Announcements
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Friday, February 3
Rabbi's Message
January 27, 2023
5 Sh'vat 5783
PARASHAT BO
Exodus 10:1 - 13:16
Dear Friends,
Tehillah recently released the latest episode of Tehillah Talks (click HERE to listen), an opportunity for teens to explore where they are in their lives in relation to the Jewish tradition. Our most recent episode focused on how we navigate the next steps in our lives and how we are always in the process of formation. We discussed how there is not just one genesis moment in our lives, there are many.
This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Bo (“Come”) is found in Exodus 10:1 – 13:16. Much of the portion deals with the final 3 plagues, the first Passover, and the Exodus from Egypt. Embedded in this Torah portion, beyond the dramatic action and the beginnings of a people who are a mixed multitude, are the words that Moses uses to inspire his people.
Over and over again we are told to look to the future and how our actions today can impact the future. The future being invoked is a distant one, reminding us how our actions today matter, not just for ourselves but for the next generation. Moses speaks to that future three times.
Mitzvah of the Week
Today we observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a United Nations-designated Memorial Day observed on January 27, the date that Auschwitz was liberated in 1945.
The Jewish community traditionally observes Yom HaShoah, which typically falls in April to mark the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is a day for telling the story of the Shoah to the rest of the world, which is crucially important when so much of the world remains ignorant of it or chooses not to remember.
For example, READ THIS recent story about how little the Dutch know about the Holocaust and how it affected their country. As Jews, we are obligated to tell our story and to listen to the stories of others. In a week where Asian Americans were targeted and killed while celebrating the new lunar year, not looking away but standing together matters more than ever.
We need to tell our story and listen to the stories of others, even when those stories are painful.
Even as our story is being shared with those who do not know of it, may we listen to the stories of those around us and not turn away from their suffering, their pain, and their experiences.
