B"H

Thursday, Shevat 6, 5777 / February 2, 2017

The first mitzvah which G-d commanded the Jewish people, even before leaving Egypt, is found in this week’s Parsha, Bo. It is the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. 

G-d told Moshe about this important mitzvah on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, two weeks before the Exodus. The month of Nissan was also to be the first month and head of all months of the year. 

At the same time, G-d commanded that on the tenth of the month, they should take one sheep per family and keep it for four days and then bring it as a Pesach (Passover) sacrifice. The sacrifice had to be eaten together with matzah and maror. Some of the blood of the sacrifice were to be placed on the doorposts of the Jewish homes, so that when G-d will afflict the Egyptians with the plague of the first-born, He will see the blood on the Jewish homes and pass over them.

At the stroke of midnight, the first-born began dying. A great cry broke out throughout Egypt.  Pharaoh himself went to look for Moshe and Aaron. He insisted that they take the Jewish people out of Egypt immediately. Moshe refused, as G-d told them not to leave their homes all night until morning. They left Egypt in the day time.

Six hundred thousand men from the age of twenty and up, plus women and children left Egypt on that day - the fifteenth of Nissan. It was on a Thursday that the people left Egypt. G-d proclaimed the 15th day of Nissan as the holiday of Passover to celebrate each year the miracle of the Exodus.

Q.  What is the significance of G-d’s commandment that the month of Nissan is to be the “head” of all months of the year?

A.  “Nissan” comes from the word “Nes” – “miracle.”  The month of Nissan, when the Jewish nation was liberated, being the head of all the months teaches us that, just as the Exodus was a miracle, so too, the very existence of the Jewish people, throughout the generations, is a constant miracle.

Q.What was the purpose of holding the sheep four days before bringing it for a sacrifice?

A.The Egyptians worshipped their animals. Sheep was an idol in Egypt.  Over the years in Egypt, many Jews became idol worshippers just like the Egyptians. G-d wanted, in addition to taking the Jews out of Egypt, to take Egypt out of the Jews, to also root out their adaptation to Egyptian lifestyle, worship and culture. 

For this reason G-d told them to take the sheep (the Egyptian idol), keep it for the four days and then slaughter it.  During these four days, when the Egyptians asked them why they kept the sheep in their homes, they told them that they plan to bring it for a sacrifice to G-d. This way, they proclaimed their detachment from the Egyptian idols.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY