Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Practical Parasha podcast. This is Rabbi Shlemocon, and I hope you are well.
[00:00:08] It's winter vacation for the kids, and today was Daddy fun day. Thank God. It was enjoyable. It was a jumpy day. That's the only way I could say it. We took the kids.
[00:00:21] Nothing too extravagant. No Florida, no Cancun.
[00:00:26] But we decided to take the kids out for a day out with mom and dad. We decided to go to one of those trampoline parks. You know, those trampoline parks where it's really expensive to get in, but it was well worth it. We jumped with the kids all morning, and here I am today.
[00:00:47] They're still going, and I'm just falling apart. But happy to be here for this week's episode of the Practical Parsha podcast. Don't want to miss a week, want to keep it going, God willing.
[00:01:00] So, before we begin, as always, if you have any questions, comments, would like to reach out to say hello, or perhaps you have a better idea for winter vacation with the kids, send me an email. Rabbi Shlomokon kohnmail.com I'd love to hear from you.
[00:01:18] This week's Parsha is Parshas bow.
[00:01:22] And the Parsha is really a continuation from last week's Parsha in Parsha Seviera. Last week, we talked about the first seven Makos, the first seven plagues. And now in Parsha's Bow, we continue with the eighth plague of locusts, the ninth plague of darkness, and finally the tenth plague of the death of the firstborn.
[00:01:55] And in fact, this week's Parsha, uh, the Jewish people are introduced to mitzvos, to their first commandments as a nation.
[00:02:07] You have the mitzvah, uh, of Rosh Chodesh, of sanctifying the new month.
[00:02:14] You have the Karbon Pesach, the Paschal lamb, the special offering that the Jewish people are going to offer in Egypt and that they will do subsequently in every generation. We have the Mitzvah of Matzah, the commandment to eat unleavened bread as a.
[00:02:33] As a remembrance to our bondage in Egypt and also as this connection to our freedom, which we'll talk about. And also finally, in this week's Parasha, the Jewish people are going free. They are being set free. They are going out of Mitsrayim, finally, after their bondage. But they're not just going out as freed slaves. They have a status as a Jewish nation. Now. Finally, the Jewish people, after going through Mitzrayim after going through the exile of 210 years.
[00:03:06] They're not just a hodgepodge of a family. They are a people. They are the Jewish people. You know, I think about when did the Jewish people, you know, become Jews?
[00:03:18] And the answer to that is really at this point.
[00:03:24] From this point and on, when the Jewish people left Mitzrayim, we became the Jewish nation, we became a people. And really the commentaries talk to us about, you know, how we became like that.
[00:03:37] And really the answer to that is very much tied to our national experience that we went through in the land of Mitsrayim, that we went through in the land of Egypt.
[00:03:49] And really you could ask why, you know, we focus on going out of Mitsrayim, going out of Egypt, but why did God have to bring us down there in the first place? Why do you have to make us go through that experience of back breaking labor by the Egyptians where we were subjugated and went through a horrible situation?
[00:04:16] That's a, uh, you know, why just focus on the liberation. How do we get there to begin with? And I think I've talked about this previous years, but just it's always review is, is the main point sometimes. But the point is, is that Hashem put us through that because that experience that we went through, Mitzrayim, forged us into a nation.
[00:04:38] And that, that's what they refer to Mitzrayim. Mitzrayim is referred to as kur habarzel, the, the great smelting pot. That, the, through uh, that shared experience that we had as a people, it got out all the impurities and it made us into a people. And a lot of the mitzvos that we have in the Torah always take us back to our time in mitzrayim. Right?
[00:05:07] Be kind to the convert because you also were an alien in mitzrayim, right. And you know, we, there's many times that we're remembering, we have to remember our experiences of uh, where we came from as a people.
[00:05:23] And you know, you might ask, how does the experience in Egypt have anything to do with me today in 2026?
