פָּ ָר ַשׁת בֹּא- Parashat Bo Parasha Focus: Being careful not to cause a 'ִחלוּל ה - a desecration of Hashem’s name
In last week's ( פָּ ָר ָשׁהparasha) of ( וָ אֵ ָראVa’eira) we were told about the first 7 plagues that ' הsent to ( ִמ ְצ ָריִםEgypt), and in this week's פָּ ָר ָשׁה, the final 3 plagues are described. The two above pesukim are talking about the 10th plague, מַ כַּ ת בְּ כוֹרוֹת- The plague of the first born. In the first pasuk, when מ ֶֹשהinforms פַּ ְרעֹהabout the plague that is about to start, he uses the word כַּ חַ צוֹתwhich means at “about” midnight, yet in the second passuk, which describes the actual plague, we are told that ' הkilled the first-borns בַּ חֲ צוֹת, “at” midnight precisely. Rashi explains the difference: משׁה ֶ was careful not to say at midnight ( )בַּ חֲ צוֹתand used the word ( כַּ חַ צוֹתround about midnight) instead because he was concerned that the Egyptian astrologers would call him a liar if the plague did not happen exactly at midnight according to their calculations. This could have caused a cause a ' – חִלוּל הa desecration of Hashem’s name in the eyes of the Egyptians, even if it was for a few moments. מ ֶֹשׁהwas therefore careful not to leave himself open to misinterpretation. In the second pasuk when ' הactually performed the plague, the term used is "at midnight" because only ' הknows the precise moment of midnight. After the plague of the killing of the first born, Bnei Yisrael celebrated the first Pesach which was called Pesach Mitzrayim.
Extra Challenge – copy this Rashi into script _________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Comprehension - הַ בָ נַת הַ נִ ְק ָרא 1. What is the difference in translation between the words כַּ חַ צוֹתand ?בַּ חַ צוֹת ______________________________________________________________ _____________ 2. According to Rashi why did Moshe use the word כַּ חַ צוֹתwhen speaking to the Egyptians and not ?בַּ חַ צוֹת ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. What were the last 3 plagues? ___________________________________________________________________________ Go and Learn - צֵ א וּלְ מַ ד The mitzvah of Tefillin is mentioned at the end of the parasha. What are the names, in Hebrew of the two tefillin boxes? ______________________________________________________
