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Our Torah portion this week, Parashat Bo, begins with the following words; "God said to Moses, 'Come to Pharoah, because I have made his heart hard and the hearts of his servants stubborn so that I can put my signs in the midst of them, and so that you may relate in the ears of your son, and your son's son, that I made a mockery of Egypt...'"
What is the message that God is sharing with Moses? When we look at these words carefully, we may find ourselves somewhat perplexed. God is sending Moses to Pharaoh because Pharaoh's heart will be hardened and he will not let the people of Israel go? If that outcome has already been established, then why is God bothering to send Moses at all? The mission is, apparently, futile and doomed for failure. Why is God putting Moses through this pointless ordeal? An answer may be found within these very verses.
God wants to give Moses a story that he can tell. God literally tells Moses, here in chapter 10, verse 2 of the book of Exodus, that He is sending Moses to this confrontation with Pharaoh, which is doomed for failure, because Moses needs to have a dramatic tale which he can recount to his own children and grandchildren.
This is the justification, perhaps even the necessity, for extending the drama of the several times repeated cycle of Moses warning Pharoah, Pharoah not relenting, the arrival of a plague, and then Pharaoh's pleading for the plague to end. It would seem that the most compelling reason for this pattern to be repeated is for the sake of the telling of the story itself.
Our Exodus is probably the most defining and discussed moment in our history (tragically, with the possible exception of the Holocaust) because it defines us as a people and unites us for all time. This story is referenced multiple times every day in our prayers and, of course, on Passover it is discussed at great length and in great detail.
The story of the Exodus from Egypt is handed down to our children, generation after generation, so that it will never be forgotten or underappreciated. May we have the privilege of keeping this story alive and passing it down to our children and grandchildren, just as Moses passed it down to his offspring.
Shabbat Shalom!
Cantor Zachary Konigsberg
[email protected]
917-696-0749
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