Parashat Bo

Robert Braun

I live by a series of calendars that beep, flash, ring and otherwise remind me that there are a whole lot of things I have to remember to do. And one of those reminders shows up every Tuesday evening at about 8:00, when my Blackberry, Palm and computers (home and office) remind me to remind whoever is providing this week’s D’var Torah to send me their material.

This week was no different, except that when I checked the list, I was somewhat surprised to realize that it was my turn!

While I was ruminating over this coincidence, and brushing up on the parasha, it struck me that it must have been very difficult to observe the Holidays before the advent of all of these wonderful buzzing and beeping devices. In Chapter 12 of this week’s portion, it reads “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months. . . .” And later, in greater detail, G-d tells us that “You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day . . . .”

(At this point I should pause, and note that I will not use this opportunity to argue that it is time for us to give up the second day of the holidays, despite the clear and unambiguous language in the Torah; after all, we’re talking about something completely different. However, feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves.)

What struck me was not so much the difficulty in recalling the observance; what is notable is there is such a difference between how I remember things – through a series of artificial aids and devices – and how we remember Pesach, and through it the essence of our nationhood – as a natural part of life, as the very beginning of the year.

I am probably not alone in the sense of completeness that accompanies our holidays. There is something ineffably correct about Yom Kippur following Rosh Hashannah, of Sukkot following Yom Kippur, of Pesach bringing in the spring and Shavuot the summer, of Shabbat providing the end and the beginning of each week. This parasha, like so many others, reminds us, in part, that there are times when we should put away the artificial parts of our lives, and embrace our traditions.

Shabbat Shalom.