[00:05:33] That's a good question, right? It was our forefathers. But the answer is yes, it does affect you.
[00:05:40] It's in your spiritual DNA.
[00:05:44] Because the fact that our forefathers went through that experience has made you, me into a certain type of person. Has made us into a certain type of people.
[00:05:56] Right? And if you think about it, right, the Jewish people are the only people that we're still around.
[00:06:03] We're around forever. We haven't gone away.
[00:06:07] Now, obviously, Hashem, uh, has promised that we will always be here.
[00:06:11] But the experiences that he put us through are helping us ensure that we stay around, right? The certain traits that Jews have, the stubbornness, the, you know, tenacity, and I would say kindness and merciful.
[00:06:30] Right. These are traits which we didn't just get in a vacuum.
[00:06:34] It's something which we picked up from our forefathers, and it's in our spiritual DNA.
[00:06:41] I know someone who claims he's an atheist, and we always get into discussion, you know, he's Jewish, but he says he's atheist.
[00:06:54] And one of the proofs that God exists is the existence of morality, right? Because if you don't have God determining what's good and what's bad, so then, you know, there's no morality. Now, I don't want to get into this right now, the back and forth and the arguments of me and my friend Darren, but when he says we get into our back and forth, he says, I feel I'm moral. And I say, you are moral. And it's because you come from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. You come from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And the goodness that you have is not just from you. It's from your forefathers. And this is something, I think, just this idea going out of Mitzrayim and going out of Egypt, this is how it relates to each and every one of us.
[00:07:46] When we go out of Mitzrayim, we went out of Mitzrayim even though we weren't there physically.
[00:07:52] But we are experiencing the after effects of that experience because it's in us. It's in our spiritual DNA.
[00:08:04] The first idea I want to share with you today takes us to the plague of the firstborn.
[00:08:10] Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu that I'm going to strike the Egyptians one last time.
[00:08:17] And from that plague, the Jewish nation is going to be set free.
[00:08:23] A true freedom.
[00:08:26] And Moshe Rabbeinu approaches Paro and he tells him that God is going to strike the firstborns in all of the land of Mitsrayim and all of Egypt dead on a specific night at a specific time.
[00:08:48] And let's look at the verses.
[00:08:50] Vayama Moshe ko amar Hashem Kachatsos Halila Aniyotzeh Betzok Mitzrayim.
[00:08:59] Moses said so said Hashem, at about midnight, I shall go out in the midst of Egypt.
[00:09:06] The next verse continues.
[00:09:08] U meis ko bechor beretz mitzrayim I bechor Paro Hayesh al kisoi ad uh, bechor Hashiv Khashir ahar Harichaim, the Chob bechar behemoth. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. From the firstborn of Paro who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the millstone and all the firstborn of beast and the psukim. Um, go on to detail how Moshe Rabbeinu spoke to Pharaoh and told him exactly what was going to happen.
[00:09:42] Thus, the plague of the firstborns, Right? That all the Egyptian firstborns and the animals that were firstborn would die at midnight. Now, if you look at the wording of the verse, it's very interesting. It says, vayomir Moshe Koyamar Hashem kachatzos halailo aniyote besoh Mitzrayim.
[00:10:06] Moses said, so said Hashem, right? Quote, so said Hashem, at about midnight, I shall go out in the midst of Egypt. Right? What sounds funny to you in the verse?
[00:10:17] Right. God is exact.
[00:10:21] Why is he saying. Why is Moshe saying to Pharaoh that God said he's going to go out at about midnight?
[00:10:27] And the question is even stronger because if you look, uh, further on in the psukim, later on, when at with the plague of the firstborn is actually happening, the psukim read a little differently. What does it say?
[00:10:45] Vayihi bachatzi halaila vahashem hika kobechor beret mitzrayim mi bechor para yoshi vakiso ad uh, bechor ashvi asher bebeis habor uh, bechol bechor behema.
