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January 23, 2026 Making It Explicit
Dear Friends, Moving from the end of Genesis into Exodus is quite the dramatic shift. The saga of Joseph concludes, wrapping up the origin stories of our people, our matriarchs and patriarchs, and how we ended up in Egypt. In just a few paragraphs, it seems, we go from a family reunion through a few hundred years of bitter slavery under Pharaoh, from a brief moment of prosperity through praying for redemption. This week's parashat, Bo, tells of the final three plagues upon Egypt - locusts, darkness, and the death of every Egyptian first-born son. One can view these plagues upon Egypt as God's violent showdown with Pharaoh, and the Egyptian gods he represents. By contaminating, controlling, and destroying the Nile, agriculture, the ability to see each other and interact, and even the lives of the first-born males, Adonai assumes a position of supreme power over all of the earth's creatures, not just the Israelites. We know this because we are frequently reminded in these passages that God has stiffened Pharaoh's heart, rendering him incapable of contrition or surrender. God is clearly sending messages to both God's people and Pharaoh's. Even after the decree of this last horrible plague, God says to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, in order that My marvels may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” As God sends the Angel of Death to strike down the first-born Egyptian sons, the Israelites are commanded to take the blood of the paschal lamb sacrifice, and paint it on their lintels and doorposts. But if God is truly omniscient - as the God of Torah is - and knows clearly where the different people reside, why is there a need for this bloody paint job to mark which homes are to be spared? Doesn't God know without the macabre decorations? A commentary from Rashi sheds light on this question, referencing a midrash in Mekhilta: "But surely everything is manifest to [God] and [God] therefore did not need to look whether the blood had been put on the door-posts? But the meaning is: God says, 'I will set My eye (my attention) to take notice of the fact that you are engaged in the performance of My commands — then will I pass over you.' I think this is very powerful. Sometimes we know things, we feel things, we understand things, without the need to actualize or articulate them. Sometimes we assume these feelings to be known and understood by those around us. Sometimes we are mistaken in those assumptions, and words and deeds are needed to accompany what is clear to us in our hearts and souls. Other times, even if the sentiments are understood, they take on such a greater significance when coupled with concrete action, with demonstration of the love and devotion we feel so completely within us. Here, God knows where our people are. And God hopes that the people believe in God, ready to do what God commands in order to achieve their redemption and freedom. And yet, God asks that the people act. God demands that the people "show" and not just "tell." God wants to see, and know, that the people are with God, and words alone will not suffice. Engaging in a physical, tangible ritual signals partnership and loyalty that will ultimately be much more meaningful, both to God and to the people themselves. Perhaps this can inspire us to share, in words and deeds, the feelings of love, dedication, devotion within our hearts. Perhaps this helps us understand that externalizing what we feel within, and actualizing the metaphysical into the physical, brings greater intimacy and deeper understanding of the ties that bind us together. Perhaps this is why our ancestors heeded God's call - not merely to be compliant with God's command, but even more so, to say to God, in concrete action, Hinenu, "we are here. We are with You. In word and deed." Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Joshua Strom
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