top of page

Parsha Inspired Menus - Bo

tagoodquestions

As I sit down to write this post, 4 Israeli women are back with their families after 477 days of captivity and it feels timely to see the redemption of these women in the week that we turn to the

climax of the story of the redemption of our people from slavery in Egypt. As triumphant as these stories are (and if you haven't seen the photos or videos of these girls with reuniting with their parents, check them out), there's still so much worry about those still held in Gaza and questions (both political and theological) about why they had to suffer for so long before being freed. Actually, that's true of the Exodus story too. Why did it take so long for God to hear their cries and come to redeem the Israelites? I don't have the answers, but the parallels are striking. If you want to mark the return of these hostages (a total of 7 young women since the ceasefire started), consider making one of their favorite dishes shared in the Tastes Like Home project created last Purim.


Perhaps knowing that these women emerged from the darkness of the Hamas tunnels, I was particularly drawn to the 9th plague, which is in this parsha. Many years ago, my husband taught a drash about this plague, pointing out the all encompassing nature of the darkness for the Eygptians and how it could be seen as more than a literal darkness, but perhaps as an emotional

darkness, a depression. This interpretation makes sense in the progression of the plagues and feels so real and possible. To highlight this element of parsha, I am going to make something that is visually dark - Black Beans Cuban Style (I'm going to use the recipe in Spice & Spirit, but there's lots of variations so pick one that works for you!)


The other element of the text I want to highlight was pointed out to me by our youngest son. After the 10th plague, Pharoah calls for Moshe and Aaron and tells them to go out of Egypt, ending with

גַּם־צֹאנְכֶ֨ם גַּם־בְּקַרְכֶ֥ם קְח֛וּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּרְתֶּ֖ם וָלֵ֑כוּ וּבֵֽרַכְתֶּ֖ם גַּם־אֹתִֽי׃

Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.


Our son, doing a very careful read of the text (thanks ELA teachers!) was interested that Pharoah told Moshe to BLESS him. It's not really the behavior we'd expect from Pharoah given recent

events. Why this change of demeanor? Does he now acknowledge the God of Israel as more powerful than him? Have the plagues finally gotten to him?

Rashi interprets this as "Pray on my behalf that I should not die because I am a firstborn."

In the Mechilta, we read "Pray on my behalf that the punishment may desist from me,” meaning that he should no longer be punished on their account."

The Steinsaltz commentary says I can do nothing but ask that you include me in your prayers and the Etz Chayim mentions the idea that having to ask Moshe and Aaron to gain blessing on his behalf is the ultimate humbling of Pharoah. When we have this many commentaries, it usually means it's a great topic for even more discussion. What do you think is the reason? For this section, we were thinking of humble pie (which does actually exist), but then, instead, we decided to rhyme with humble and quickly got to crumble, so dessert this week is an Apple Crumble.


Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!


15 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


© 2025 by Tamar Arnowitz

bottom of page