This Week’s Torah Portion: Bo – בֹּא (Exodus 10:1−13:16)

Winter’s hand slicks the road upon which we travel. And timely as ever, the Torah portion for this week, Bo, is an encounter with the darkness: the locusts that covered the eye of the whole land, so that the land was darkened (Exodus 10:15); the darkness over the land of Egypt (10:21); the darkness of the midnight slaying of the firstborn (12:29); the darkness that led to the renewal of our people.

For 400 years, the Hebrews sojourned in Egypt. It was a dark, dark time. But we had a light, as it says in this week’s portion:  “All the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (Exodus 10:23) We became again a people of purpose and again we had a bright future to unfold.

In times of darkness we are reminded that God, too, is among us in the darkness, and in the light, which leads us to freedom and to the Promised Land.  May we ever be among those who kindle light, who bring warmth and comfort to the world, who follow in the path of Torah, who follow in the path of God’s light.