for Parshat Bo
i
Moses tells Pharaoh that the people must bring an array of animals for the sacrifice for the great celebration to God.
And Moses says that Pharaoh, too, must send animals along.
Because no one will know what God wants from them until the celebration comes.
Perhaps God could even ask for Pharaoh’s animal.
ii
Pharaoh refuses to let the people celebrate.
Soon after, God commands the specific animal and the specific manner of offering that He wants in the celebration that will happen, in spite of Pharaoh.
And God stipulates that only Israelites may participate.
iii
This celebration was to be for everyone—Israel, Egypt; and it was to be spontaneous; it was to be like the worldly religions.
But Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, the worldliest of nations, rejects his part.
Then it is guided by rules, and is for Israel alone. It becomes like the Judaism we know.
Pharaoh loses his role in the religion of God.
iii
Of the many things one could take from this, I will offer only thought:
We all reject our roles, all the time.
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This reading utilizes an ambiguity in Exodus 21:24-27; I leave it to readers to decide if it’s a forced reading. And, of course, I don’t know how rule-bound ancient Egyptian religion actually was. So I offer this week’s thought as a “vort,” if nothing else.
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Shabbat Shalom,
Abe
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