebration:
[to honor] ) {It
is the Sephardic Word for Yahrzeit used for great late Rabbis} Baba Sali. Rifka brought her humble helper along. When they
arrived at the home that was hosting the celebration they saw a portrait of
Baba Sali hanging on the wall at the entrance. The moment Rifka's helper looked
at the portrait, he pointed to it. "That's him! The old man who was
sitting in your rocking chair just a few days ago! That's him!"
Why wasn't Rifka privileged to see Baba Sali herself? My guess is
that Baba Sali knew that if he would appear to her, she would have fainted on
the spot! So, he chose to appear to someone else and through this he was able
to relay the message that he was with her, very much aware of the holy work she
was doing.
Soon after, Rifka found her soul mate, a physician. She and her
beloved husband now [2014?] live in a beautiful home in Jerusalem. Rifka works
as a counselor at. Refuah Institute [see 'Source note' below]. How could it be
otherwise? She counsels from a loving heart, a high spiritual vision, and a
soul-healing inner strength.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source: Excerpted and adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from a longer,
sweeter article by Mrs. Liliane Ritchie published on JewishOutlook.com in 2014.
Dr. Joshua Ritchie is the founder and director of the Refuah Institute in
Jerusalem, a non-profit orthodox-Jewish center which provides training in
therapy techniques, life-coaching, marriage and youth counselling based within
the Jewish halacha. - Wikipedia
His wife, Liliane--a talented artist, mother of their 5 children, a counselor,
teacher and author--assists in all the Refuah projects. - Aish.com.
Biographical note:
Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira [1890 - 4 Shvat 1984] known as Baba Sali, was born in
Tafilalet Morocco, to one of Jewry's most illustrious families. From a young
age he was renowned as a sage, miracle maker and master kabbalist. In 1964 he
moved to Eretz Yisrael, eventually settling in 1970 in the Southern development
town he made famous, Netivot, and where, since 1984, his tomb has become one of
Israel's most visited pilgrimage sites. A number of collections of stories
featuring him have been published, including at least two in English.
Connection: Thursday (Jan. 23), 4 Shvat on the Jewish calendar, is the
hilulah-yahrzeit of Baba Sali
Footnote:
[1] Mrs. Ritchie wrote "105," but I changed it in accord with the
most widely accepted opinion. - y.t.
Milestone: Grigory Kanovich, 93, defied the Soviet Union to tell the
story of Lithuanian Jewry. https://www.timesofisrael.com/grigory-kanovich-award-winning-author-who-chronicled-lithuanian-jewry-dies-at-93/
Inyanay Diyoma
Youth terror attack averted. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366267
7year old was shot inside her
porch. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366240
Deri dismissed but becomes
observer-advisor to cabinet like the head of the Shin-Bet and COS. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366286
Antisemitism in England. https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/01/20/you-are-vermin-londons-orthodox-jews-targeted-in-latest-wave-of-antisemitic-hate-crimes/
Biden’s pressure causes evacuation
of illegal Jewish Settlement. https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/01/20/west-bank-evacuation-of-illegal-outpost-sows-discord-within-israels-coalition/
Terrorists shoot at IDF Post. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366248
An
attempt of the legal community to take over the government foiled. It took 4
days for Lapid Appointed AG to answer. https://www.timesofisrael.com/coalition-warns-ag-any-move-to-suspend-netanyahu-akin-to-coup-she-denies-weighing-it/
A Houston,
Texas woman
is being prosecuted after allegedly repeatedly breaking into and terrorizing a
synagogue. Member of the Christian Missionary Group “Jews for Jesus”. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-729288
A slight curbing of antisemitism. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366373
Ben Shapiro defends Netanyahu.
Israeli Courts are self-serving dictatorships. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366373
Wall Street Journal is for Israeli Judicial Reform. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366250
Former US President Donald Trump is preparing to return to Twitter
for his upcoming presidential campaign and ditch his own social media platform
Truth Social, Rolling
Stone reports. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366355
1000 soldiers forced to listen to a
homosexual lecture. Soldiers
from Unit 8200, an IDF Intelligence Corps unit, were ordered today (Monday) to
listen to a lecture by one of the unit's soldiers who told the story of his
coming out of the closet as an LGBTQ person as part of a program to combat
sexual harassment. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366348
Metula residents are being blinded
by Hezballah Lasers. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366350
US-Israel start massive war games
against Iran. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-us-kick-off-massive-war-games-in-apparent-message-to-iran/
Bill to ban Chametz in hospitals on
Pesach submitted. https://www.timesofisrael.com/utj-submits-bill-to-ban-hametz-from-hospitals-during-passover/
Buzz Aldrin, 93, marries for the 4th
time a 63year old. https://www.timesofisrael.com/turning-93-buzz-aldrin-marries-longtime-girlfriend/
Sign of Moshiach? In 2009 the earth’s inner core came to a halt and started
reversing direction. https://www.jpost.com/science/article-729416
Netanyahu over-rides Minister and
desecration of Shabbos will continue. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-729308
Jewish “Kennedys” saved 200,000 WWII
Jews and delayed Iranian Nukes. https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-jewish-kennedys-helped-save-200000-jews-in-wwii-and-delayed-iranian-nukes/
More and more classified Docs. Found
at Biden’s Home. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366257
Settlers criticize elected
government. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366243
Iranian Currency falls to new low. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366246
US may help Ukraine strike Korea. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-728980
Iranian Guards Office found in
Jewish Section of London. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366238
Russia shoots and kills armed
deserter. https://www.jpost.com/international/article-728883
The terrorists killed today planned
a major attack in Israel. They were told to surrender at the last day before
the attack. 30 terror attacks have happened since and we may get a rocket or
more from Gaza. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366505
9Shachidim in Jenin as they fight
the IDF with booby traps and gerenades. https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-killed-in-clashes-between-gunmen-and-idf-soldiers-in-jenin/
Drivers removed from motorcade to be
reinstated.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366489
Fabrics pre-Marco Polo from the far
east found. https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-728990
IAF fighter jets early Friday morning targeted an underground
rocket manufacturing site belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in
Maghazi in the central Gaza Strip. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366528
US military carried out an operation that killed a senior Islamic
State (ISIS) leader in northern Somalia plus about 10. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366529
IDF publishes aero photos of roof terrorists.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366523
NYC Teens set man’s hair afire and
attack meteorologist. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366544
CIA Chief visits Israel and PLO. https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-escalation-cia-chief-said-visiting-israel-west-bank/
2nd woman has charges
dropped that she spied for Iran. https://www.timesofisrael.com/charges-dropped-against-2nd-woman-accused-of-contact-with-iranian-spy/
FB to reinstate Donald Trump after 2
years. https://www.timesofisrael.com/meta-to-reinstate-donald-trump-to-facebook-instagram-after-two-year-ban/
Worker dies in construction
accident. https://www.timesofisrael.com/construction-worker-killed-by-collapsing-wall-in-bnei-brak/
Have a healthy, peaceful
and wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
