BO 1985 - 1

In the Torah portion Bo we learn about the first Mitzvahs that were given to the Jewish people as a people.  It is true that in the Book of Genesis we learn about the Mitzvah to be fruitful and multiply and circumcision, but these were to individuals and not to the whole people.  The first commandments that were given to the Jewish people were to declare Nissan as the first of the months, to take a lamb and prepare to slaughter it and eat it in family groups.  The blood of the lamb they were to put on the doorposts.  It seems strange that these should be the Mitzvahs that were given to the Jewish people as they were about to gain their freedom.  We would think that they would be required to make a ringing declaration about the importance of freedom, and that they would be required to recount the evils of slavery so that they, themselves, would not become masters over slaves, but instead we have recounted how they were supposed to set a calendar and take a lamb and slaughter it and eat in family groups and place its blood on the doorposts.  Why should these be the first Mitzvahs?  What do they have to do with freedom?  It seems to me that these Mitzvahs tell us a lot about freedom.  They tell us what freedom is and what freedom is not, our modern conception of freedom is that we should be free to do everything.  We do not want to recognize any limits.  Setting up a calendar teaches the Jewish people that freedom has limits.  Each of us is nothing more than a genetic time clock.  Certain hormones go off and on on us during different stages of our life.  When we are 60 we cannot act like we are 20, and when we are 20 we cannot act like we are 60.  We are limited by time.  Physical strength, even the functioning of the mind are determined by these genetic time clocks.  A slave has no control over his time.  His master tells him what not really have control over time.  A master does not tell us what to do, but there are limitations on us, limitations of nature, limitations of time, and limitations of society.  Freedom does not mean we can always do everything we want to

How are the Jewish months determined?  They are determined by the moon.  In fact, the moon is the symbol of the Jewish people because the moon wanes and disappears for a few days, but comes back every month.  We are not to give up hope.  We are not to be overwhelmed by the mistakes we make because we are free, but we are to remember that we can always come back.  The moon reflects a higher light.  It has no light of its own.  We, too, must reflect higher values, otherwise we will make our freedom meaningless.  That's why they were told to slaughter the lamb.  The lamb was a symbol of falsehood.  The Egyptians worshipped the signs of the zodiac, and at this time Aries held sway.  The lamb was a symbol of falsehood.  In order to exercise freedom we must be free from superstition and must have faith in ourselves and what we can accomplish.  There are so many people who do not have any confidence or faith in themselves and what they stand for.  They are overwhelmed by fears.  These fears stop them from exercising freedom in the correct and proper way.  The rabbis tell us that the blood that the Jewish people put on the door was not just the blood of the lamb but also mixed in it was the blood of the circumcision, because while they were in Egypt they had not circumcised themselves.  Only after they left did they circumcise themselves.  Freedom is not just a negative concept.  It is also a positive concept.  You must be for things.  You must have the faith and confidence in yourself to go forward.  If you do not, freedom will turn into a nightmare.  Our freedom is limited by time and nature and society, but it still gives us a lot of room to develop and do great things as long as we are not overcome by fear.  Finally, the Jewish people were told to gather together in family groups because freedom cannot be appreciated alone.  When you go and see something by yourself it is not the same as when you go and see a beautiful sight with somebody else.  Freedom requires, for its full development, other people.  

These are the lessons that the first Mitzvahs the Jewish people were taught about freedom.  Our freedom is limited, but it should not be limited by fears and superstitions.  It should lead us to do positive things in conjunction with others.  If it does, then it is the greatest blessing we can ever have.