Friday Letter

FRIDAY LETTER

Parashat Bo

Rachel Alexander is Director of Institutional Advancement at SSDS and SSHS.

Sending the Plagues

In last week's parshah, Vaera, we began the famous story of the 10 plagues which concludes with the last three plagues of darkness, locusts and the killing of the firstborn in Parshat Bo this week.  As I reread the story, I noticed two items that I had not realized previously.  First, I noticed that the word "Bo" means Come but is usually translated as Go.  The first line of the parshah could mean: "Go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart..." (Exodus 10:1) A more exact translation would be that Moses should come with God.  This teaches us that Moses is not alone when he approaches the enemy to show Pharaoh the next set of plagues. We can learn from this that God comes with us when we are involved in difficult situations.

This leads to the second item that struck me in this closer reading.  It is clear that although Pharaoh was the one preventing the Jewish people from leaving slavery in Egypt, all the Egyptians were punished by the plagues. This is an important chapter in our history in which God inflicted mass destruction on a people for the benefit of living in freedom.

Over the past few months, we have all been troubled in a variety of ways by the war being fought between Hamas and Israel.  Although we may disagree on the methods used to create a homeland that is safe for the people of Israel, I believe that it is important for our brothers and sisters in Israel to be able to live their days without threat of danger as a free people in our homeland.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to visit Israel as the recipient of the Brody Award for being a rising leader in the Jewish community.  I chose to bear witness to the situation in Sderot and hear the stories of the victims and the survivors.  It was a very difficult trip that began with a tour of the town.  As we passed the entrance that is home for over 19,000 residents and 14 schools, it was immediately clear that the headlines were not capturing the story that I was seeing.  We drove past schools that had been hit by kassamim rockets.  I saw huge holes in the main streets that had been hit.  Every family had a story about how they were impacted physically or psychologically by one of the 10,000 rockets that had fallen in Sderot over the past 8 years. 

When it was time to get ready for dinner, the tzeva adom, red color siren, rang through the streets.  An elderly woman, whose husband had been injured by a rocket, grabbed my hand and said "Do not be afraid.  Come quickly with me." Together we camped out in the basement of Ahlama and Amir Peretz until the danger passed.  It struck me that a woman who knew first-hand the danger of the enemy was capable of telling me to join her so that we could find safety.  After her husband was injured, she did not choose to move to another city.  Rather she stayed in Sderot and continued to share her story with the people of Israel so that they could learn what is happening during this time in history. 

It is difficult for me to know the best way to share my experiences in Sderot.  This week's parshah teaches the commandment of retelling the Exodus story: "that you may tell in the ears of your child, and of your child's child, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them; that you may know I am the Lord." (Exodus 10:2) 

I believe that these experiences are meant to remind us to stand with Israel and bring freedom to the children of Israel.  There are several ways in which we can come with our family and retell the story of bringing redemption for the people of Israel.  We can visit Israel, twin with a Bar/Bat Mitzvah child from Sderot through OneFamilyFund.org, write letters to our congress people regarding our interests in finding peace in Israel, and talk with our families about what we are studying and blogging at Schechter regarding the situation in Israel.

It is my hope that when my new friends in Sderot come together this year on Passover that they will have enough time to let their matzah bake without being interrupted by the tzeva adom siren and they will be able to share their story about their Exodus from slavery to freedom.

May this week and this year bring peace for us and the people of Israel.

Have a Shabbat shalom,

Allan Dalfen

Upper School Principal