Parashat Bo (go/come) Exodus 10:1 - 13:16
HafTorah - Jeremiah 46:13-28
Dear friends,
As we begin recovering from the pandemic and the vitriolic destruction in our nation's capital, we have come to another Shabbat that could not have been better timed.
In this week's Torah portion (Bo in the book of Exodus), we complete the description of the ever-escalating Ten Plagues with the most horrifying and destructive of them all, that of the death of the firs- born males. It was that plague that finally causes the Egyptian Pharoh to free the Hebrew slaves.
Today, we are suffering from many plagues (disease, climate related catastrophes, disrespect towards others, etc.) but have not had to face an ultimate plague such as universal death of the first-born. In Egypt, the leaders "hardened their hearts" to the suffering of others and paid the ultimate price. It is incumbent upon all of us to not "harden our hearts" in the year 2021, and thus recover successfully from our national and personal plagues.
In our own community, we took a small step forward on Martin Luther King Day by participating in a National Day of Service which in Pasco County, consisted of distributing food, medicine, and clothing to the homeless. In addition, we should learn to respect people, including those who we vehemently disagree with and to have empathy for those who are suffering. After all, the first-born in Egypt who had no connection to the ruling class suffered the most with all the plagues. We think about them and about and empathize with all those who suffer from disease and conflict when we read the Book of Exodus.
We will delve further into this portion at services tonight at 7:30 pm and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am both in person and virtually on Zoom. And later in the week (Thursday, January 28th), we celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish "arbor day" and the unofficial beginning of Spring in Israel. It is customary to have a festive meal including the seven species mentioned in the Torah: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Unfortunately, we are still unable to celebrate his wonderful holiday together with a community dinner as we have in the past. But as we begin to recover from the pandemic, we look forward to many such occasions in the future!
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron
Ron Becker
Spiritual Leader
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JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Shabbat Service
Time: Jan 22, 2021 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Saturday Morning Service
Time: Jan 23, 2021 09:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4979030958?pwd=YXJPT2FGVTdzVVV2bVQ3c1ZnS1lMZz09
Meeting ID: 497 903 0958
Passcode: 5QdVaA
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