Menachem Mirski
Thoughts on Parashat Bo
This week’s parasha talks about the last Egyptian plague, which is at the same time that marks the beginning of our Exodus from Egypt:
Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: Toward midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians, and every first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first-born of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; and all the first-born of the cattle. And there shall be a loud cry in all the land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again; but not a dog shall snarl at any of the Israelites, at man or beast—in order that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
Then all these courtiers of yours shall come down to me and bow low to me, saying, ‘Depart, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will depart.” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger. (Exodus 11:4-8)
God immediately commands us to remember our Exodus forever, giving us the commandment to observe the holiday Pesach as a commemoration of these events:
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby, in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for the lamb according to what each household will eat. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month; and all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight. (Exodus 12:1-6)
The relationship between Israel and God, in its covenantal dynamic, involves a variety of obligations. This set of numerous obligations often overshadows the essence of our relationship with God, which is inherently based on mutual love. Our covenant with God has two aspects – love relationship and this practical aspect – a set of obligations of both sides.
Something very similar applies also to romantic relationships between people. Our culture, popular culture, often reduces love to emotions, to that ‘high’ we experience, and dismisses the ‘non romantic’ part of love relationships. But it is an error, a pretty common error, because anyone who fails to see both aspects of love relationships, fails to see both realms, fails in love.
People have a tendency to reduce things to one thing. Sometimes it is useful, helpful, sometimes it’s a mistake. Here reductionism is a mistake. Our relationship with God is both about obligation (to perform mitzvot) and about love, and both aspects are equally important.
It’s a mistake not to see that those two aspects are equally relevant. It’s also a mistake to see those two realms – the realm of love and the realm of law as disconnected.
Both of these aspects of our covenant, of our love-relationship with God are, in fact, not opposite. They are deeply intertwined.
It has its many manifestations in our tradition, for example the pair of kevah/kavanah – the fixed prayer and the intention of prayer – they both fundamentally need each other. The fixed prayer gives the language to talk with God, the kavanah – the intention – it is what we, in fact, express in prayer, it is our devotion to our relationship with the Eternal. Another example – the letter of the law and the spirit of the law – we have to know both. The letter of the law instructs us what to do, the spirit of the law tells us why we do what we do. But again, we have our human tendency to reduce many things to one thing.
Intentions are important, not only if we stand before a court of law, for example, but in many other situations. We could ignore them only if we would be able to do everything perfectly. But this is never the case.
Practicality of love grounds us in reality.
Shabbat shalom!
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