Bo, בֹּא "Come!" Exodus 10:1-13:16

To Redeem A child

Poetic notes on Bo*

Let every Pharaoh hear

and let all the nations hear

This is what G-d says

“Israel is My firstborn”

In every way acknowledge His Passover

And He will direct your paths

Let the lion child acknowledge His Passover

From where she lies upon the rise

And surveys the plains of galut and geula

To see the outcomes of life

Let the eagle child acknowledge His Passover

From where he flies over the skies

And spots the redemptive currents of life

On earth and in heaven

Let the ox child acknowledge His Passover

From where his mind plows the furrows of time

To prepare the way of Mashiach

Let the human child acknowledge His Passover

From where she reaches freely

For the fruit of every tree

first planted in the garden of God

That was commanded for food

To share her fruit with the animals of heaven

And the angels of earth

Let all children acknowledge His Passover

In all their lessons

And the God of the Passover will direct their paths

Justice will well up like spring water

And righteousness will flow down like a continuous stream

In recent times the child has needed

To be wrapped in a threefold cord

With mother and father on earth

With the redemptive wrappings of God

As creation spins and topples

And our Father in heaven

Lays claim to Israel

In order to bring light out of darkness

And life out of death

That the child might learn and know the Passover

That the God who is one

Might be one in their heart

And between their eyes

*Being a meditation on a Torah class on parashah Bo delivered by Rabbi Baitelman of ChaBaD Richmond, B.C., based on the series, Torah Studies, by Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Neither Rabbi Baitelman nor the JLI have reviewed or approved of the content of this post.