[00:10:57] It was at midnight that Hashem smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Paro sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who is in the dungeon. And every firstborn animal. So the Torah tells us clearly that God struck the Egyptians at exactly midnight.
[00:11:18] But why did Moshe Rabbeinu, uh, when he went to Paro before the plague, tell him that God said he's going to come to you at about midnight. What's going on over here? God doesn't know the exact time.
[00:11:29] Did Moshe change what G D told him to say what happened?
[00:11:35] And actually, if you look at the Rabbeinu Bachayah, he asked this question.
[00:11:40] He said, why did Moshe Rabbeinu change what Hashem told him? Right. Hashem told Moshe to warn the Egyptians about the plague of the Firstborn.
[00:11:54] And Hashem told him that he was going to come at a specific time at midnight. And Moshe Rabbeinu, Moshe went and he told Paro, he said that G D is going to come at about midnight. What happened over here? And really, this question actually is asked in the Gemara, the Talmud and Brachu states that Moshe Rabbeinu change what God told him in order that the astrologers of Paro shouldn't, um, they shouldn't make a mistake. That if he would say that God is going to come at midnight, right? Midnight was exact moment.
[00:12:35] And they were off, let's say they were off on the time of midnight. So they would say that they were incorrect. They'll say that Moshe Rabbeinu was a liar. He didn't come. God didn't come at midnight. It was off.
[00:12:48] Right? That's the answer that the Talmud gives. So Moshe Rabbein, in order to prevent these astrologers who were able to see in the stars certain things.
[00:13:00] And actually it's brought down for the first, um, two makos, they were actually able to copy with their magic with their own sorcery.
[00:13:11] But by the third Makkah of lice, they said it, they also recognized that it was Hashem. They weren't able to create that or to do some type of this sorcery because the kinim, the lice, were too small. And they said, ETZ ba Elokim, that this is the finger of God. And from that point forward, from that moment on, the astrologers of Pharaoh who were giving him advice, recognized that the makos, the plagues that were hitting the Egyptians were from Hashem.
[00:13:44] And the question that the Rabbeinu Bachayah brings down is that if these astrologers realized from the third plague and on that it was the finger of God who was creating this, why was it necessary for Moshe Rabbeinu to say kakatz halailah, to say at, uh, about midnight? What's. Why is the Talmud telling us that he was concerned that they're going to say Moshe Rabbeinu is a liar.
[00:14:12] They recognized that the plagues that were happening were from Hashem. Uh, we see it in the Torah clearly. They said etzpalokimhi that it's from the finger of God. What happened? Why. Why was Moshe so nervous to change what Hashem told him to say Kachatsos at about.
[00:14:32] They were the most wise people in the land of Egypt, and they recognized that it was from Hashem.
[00:14:39] So what was Moshe doing? And the Rabbeinu Bachayah answers with a, uh, tremendous insight, I think, for our own lives, that the Khartoumim, these astrologers, even though they recognized that Hashem, uh, was the one who was doing this, all it would take for them to come to deny everything that had happened was one small, tiny thing, which was God not coming on time, quote, unquote, right? God is always on time. But they would make a mistake.
[00:15:18] And from the fact that they would make an error, they would, I guess, retroactively come to deny hashem for all those plagues. They would, even though they saw hashem from, uh, from plague three through plague, you know, nine, and now we're at plague ten. They would come to deny everything based on one small, um, you know, the plague would have happened, but it wouldn't happen at the exact time. That would have been enough for them to deny everything, to deny that it wasn't hashem, and to prevent that from happening. Musha rabbeinu, he said, at about midnight. So they wouldn't be able to say that. They wouldn't have a. A place for them to deny hashem, because the makos where hashem performed them. So that everyone should know that Hashem was taking the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim, nobody else. It was G D. And Moshe didn't want to leave any space for them to deny it. And additionally, it would come out. It would be a hillel Hashem. It would be a desecration of God's name. That if it wouldn't happen at the exact way that he said it would be a Hillel Hashem.
