Rabbi Janine's Messages

Dear Community, 

There is an unexpected glimpse of hope in this week’s Torah portion, parshat Bo. It’s not the moment when Pharaoh frees the people, it’s a much quieter moment and it’s easy to miss. 

I’m referring to the moment when Moses explains Passover to the Israelites. We might gloss over this, but for the Israelites who are still slaves, the holiday of Passover is anything but obvious. Let’s think about it. Before the Israelites even leave Egypt, Moses is instructing them on how to observe the moment of their freedom ritually as a community. He explains the details of the Passover sacrifice and eating of matzah. Moses wastes no time to tell the Israelites how they will mark this momentous occasion (which hasn't happened yet!) in the years to come.

The first of these instructions comes on the evening before the Angel of Death visits the Egyptian homes. The Israelites haven’t yet been freed, yet they are asked to anticipate a day when they will not only be free, but will observe the ritual celebration of Passover, the festival of z’man cheruteinu, the time of our freedom, in their own land.

It must have been hard for the Israelites to imagine their own freedom. But that’s what Moses is asking them to do. In order for the Israelites to move forward they had to do this step for themselves. They had to ready themselves for the departure. They had to decide to believe in the impossible.

Wishing you a Shabbat of radical imagination for the future. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbi Janine Jankovitz