"Yisrael, My Firstborn Son."

This week’s Parashah, Bo, is another stirring chapter in the saga of the Exodus from Egypt. It details the last three of the ten plagues that were poured upon the Egyptians.

Of special interest in the tenth plague the smiting of the firstborn son of every Egyptian family. It is, the Torah tells us, the last straw which prompted Pharaoh to let the Yisraelites go.

A bird’s eye view of the host of plagues reveals that the tenth plague was different from its predecessors. Firstly, it is already hinted at before Moshe was to meet Pharaoh when G-d sent this message to him in Shemot 4:23-24 : “Yisrael is my firstborn son, and I told you, Let my son go, so he may worship me.” In other words, the confrontation will reach its pinnacle when it will be Pharaoh’s first-born son against G-d’s first-born son, Am Yisrael.

Secondly, the tenth plague does not bear the usual structure of the previous nine plagues. There was no warning. There is no description of the plague and unlike the others, Pharaoh did not protest or request that it be removed. Instead, Moshe presents him with a fact: “About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die….” (Shemot 11:4).

Were the same sequence of the other plagues to follow, we could expect the next part to describe the plague. Instead, the next section Shemot 12:2 starts with the following: “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of the year.” This segment includes the commandment of the Passover sacrifice as well as the laws associated with this Holy Day and as part of these laws comes the description of the forthcoming tenth plague: “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.” (Shemot 12:12). What connects the two is the commandment to slaughter the Passover sacrifice and the decree to smear its blood on the doorposts of the Yisraelites so that G-d could pass over the homes of the Yisraelites and spare their firstborn.

A very brief description of the tenth plague is given in two verses (Exodus 12:29-30) “ At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.” One might ask, why was there a need for the blood on the doorposts? After all, G-d would know which homes belongs to the Yisraelites and which to the Egyptians.
The answer has to do with the unique nature of the tenth plague. While the plague was aimed at hurting the Egyptians, it is also the one that brought about the release of Am Yisrael from the House of Bondage. Surely, G-d could have picked other ways to reach that result. It seems that in this plague did not only subjugate the Egyptians, it was also meant to put the Yisraelites through the test.

The commandment to engage in the Passover sacrifice forced Am Yisrael to employ another Mitzvah, that of Brit Milah or circumcision. Shemot 12:48 forbids uncircumcised males from partaking in the Passover sacrifice: “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat it.”

It seems that the Torah is more interested in stressing the passing over the homes of the Yisraelites and turning the tenth plague into an instructive experience for them than on killing the firstborn of the Egyptians. Hence the little attention the text gives to describing that plague. Rather, its main concern is in ensuring that the Yisraelites understand the Passover laws, internalize them and live the unique role that G-d has assigned to them to be “My firstborn son Yisrael.”

Shabbat Shalom

Asking the Right Questions

This article was written in Hebrew by Tal Gilad and translated into English by Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks

Listen and listen well’ you inquisitors, naggers, serial “insultees,“ head hunters, lynch pursuers and KGB operatives of the politically correct.

We are fed up, so fed up with you.

Let is be clear, first and foremost, that I have no issues with gays, bisexuals, multisexuals, lesbians, transgenders or anyone who wishes to have breast implants on their foreheads if this is what makes them happy. As far as I am concerned, let each one do what is good for them, let them enjoy and dance as long as they hurt no one. I have a problem, though, with people why forbid others to speak and think.

Minister of Education Peretz responded very moderately to a provocative and rude question. He is a religious man. Is it possible not to ask him questions related to sex or sexual tendencies? There are those who do not wish to talk about sex all the time. Is it ok? Thank you. However, since you asked, what kind of an answer exactly did you expect? This is his view and it has nothing to do with his role as a Minister of Education. I am unaware of any conversion lessons introduced by him. This is his opinion as a private citizen, the question was phrased and addressed to him as a private citizen and he would not have said anything if he had not been asked in order to utter something that one could have a field trip over.

What was the big deal about it?
“And if one of your children will display a different sexual tendency?”
“My children grew up in a natural and healthy way.”

Wow is me, just horrible, how can a religious man hint that in his view to be heterosexual  is to be normal. The sticker song – to fire, annihilate,  remove,  throw out,  banish, destroy, kick out, insult attach to a pole with a sign that reads:
“ I am a backward person who believes that a family is a mother and father.” Rotten eggs and tomatoes straight to his face.

But try to understand something even deeper, robots of the thought dictatorship. When you ask a person about his children, he does not think about virtual collective of children, the kind you imagine in your progressive eyes that are in constant search of all-think-together. He sees in front of his eyes “his” children.