[00:16:33] And I think the powerful lesson that we see here is the human mind and us as human beings, some of our fallacies, that for us, we could experience all the plagues in Egypt, but yet we could find something small to be able to, you know, wipe everything away, use it as one small opening for us to push the belief of Hashem, um, out of there and to say, oh, it was natural. It was some other reason, right? It's very easy for us that even if everything fits and is going into place, to find one small little thing to be able to throw away everything else.
[00:17:27] And especially when it comes to belief in hashem, right, people. And I think this is, uh, brought out with the Egyptians, especially because they were getting hit and hit and hit and hit and hit. They didn't recognize hashem. These astrologers seemed like they did. And even so, they were able to. They would have given it all up for one small, you know, if it wasn't exactly as they. As it was told to them, they would have given up that whole belief in Hashem because of that one small moment. I think the lesson for us is that as people, we have to be careful, because people will snatch at straws.
[00:18:07] Humans will believe what they want to believe, not what their mind tells them to believe. And these wicked people, even though everything was pointing to them in this direction, they were waiting for the moment to be able to throw everything away.
[00:18:21] I think for us as well, we have to look at the world around us and not be blinded by. By what our agenda is, what we want to see, to be real.
[00:18:34] We live in a world of miracle. We're living an amazing time, and our lives are filled with so much things that just happen to work out. But it's not coincidence. It's Hashem. And I think that's actually part of the main message of Yitzchia's Mitzrayim. That is the message of Yitzchia, Yitzrayim of going out of Egypt, that God runs the world actively, and he's not just sitting back.
[00:18:56] And if we open our eyes in the right way, we will see the messages and we will see the signs and things fit into place. Exactly. It doesn't happen to be that this happened and this happened. If you start looking at, uh, your life in the lens of I am here because Hashem wants me to be here, everything starts to sit together beautifully. I think that's a very powerful idea from this week's Parasha. Additionally, you see the care that Moshe Rabbeinu took to make sure that there should not be a Hillel Hashem, a desecration of G D's name, that even if this plague was going to happen, just wouldn't have been the exact time he didn't want there to be a diminution of Hashem's honor and to desecrate, uh, Hashem's name. So. So therefore, he protected that. So it's something for us as well. We have to realize, as the people of Hashem, as the Jewish people, that we have to be careful to represent the name of Hashem everywhere we go. So that people should look up to us. So that people should look up to us. And G D forbid, not down. The next idea I want to share with you takes us to the Mitzvah of Karbon Pesach, the commandment of the Paschal Lamb. Now, this is one of the first mitzvahs that the Jewish people receive as a nation.
[00:20:16] The commandment is that they have to take a lamb and they sacrifice this lamb and it's eaten together in a group.
[00:20:24] And the sukkimisha lechol zikne yisrael vayomer aleyem moshchuku lehem tsoyn le mishpachoi seichem ve' shachatu haposa. Moses called to all the elders of Israel and said to them, draw forth and buy for yourselves one of the flocks for your families and slaughter the pesach offering.
[00:20:45] Now, something unique about the carbon Pesach is that it's a sacrifice that needs to be given in a group, has to be given together, has to be eaten together. Right? Uh, you don't just bring it by yourself. You have to be part of a group. Right? You have to be added onto a group. You can't just bring carbon by yourself. Other carbonos, other sacrifices you could bring on your own. You don't have to bring it with other people. But by the carbon Pesach, the Paschal lam, there is an emphasis and an obligation to bring the karban together with others and to eat it together with others. And if you look in the psukim, the verse says, um, you should do it. You should bring it for your family, that a family would bring it together.
[00:21:32] So we see there's a focus of the mitzvah, uh, to do it together with your family. And I saw Rabbi Tversky, he really focuses in on this to bring out a beautiful idea.
