Parashat Bo 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Parashat Bo continues the story of the Exodus, beginning with the description of the last of the plagues: locusts, then darkness; both times Pharaoh agrees to let them go, and once again changes his mind. Finally, there is the death of the firstborn. God instructs the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts; for 7 days they are to eat unleavened bread.
In the haftarah Jeremiah issues 2 prophecies of doom against Egypt, predicting its downfall at the hands of the Babylonian King Nebuchednezzar. Egypt will be punished for having enslaved Israel. These messages are followed by 2 messages containing the promise that Israel will be released from Babylonian captivity.

The Torah portion and haftarah are connected B’yachad very strongly by language. The name of the parashah, Bo, comes from the verb lavo, to come. This same verb appears in various forms 5 times in the haftarah (lavo in verse 13; yavo, it will come, v. 18; ba, comes, twice, v. 20 and again in v. 21; ba-u, they come, v. 22). There is also a homonym, bo (spelled with a vav instead of an aleph), meaning “on him”, appearing in verse 25.

The first plague in the parashah is locusts; the enemy in the haftarah is described as coming down like locusts (v. 23).

Finally, and most importantly, in the parashah, God finally exacts punishment on the Pharaoh of Egypt for refusing to let the people of Israel go free, demonstrating very vividly Hashem’s power and authority over the gods of Egypt; in the haftarah, Jeremiah foretells that the God of Israel will inflict punishment “on Pharaoh—on Egypt, her gods and her kings…” (v. 25) The prophet speaks of the end of Egypt’s reign.

Reading the parashah and the haftarah together delivers a powerful message: ours is a God who keeps promises.