"Stretch forth your hand!"(Exodus 10:21) Shevat 5, 5783/January 27, 2023 We tend to picture either Moshe or Aharon raising their staff before invoking each of the ten plagues that ravaged Egypt. But, in fact, the staffs of Moshe and Aharon were only employed for the first three plagues, and only one time after that. The other plagues were simply announced by Moshe, or were brought into being via a gesture of Moshe's hand. Whereas we can attribute the first three plagues to the power that G-d invested in Aharon's staff, to what can we attribute those plagues brought on by Moshe's hand? Certainly Moshe's hand contained no special power. As powerful as his grip might have been, (after all, he held up and then threw to the ground, the two tablets of the Law), and as strong his fist might have been, (after all, he struck down and killed the Egyptian overlord), his hands possessed no special powers. His hands were no different than our hands. G-d has made it clear throughout that the ten devastating plagues are all intended to make known to Pharaoh and to his subjects, and to the world at large, that there is only One G-d, and One G-d only. But G-d is also teaching Moshe, and all mankind, the power that we all possess within our grip. Introducing the ninth and penultimate plague, that of darkness, G-d says to Moshe, "Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens that there may be darkness upon the land of Egypt, a darkness so dark that it can be felt by the hand. So Moshe stretched forth his hand toward the heavens, and there was thick darkness over the entire land of Egypt for three days. They did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days, but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.” (Exodus 10:21-23) Is Moshe's arm so long, is his hand so large, that he can reach out and blot the sun? Man, indeed, has the power to radically change his reality, his surroundings, his own being. G-d has been attempting to teach man his potential ever since He first created man. Hadn't He told Cain that "Sin crouches at the door... Yet you can be its master?” (Genesis 4:7) Hadn't G-d first implored man to "to tend to and guard" over the Garden of Eden? And who, but man, can create a darkness so thick that it envelopes our souls and keeps us, one from another, fostering the very isolation and loneliness that G-d first feared after creating man? Surely we can't redeem ourselves on our own - we need G-d's help! But so, too, G-d can't redeem us from servitude, can't bring us to the promised land, and can't cultivate a relationship with us, without our help. Life is not a spectator sport, and this is why, in order for the final and fateful plague that G-d visited upon Egypt to work, G-d needed to enlist the full participation of the Israelites. You want out of Egypt? Stand up and make it happen! G-d has shown to all and sundry that Pharaoh is no god. He is not omnipotent. He has no command over nature. He is every bit as mortal and as frail as the lowliest of his servants. But to break his hold over you, to free yourself from his spell, you need more than G-d's help. You need to help yourself! This is the message of the Passover offering. To unite together, to take into your households on the tenth of the month a beast held sacred by the Egyptians who are watching your every move, and to slaughter that lamb on the fourteenth of the month by G-d's command, in the face of an entire nation that has enslaved and oppressed you - that is how you set yourself free! For the moment that G-d witnesses your commitment to yourselves, as well as to Him, He will see to it that nothing can stop you. It was the hand of man that picked the fruit forbidden by G-d that first cast man into darkness. From the Eden to the darkness of a world of thorns and thistles, estranged from G-d's presence, it was, indeed, man, not G-d, that forced himself out of Eden and into exile. And now, by the hands of G-d's children, performing G-d's will by slaughtering the Pascal lambs, man will be sending himself out of darkness and back into light. And whereas Adam, in his shame, hid from G-d in the Garden of Eden, the Israelite households, by word of G-d, will mark their doorposts with the blood of their slaughtered lambs, declaring out loud, for G-d and for all to see - I am here! I am with you, G-d! Nor is it coincidence that the final plague was the killing of the firstborn Egyptians, "from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave woman who is behind the millstones..." (Exodus 11:5) Was it not Avraham’s firstborn, Yitzchak, whom G-d desired as an offering at Moriah? And wasn't Yitzchak spared by virtue of Avraham’s allegiance to HaShem? G-d does not forget, and the same lamb who first substituted for Yitzchak would become the sign of allegiance that would rescue the Israelites from the bitter fate of the Egyptians. How odd, following G-d's unprecedented display of awesome power and His total unravelling of the Egyptian reality, that He should turn His attention to the latent powers which He has invested in man. Yet, as we are told of man, "You have made him slightly less than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and majesty." (Psalms 8:6) G-d wants our full engagement, our total commitment. G-d wants to partner with man, in the very fullest sense of the word. He created our world and placed us within it in order to share it and perfect it. Breaking our shackles, leaving Egypt, walking away from all that enslaves us, is the first step of many to come, on the road redemption, on the path to the promised land. . |
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk as Yitzchak Reuven shares the glad tidings of the month of Shevat, describes how G-d gets real & delivers a final fatal blow to Egypt, and why freedom is not a spectator sport! We welcome in the month of Shevat, a month closely identified with the Torah, itself! Meanwhile, back in Egypt, HaShem is taking down Pharaoh for the last time, and calls upon Israel to retake their lives back, beginning with taking control over time itself, and choosing sides: either serve G-d, or stay enslaved to Pharaoh forever! |
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Things happen. Are they just coincidence, or "the finger of G-d" as Pharaoh's advisors opined? G-d, deeming mankind to be skeptical by nature, employed ten plagues, when only one would have sufficed, just to be certain that man gets the point. Bo (Exodus 10:1 - 13:16)
Parashat Bo is read on Shabbat:
Shevat 6, 5783/January 28, 2023 |
Haftara For Shabbat Parashat Bo Jeremiah Chapter 46:13-28: "The word that HaShem spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt. Proclaim it in Egypt and let it be heard in Migdol, and let it be heard in Noph and in Tahpanhes, say, 'Stand fast and prepare yourself, for the sword has devoured round about you...'" |
A Temple Mount Moment: The Levite Stairs The very spot where the Levites stood and sang the 15 Psalms of Ascension (Shirei Hama'alot), to welcome and inspire the Temple pilgrims, can still be seen today! A Temple Mount Moment is the joint project of the Temple Institute and High on the Har. Temple Mount experts and co founders of High on the Har, Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld and Rabbi Yehuda Levi present each week fascinating facts and insights about the Temple Mount and the Holy Temple, its past, present and future! |
Jews Have Indigenous Rights To The Temple Mount - Opinion By Sheree Trotter.