[00:21:45] We know in Tehillim, in Psalms, it says, hine matoev umanoyim sheves achim gam yochad. How good and how pleasant when brothers dwell together.
[00:21:58] We know in the Jewish religion, in Judaism, there's a tremendous emphasis on family, on the Mishpachah or the Mishpuchah, depends how you say it, right?
[00:22:12] And everyone has good memories of their grandparents and their zaydis and their bubbies and their cousins and a lot of their very positive memories. And, you know, probably I'm included, you're included is of the bubbies and zaydes, is, you know, maybe around the Pesach Seder or by a Rosh Hashanah, right? There's a lot of it is focused around the family. Memories that you have that we have are focused on the holidays.
[00:22:45] Now, unfortunately, when the grandparents pass on, sometimes the connections, that feeling of closeness fades apart.
[00:22:57] And unfortunately, in, uh, the United States and the world in general, in the generation that we live in, sometimes when the older generations are passing away, that connection to the Judaism Also gets further.
[00:23:14] What we see from this parsha is that two things here. On one hand, we see that family is very integral to being able to do mitzvos, that when a person is within a network or within a group of people who, you know, want to serve Hashem, they want to serve God.
[00:23:40] So it's conducive to actually getting there and to accomplishing that.
[00:23:45] And on the flip side, as well, when a person has that strong spiritual connection, that also creates a stronger family life as well. It goes both together, right? Not just us. When we have that family, we have that togetherness. Are we able to serve Hashem better?
[00:24:07] Uh, but us, by us being. Being more observant and being more connected to our Judaism, leads to us being more connected as a family as well. And that's something which we see from this week's Parasha from the mitzvah, uh, of the carbon Pesach, that it's a mitzvah, uh, that's focused on the family.
[00:24:28] And I think, again, it's very. It's interesting that this mitzvah, specifically the carbon Pesach, is one of. The Pesach in general is. Is one of the central, you know, focus. It's a tremendous focus in Judaism. Every mitzvah we do, so many of them are always taking us back to that moment of the Exodus. We say as a remembrance, remembrance to our Exodus from Egypt. We say it in kiddush, we say it in. And in Shema, we remember the Exodus. And in our mezuzahs, there's a, uh, remembrance to the Exodus and our Tefillin, there's always a remembrance to the Exodus and this point. And if you think of people in general, their memories, a lot of them, it's around a seder table. Exodus is a tremendous focus in our religion. And I think we see from here that when we have that family, it's conducive for us to be more connected.
[00:25:21] And at the same time, the benefits of that, when we are more connected spiritually, it leads us to having stronger family bonds. You think about it for a moment. You know, a person has Shabbos, meals, and on Shabbos, there's no going to work. There's no phones. It's with your. You're with your family, you're having time with your family, and you're serving Hashem at the same time, it's both are feeding into each other. That being with your family is lending you to having that stronger spiritual connection, and having that stronger spiritual connection is lending you having a stronger family. It's a win, win. And I would say for those out there, for those of you who maybe your family is not as supportive as you'd like them to be, or maybe they don't live close to you, what you could do is you could become part of a family, meaning could join a community wherever you are. There's so many good resources of good organizations and synagogues that would love to bring people in, right? And that's, that's the. And, um, if you don't find one place, you go to the next place, right? There are a lot of good people who want to make Jewish people feel connected. And I think what we could take out, uh, of this idea from the Parsha is to, you know, recognize our own families, to take advantage, to make that spiritual connection stronger and God willing, make the family connection stronger. And for those of us, maybe we don't necessarily have that classical situation to find something, to find somebody, to find, you know, an organization, a synagogue, to, you know, make it into your family, make, make them your family. And God willing, they're going to make you part of it as well. So with that, I'm going to finish for today's podcast. I hope you enjoyed. If you have any questions, comments or would like to reach out, feel free to send me email at Rabbi Shlomo konkohnmail.com have a great day.