His children are the apple of his eye; they are the most important thing in his life. He raised them according to his values and world view, raised them, watched over them against any danger and was ready to sacrifice his life for them. As far as he is concerned, they are the purest thing on earth.

One does not ask a father, a religious father, questions the deal with the sexual tendencies of his children. This is impertinence, unlike any other, discourtesy, insensitivity, disrespect, tactless and lacking basic education. Get out of people’s vein, leave their children alone. In fact, that should be considered harassment. On this, one needs to have a lesson plan, what not to ask a father and why questions which start with “and if your child- “  and so on, are hurtful, and unnecessary. Manners before PC

No one disturbs anyone from doing what they feel like doing, how he is doing it and who with. It has been a while since anyone really cares who is gay and who is not and it does not stop them from getting ahead in any area. Involving the children on such topics stems from the same way of thinking according to which children are the property of all, their education is the respo9nsibilityh of society which needs to turn them into “thinkingwell” in the language of Orwell.

Calm down with this Pavlovic shock over each word, each breath, each thought. If I were a gay person reading the words of Minister Peretz, I would shake my head and move to the next page. What is this urgency to get offended, what is this constant need for an adrenaline shot?

Perhaps it is time that people in Peretz’s stature answer simply : ”I request that I not be asked such questions as it hurts me. However, it is easy to suggest it when we are not in the place  of some sniveling person surprises him with a provocative question in order to get his fiftee4n minutes scandal.

Time for you to recognize the right of a person “to think” differently, especially a religious one, espedcial.ly when it is expressed in re4sponse to a question that was meant exactly that and was phrased for that purpose – to find that shred of the politically incorrect in order to feed professional violently - shaken and awareness engineers.

Am Yisrael, the People destined to Eternal Life

This week’s Torah portion dwells mostly on the death of Ya’akov, his funeral and burial. It is entitled “Vayechi…” -  and he lived. 

As many know, the Torah portions generally get their name from the first word of the portion. That is the case in this week’s portion.

Considering the main subject and the content of the reading, which deals with death and the rituals associated with it why was the name “Vayechi” chosen?

And herein lies the beauty of Judaism.

“You shall choose Life,” is an inalienable principle in Judaism. Death is inevitable, as we all know. The question that we all need to ask is, “Have we lived a life to its fullest? Has it been lived and guided by a proper moral compass, padded with values, and saturated with gratitude for its gifts?”

The good work that people do in their life continues to live long after their physical death. If children internalize and imitate the good example of their parents, then their teachers, be it parents or strangers, continue to live through them.

That, dear readers, is the reason Ya’akov summoned his children to his death bed. The Torah portion tells us what he told each one of them. The Oral Torah, however, gives us an account of what happened behind the scenes.

It seemed, according to Chaza”l, that Ya’akov was worried about posterity and wanted to know if all his offspring  observe their faith and, like him, follow his belief in the G-d of Yisrael, a concern he expressed on that occasion. The Oral Tradition further tells us that his children responded by saying, “Hear oh, Yisrael, the Lord, our G-d is One.” Thas way, they confirmed and reassured Ya’akov that his G-d, the G-d of Yisrael will always be their G-d. That calmed and soothed their father who, in turn answered “Blessed be the name of His kingdom forever and ever,” (which is part of the Shema and its blessings but, interestingly enough, never appears anywhere in the Tanach). It was, so we are told, a form of relief and acknowledgement of their piety.

Ya’akov’s name, as we all remember was changed following his nocturnal struggle with a strange man. Following that encounter, he received a blessing, "Your name will no longer be Ya’akov, but Yisrael, because you have struggled with G-d and with humans and have overcome." (Genesis 32:28). He was blessed with the gift of eternity for no matter who or what his adversaries or those his descendants face are, they shall always prevail.

With Ya’akov’s children remaining devoted to his legacy and his faith, he could join his forefathers knowing that it was not merely for the sake of remembering him. It was the gift of eternity that was bestowed upon him and his progenies after him. By following the path that Ya’akov paved, his contributions, genuine and virtuous way of life and his life’s work will continue to thrive through them and eventually through us as well. His spirit will never die.

The title for this Parasha is, hence, most appropriate. Yisrael (AKA Ya’akov) will linger and continues to live among us. His legacy will guide us and light our course, in what can more than often be a world shrouded in darkness, and ensure that we continue to fulfill what we were destine to be, the People of Eternity

Shabbat Shalom.