Anyone indoctrinated into the Palestinian narrative, an Israeli politician visiting the Temple Mount is seen as highly provocative. In what parallel universe could the visit of a Jewish politician to Judaism’s most holy site be considered controversial? |
Striking Up The Levitical Band! At the time of the performance of the daily Tamid offering, after the kohanim had thrown the limbs of the offering onto the altar fire, two kohanim would stand atop the marble table situated at the foot of the altar, (where the limbs and fats had previously been placed before being taken to the altar), and they would each be holding a silver trumpet... |
Israeli Police Pay A Visit To The Dome Of The Rock Photos were posted today on social media showing a small contingent of Israeli policemen and women entering the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim shrine (not a mosque) that is situated atop the place of the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant once rested in the first Holy Temple. No explanation as to the purpose of the police visit was published. |
When It Comes To Judaism’S Holiest Site, International Opinion Seems To Favor Religious Inequality By Rabbi Meir Y. Soloveichi. Whenever Israel’s Temple Mount is in the news, one is reminded of the old joke in which two Americans, touring England, pay a visit to Runnymede. “It was here,” the guide proclaims, “that King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, the first declaration of the rights of man, one of the important moments in the history of democracy.” One of the Americans raises his hand and asks when this occurred. “1215,” the guide responds. The American turns to his friend, holding his watch arm aloft. “It’s 12:30 now! We just missed it!” |
Makeup Of The Levitical Orchestra In The Holy Temple The Levitical choir required at least twelve singers to accompany the Temple offerings. A "band leader" presided over the choir. He held the tziltzal, a large cymbal, and sounded the symbol at the proper moment during the performance of the offerings, at which time the Levi'im (Levites) broke into song. |
New Moon Spotted In Skies Over Israel The new moon of the month of Shevat was spotted and photographed in Israel yesterday evening. Wishing all a good month! |
Israeli Flag Waving On The Temple Mount This morning a small group of Jews on the Temple Mount unfurled Israeli flags, accompanied by others singing Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem. The flag wavers were arrested and taken for investigation for doing something absolutely legal and causing no harm to anyone. Despite the change in government, Israel's policy of discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount remains unchanged. |
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Singing Along With The Levites In The Holy Temple Two comments recently posed the following question: If a non-Levite was particularly gifted in singing, could the Levites invite him to sing with them? Was there any opportunity to join under the supervision of the choir director? Are there any openings for a kohen to sing or play a musical instrument? Or only to other Levites non-priests? |
The Musical Instruments Of The Levitical Choir In The Holy Temple Five instruments were used to accompany the singing of the Levitical choir in the Holy Temple. These were the lyre, the harp, flutes, cymbals and trumpets. Other instruments could also be added to the orchestra. |
The New Month Of Shevat! Today is the first day of the new month of Shevat. Shevat falls in the middle of the winter season in the land of Israel. The 15th day of Shevat, known as Tu b'Shevat, is the new year for trees. It is one of four "new years" which are marked throughout the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar year. |
Mikdash Monday - 7 Species (Part 3) “And you shall observe the Festival of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest, and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year.” (Exodus 34:22) |
Rosh Chodesh Shevat - Chodesh Tov!
Tonight begins the new month of Shevat, the eleventh of the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar year. "My soul, bless HaShem. My G-d, You are very great, You are attired with majesty and beauty. You enwrap Yourself with light like a garment; You extend the heavens like a curtain. Who roofs His upper chambers with water; Who makes clouds His chariot, which goes on the wings of the wind. He makes winds His messengers, burning fire His ministers. He founded the earth on its foundations that it not falter to eternity. You covered the deep as [with] a garment; the waters stand on the mountains. From Your rebuke they fled; from the sound of Your thunder they hastened away..." Psalms 104:1-7) |
Shavua Tov From The Temple Mount! The number of Jewish worshipers ascending the Temple Mount continues to rise! Since the start of the Jewish New Year 4 months ago, over 16,000 Jews have ascended the Mount in purity. Tomorrow (Monday) is Rosh Chodesh Shevat, (the new month of Shevat), and large numbers of Jewish pilgrims are expected to ascend the Mount to celebrate! Shavua tov - have a very good week!_ |
Red Heifers Arrive In Israel! On Thursday, September 15, 2022, 5 PM, 5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA. A modest ceremony was held at the unloading bay of the cargo terminal at Ben Gurion airport, where the new arrivals were greeted and speeches were made by the incredible people who have put their hearts and souls and means into making this historic/prophetic day become a reality. |
5 Red Heifers Enjoying Life in Israel The 5 red heifers that were flown to Israel one month ago from Texas, via Kennedy Airport, are currently enjoying their lives in Israel. After spending 10 days in quarantine they are now living peacefully on a farm in Israel's Galilee region. |
Blessings from the holy city of Jerusalem!
Yitzchak Reuven
The Temple Institute |
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