Bo | Coming or Going?

Moshe is instructed to approach Paro. The language is strange - we would expect that Moshe would be told by Hashem to, ‘Go to Paro’. However, he is told to, ‘Come to Paro’.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה' אֶל־משֶׁ֔ה בֹּ֖א אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה

Hashem said to Moshe: "Come to Pharaoh…”

This is the powerful answer by the Kotzker Rebbe zt"l, as explained by Rabbi Sinclair. “Hashem is implicitly telling Moshe that even though He is ‘sending him away’ on this difficult mission, Hashem remains right by Him throughout, and will be at his side, no matter what - even when he ‘goes’ to Pharoah, he is still ‘coming’ to Hashem.”

Sometimes life feels so frenetic that we don’t know whether we’re ‘coming or going’ - in the small moments and in the big ones as well. We can feel hopeless and lost. This is a feeling that has been all too familiar to us in Israel and across the Jewish world, since Oct. 7th. The answer we learn here is, ‘Yes’ - we are both coming and going - at the same time. 

Within the spectrum of Hashem’s Will and Divine Plan - sometimes it may feel like we are ‘going’ - stepping into something difficult, distant and far beyond our comfort zone. The deep insight of the Kotzker is that, at the very same time, we are actually ‘coming’ home, towards ourselves, as we realize and reveal a deeper part of our essence through the challenges we face. 

Over the past few months, we have all been unwillingly ripped out of our comfort zones and have been called to go into a place of unknown and insecurity. At the same time, we have faith that we will somehow ‘come’ out of it stronger - as individuals, as families, as communities and as a nation. The pain of stepping up to Paro’s court - and similarly, enduring what we have as a nation - is unbearable and so we daven for the swift revelation of how this all serve’s Hashem’s Master Plan - to see how the ‘goings’ are ‘comings’ on a deeper level. 

As a community, we have seen this in the example set by our courageous Rabbi and the members of our beautiful community. In going out to protect our homeland, we will P”G come back to stronger and more resolute values in all our homes and communities. 

B”H, we decided, as a family, to ‘go out there’ and fully celebrate our wonderful daughter’s Bat Mitzvah - Eliana Shira - this Shabbat. She is the epitome of a courageous, kind, young lady that - especially at this moment of becoming Bat Mitzvah - goes out and steps up to face challenges - seeing them as opportunities to be-come more and more of her beautiful self. We are so proud of her stepping up this Shabbat and P”G stepping forward for all of our homeland and for our People. May the light of her simcha dispel all the darkness of the past few months for all of Am Yisrael and the entire world. Shabbat Shalom.