January 20, 2021January 21, 2021 Laya

Parsha Bo

Pasha with Safta Laya

Why did Hashem tell Moshe to come to Pharoh. ‘BO el Pharoh’, rather than ‘Lech el Pharoh’? and then it continues and says ‘come to Pharoh because I have hardened his heart.‘ Hashem is telling us that HE hardened Pharoah’s heart. How do we make sense of this?

Moshe had been to Pharoh many times and he was turned away, he had been rejected and was upset,- perhaps he was afraid to keep going to Pharoh and ending up so disappointed that he wouldn’t let the Jewish people go free?! Hashem says ‘BO’- ‘Come.’ and was letting Moshe know that he is not going alone. He is also telling Moshe that he doesn’t have to be scared because it was He, Hashem, who hardened Pharoh’s heart. Pharoh thought that he was in control, and in fact he wasn’t . ‘Pharoh’s heart was hardened’ and he didn’t let the people go until….

Hashem wanted to show the Jewish people the wonders and miracles that He could do while they were slaves before He gave them their freedom. What is the lesson we learn? When we ‘BO’ – ‘Come with G-d ‘-we never go alone to face adversity or anything we do. Hashem is letting us know that He is always with us. Whenever we encounter obstacles or problems in our lives, we shouldn’t be afraid of them, G-d is with us on our journey to fulfill our mission in life. Every person faces challenges, and fears, things that overwhelm us, bring out the worst in us, and that scare us- we usually become upset, frustrated, miserable, angry and many other emotions because of the ‘curveballs’ that life throws us and at times we find it hard to cope, or deal with it. That’s when we can understand the concept, and bring it in as a way to cope with situations- BO- lets Go with Hashem…. and trust the journey- and know G-d is in control.

Themes this week

1. Hearts, where/what is our Heart ?(see Fun Facts)- Drawing hearts, making Clay hearts……soft clay becomes hard when you leave it to dry. Baking/cooking ideas;- heart biscuits, chocolate hearts,
2. The Pesach Feast -After the last plague the Jewish people got ready to go and they made matza ( unleavened bread) and had a Passover feast – Check out the recipes for Matza ( you don’t have to be so strict – try to complete it within 18 min!) and cooking ‘feast’ ideas
3. Plague of darkness- Fun Coloring activity

FUN FACTS; The Heart – The human heart is a finely tuned instrument that serves the whole body. It is a muscular organ around the size of a closed fist and sits in the chest, slightly to the left of center. The heart pumps blood, through arteries and veins. It carries oxygen and nutrients to the body and also removes carbon dioxide and other wastes. Emotions-The heart is also the ‘seat ‘ of our emotions. Emotions are an essential part of who you are. Its what you feel, in your body and your heart and connects with our mind,/ brain too. We have a big range of feelings and they are often intertwined with our mood, personality, creativity, motivation and other factors. Emotions can be divided into categories- enjoyment, (eg calming, happy ),anger, fear, sadness and disgust. The connection between the heart and love is strong, and the heart symbol is the way we express ‘LOVE’.

Fun Arts and Crafts; Drawing ;Draw hearts and color them in, stickers,- hearts with love and caring-(NOT ‘hardened like Pharoh’s heart)- Give them to people you love. Clay ; Soften the clay with your hands, Make a heart shape from the clay and leave it to dry (notice it hardens,)( can use playdough or plastercine too) Coloring in activity – Plague of Darkness – Take a piece of paper, and color in different colors to cover the whole paper. The take a black crayon and color over the colors Darken the paper with crayon ( some prefer to paint black over the colors- 2 coats will work-Wait for the paint to dry completely.) Take a toothpick or chopstick, or sharp instrument and draw the picture of the people coming out of Egypt.

Fun Foods for Parsha BO. This is one of the Parsha’s that mention many different foods and so its a great idea to have a ‘Pesach Feast ‘ this Shabbat without all the constraints and stringencies of Pesach Laws. Cook up a storm! -Matzo Ball Soup (Kneidelach), Lamb Roast, or Lamb Stew, and potatoes and green beans ( from the seder plate) . Dessert; Find your favorite biscuit dough recipe and make a dough. Use heart shaped cookie cutter to make biscuits or shape them,- bake until golden brown, allow to cool. Melt chocolate and spread over half of the cookie (half plain and half with chocolate- the ‘hardened heart’) Chocolate hearts to serve after dinner – melt chocolate and pour into ‘heart moulds’ .Place in freezer until hardened, and serve ( can make white/black choc swirls, or 1/2, 1/2 )Enjoy!

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How to make Homemade Matzo – (Time it- within 18 minutes from start to finish!) Ingredients; 3 Cups of flour. 1 and a quarter, or half cups of water. (salt to sprinkle- optional) Put oven on high (500 F or 260 C) Method; Sift flour into a Bowl, Add water and mix and knead well until the dough is soft. (can add more water or flour if necessary) Break up dough into round balls. Flatten the balls and use a rolling pin to roll the dough as thin as possible. (Roll it on baking paper – otherwise its too hard to transfer.) Place it on baking paper or in a foil tray. Prick it all over with a fork ( to take away the air bubbles) Can sprinkle with salt. (optional.) Bake in hot oven for 7-10 min. Can serve with soup, put your favorite topping on or even make matzo pizza! Enjoy

There is so much to say about this weeks Parsha Bo, and it seems so topical of the world we find ourselves in today. The plague of Corona that we are dealing with, and so many people have been afflicted and affected, some have recovered, and some people have, tragically,- not. It has taken over the world. We pray for an end to this suffering and misery, we pray for healing and help, and this is our time to really listen to this Parsha BO- and Go with Hashem, and daven for Freedom in our time , from this plague of Covid19. PG soon…..Stay safe, keep well.

Shabbat Shalom, Safta Laya

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