* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Do you sometimes find yourself overwhelmed by mixed emotions— joy, depression, and confusion at the same time?
Our parasha provides the antidote to such a state of bewilderment. At the height of the dramatic, earth-shattering story of the exodus from Egypt, the Torah gives us anchors: positive mitzvot.
In this week’s parasha, Bo, the Jews are redeemed from Egypt. But while the Torah is describing the devastation of the smiting of the firstborn, the narrative is suddenly interrupted by the first mitzvah the Jews are commanded as a nation—to sanctify the new month. Then Pharoah announces that the nation of Israel is free to leave, and at the high point of this drama, God commands us to put on tefillin and to commemorate the Seder night from generation to generation.
Why does the parasha that depicts the story of the Exodus also introduce no less than 20 mitzvot? The Torah wants to teach us a profound and important lesson.
The Torah is not a work of fiction or a movie: it’s a book of life. Therefore, in the midst of its most dramatic, “wow” moments it presents us with mitzvot that are eternal. The Torah gives us direction for our day-to-day lives. It teaches us how to commemorate the story of the Exodus in the most practical ways, and how to channel our turbulent emotions into “tachlis”—mitzvot and good deeds.
I invite you to think about how you anchor yourself—which positive mitzvot you take upon yourself— when navigating challenging times.
Shavua tov.
