ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas Bo

          by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem


The World Of The Supernatural

     (10:23) "And for the children of Israel there was light..."
The Kli Yakar says this plague was accomplished, technically,
by removing the darkness (his translation of "VeYamesh Choshech")
from the nights of the Jews, and using it instead during the
days of the Egyptians. So our pasuk means the Jews even had light
at night, as hinted by the last letter of the first four words,
which spell out "laila", or night.

A Time To Laugh

     (11:7) "And no dog shall wag its tongue at any Jew." 'This
pasuk, said Sam to Joe, 'has the power to save any Jew from being
bitten by a dog.' 'Wow,' thought Joe. The next time a dog came near
him, he recited the pasuk loudly, but the dog leaped at him anyway,
and bit him in the arm. 'What happened to your pasuk?' he asked
Sam when he next saw him, as he told Sam what happened. 'Too bad,'
shrugged Sam. 'I guess you ran into a dog that didn't know Hebrew.'

Worthy Of Note

     (12:2) "This month..." The gemara (Pesa. 6b) has an opinion
that the study of the laws of Pesach must precede it by two weeks,
just as Moshe's announcement of the laws of the first Pesach was
given on Rosh Chodesh. The gemara rejects this source, however,
pointing out that no source pinpoints the annoucement exactly on
Rosh Chodesh. Tosfos asks: The gemara (Mena. 29a) makes it clear
that the pasuk "This month..." WAS said on Rosh Chodesh (that's
how Hashem showed Moshe how to tell when Rosh Chodesh was), so
what's missing in the proof? He answers, there's no proof that
the announcement was relayed to the Jews on the day Moshe got it.

From the Gemara

     (11:4) Berachos 4a - Moshe knew exactly when midnight was,
but he said "like midnight", acc. to one opinion, because it was
also midnight when he said it: "At this time tomorrow..."
     (12:6) Kiddushin 41b - A person's agent is like himself,
for it says, "All the Jews shall slaughter it," and it was done
through agents (one person couldn't have the korban to himself).
     (13:9) Makkos 11a - The whole Torah is compared to the
mitzvah of tefillin. Some say a Sefer Torah must be sewn with
sinews, just as with tefillin, from this source.

Rare And Unusual Words

     (12:4) "BeMichsas" The word means counting, but also implies
slaughtering, from the Aramaic "nichsas". The gemara (Pesachim 89a)
uses this for the opinion that until the slaughtering, new people
can be counted into the group for the korban.

Mitzvah Digest (NEW!) [Reasons not meant to be exclusive]

1. [From B'reishis] "Be fruitful and multiply": a man must have
children (at least a boy and a girl), so that the world be settled.
2. [From Lech Lecho] As a covenant with G-d, man must have his foreskin
removed, pref. on his eighth day (for which his father is responsible).
3. [From VaYishlach] A sinew called the "gid hanasheh" may not be
eaten, for we will always be saved from our enemies, as Yaakov was.
4. The central court of Israel must fix the calendar by declaring
Rosh Chodesh (and leap years), so the holidays will be kept on time.
5. On the afternoon of 14th of Nissan, one must slaughter a sheep or
goat, to remember the miracles of Hashem taking us out of Egypt.
6. On the night of the 15th of Nissan, one must eat of the meat of the
Korban Pesach, to remember thew miracles of the Exodus from Egypt.
7. The Korban Pesach may not be eaten raw, half-cooked, or cooked, but
rather roasted over open fire, in the manner of kings.
8. One must not allow meat from the Korban Pesach to remain uneaten
until the morning, as kings do not need to leave over for the next day.
9. One must destroy all leavened primary grain (chometz) in his 
posession on the 14th of Nissan, to remember the Exodus.
10. One must eat unleavened bread (matzah) on the night of the 15th of
Nissan, to remember the Exodus.
11. One may not posess chometz during the 7 days of Pesach, to
remember that the Exodus happened in a way that we had no chometz.
12. One may not eat foods which are partially chometz, on Pesach.
13. One may not allow an idol worshipper to eat the Korban Pesach.
14. One may not allow any non-Jew to eat the Korban Pesach.
15. One may not remove the Korban Pesach from its eating place.
16. One may not break a bone of the Korban Pesach.
17. An uncircumcised male may not eat the Korban Pesach.
18. If a kosher domesticated animal has a firstborn male, one
must give it to a Kohain to bring as a korban.
19. One may not eat chometz on Pesach, or derive benefit from it.
20. One may not allow chometz to be seen in his posession on Pesach.
21. One must describe the Exodus on the night of the 15th of Nissan.
22. If a donkey gives birth to a firstborn male, one must exchange
it for a sheep, and give the sheep to a Kohain.
23. If one did not exchange the first born donkey, one must break
its neck, because Hashem wanted it to be exchanged for a sheep.