Exodus Ccyle Two Bo 10:1 to 13:16

Bo

What I see in Bo is radical compassion. It isn’t hard to get there…both in words and in our hearts. First, we begin with the creation of absolute darkness so it can turn. Next, there’s a focused force and action, a service towards God. Third, this service does not necessarily mean funneling light towards the Promised Land. It means causing any and all radiant movement so that which is stuck will become un-stuck. In the end, we achieve balance and a sameness. And it’s this sameness that demands radical compassion.

So, let’s begin. Where, in Bo, is the creation of absolute darkness? Let’s look at intention first. Moses is after all, going to Pharoah so that his people, the slaves, can serve YHWH. You would think therefore that YHWH, right there cheering for the Israelites, would soften Pharoah’s heart. That way, they could all get the green light to race out of Mitzrayim. Instead, YHWH hardens the heart of Pharoah. He creates a situation in which Pharoah keeps saying no. No, the Israelites can not go. What’s interesting here is that the root word for harden (kavad) has the same numerology as YHWH…26. This means that this hardening (this darkening) is divine. And if you think about it, anything at its most abysmal point devours itself and turns. Anything that becomes dark enough is dark no longer. This epiphany of the turning moment is manifested in the Pharoah (and the Egyptian people) when they finally say yes. Therefore, YHWH not only frees the Israelites but frees their captors.

Next, we see in Bo the force and activity that must move everything. We see a cataclysmic event…the new moon. As Rabbi Mel Gottlieb says... It is our new moon to do with as we please (for you…lechem…12:2 ). And this celestial happening, this amazing creation of time within space, is maybe the largest miracle in the parasha, there in its exquisite concealment. Have you ever wondered at the stars, the vibration of the heavens? The moon is, literally, the reflective force of light through darkness. YHWH, in giving us a new way to see the moon also allows us to see our force, our reflection, right here on earth. One cataclysmic event parellels the other. The new moon reflects the fast escape of the Israelites and, with the repetition of Bo, they both reflect the escape of the Egyptians from the approaching Babylonians (Jeremiah 46:20). So, there’s a charge of light that equates the moon to us and to the Egyptians. And this sameness points to radical compassion.

But what is radical compassion? It’s being able to reach to others from our hearts no matter the emotional weight and the mundane facts. It’s the ability to create a metaphor around even our own existence…thereby taking our experiences out of ourselves and creating a heightened reality, one that merges all beings as one. Radical compassion is being able to say, well, there’s no doubt that we will one day destroy the Taliban and see them suffer…but no need to worry…one day they will have children and reclaim their land and be satisfied. One day the Nazis will find inner healing. The abusive husband and father will finally be able to forgive themselves. The bigot will reach redemption. And this is hard. Radical compassion is almost beyond the edge of human capability. I say almost because it’s in our face this moment. And even if Martin Luther King Day occurs during this parasha this year, we need to live this message every day. We need to see that our powerful movement is not only for ourselves but there to make strong the very people we move against and fear.

Finally, when the force of the light leaves Egypt for the Promised Land…when it leaves the Promised Land for Babylon…if fast enough it can bring even the ugliest shadows within ourselves to hit bottom. It can create an immediate necessity for rebirth and redemption. We don’t need to embrace the darkness. But we do need to accept the reality of it in order to drag it out of itself.

There is a place out there where it all merges, where the monsters and the angels join in one smooth kiss, where we embody the crystallizing flash of new moon reflection, and where we walk in this reflection with joy. There is a place where the slavery is forced into corners and our souls are reborn within themselves. These souls will recycle (gilgul) and fill all available space so tight and real that only a small dot remains of Pharoah. This is a dot of memory, a faded but real question mark discerning our past and present ignorance from a new and present enlightenment.

So may we act to help others. May we see how and where our hands and tears are needed to heal the poor and struggling. May we accept and understand the process of YHWH, even if in the present it seems harsh. May, when we find freedom, that we do it with force and intention for ourselves and the world around us. May we see the sameness of light to darkness and call it love. May we love ourselves and know the moment is now to act with radical compassion under the radical new moon. It is time to turn.