Torah Trivia for Parshah 15. Bo
1.) Within Parshah Vaeira and Parshah Bo, which of the signs and 10 afflictions are performed directly through Moshe’s actions, and which of the signs and 10 afflictions are performed directly through Aaron’s actions?
Answer:
Aaron throws down the staff that turns into a snake (Shemot 7:10);
Aaron raises the staff to turn the Nile waters into blood (Shemot 7:20);
Aaron extends the staff to bring about the frogs; however, Moshe pleads with Adonai to remove the frogs (Shemot 8:2; 8:8);
Aaron strikes the staff to turn the dust into lice (Shemot 8:13);
Swarms of wild animals are brought by Adonai, without any specific action from Moshe or Aaron; however, the animals leave after Moshe prays to Adonai (Shemot 8:16 – 20; 8:26 – 27);
The plague upon the animals also occurs without a direct action from Moshe or Aaron and seems to subside without any intercession from Moshe or Aaron (Shemot 9:1 – 7);
Although both Moshe and Aaron take a handful of dust to cause the boils, only Moshe is described as throwing the dust; and the boils apparently subside without direct intercession from Moshe or Aaron (Shemot 9:8 – 10);
Moshe raises the staff to cause the thunder and hail; and Moshe raises his hands to cease the thunder and hail (Shemot 9:22 – 23; 9:33);
Moshe raises his hands to bring the locusts; and Moshe prays to Adonai to remove the locusts (Shemot 10:13; 10:18 – 19);
Moshe raises his hands to establish darkness; and the darkness apparently subsides without intercession from Moshe or Aaron (Shemot 10:21 – 22);
The plague of the first born is manifested without any direct action from Moshe and Aaron (Shemot 12:29)
2.) After the affliction of darkness, what command does Pharaoh communicate to Moshe?
Answer: Pharaoh grants permission for Moshe and the Israelites to leave without the cattle, Moshe protests, and Pharaoh banishes Moshe from ever seeing Pharaoh’s face again; Shemot 10:24 – 29.
3.) What items does Adonai command the Israelites to solicit from the Egyptian neighbours?
Answer: Adonai commands the Israelites to solicit objects of gold and silver from the Egyptian neighbours; Shemot 11:2.
4.) What type of animal is specifically connected with the Israelites, perhaps for the first occasion within the Torah, within the passage that initially describes the plague of the first born?
Answer: There is the description of an abstinence of any dog barking against the Israelites; Shemot 11:7.
5.) What are the prohibited means of preparing the sacrificial lamb, and in what manner is the sacrificial lamb supposed to be eaten?
Answer: There is a prohibition against eating the sacrificial lamb raw or boiling the sacrificial lamb in water; the sacrificial lamb is to be roasted (Shemot 12:9); all of the sacrificial lamb is to be eaten that evening or the remnants burned (Shemot 12:10); and the sacrificial lamb is to eaten as a sandwich, with matzah and bitter herbs (Shemot 12:8), and eaten quickly, with loins girded, shoes on the feet, and a walking staff in hand (Shemot 12:11).
6.) On what day does Pesach begin, and for how many days does Pesach endure?
Answer: Pesach begins during the evening of the 14th day of Nisan, and continues for 7 days; Shemot 12:18.
7.) On what locations is the blood from the sacrificial lamb supposed to be placed?
Answer: The blood of the sacrificial lamb is intended to be place upon the 2 doorposts and the beam of each doorway; Shemot 12:22.
8.) What are the stipulations regarding matzah on Pesach: a.) matzah must be eaten for 7 days; b.) on the 1st day, all leaven must be removed and cleaned from the homes; c.) whoever eats leaven during the 7 days is removed from the community; d.) the 1st and the 7th days are sacred holidays, with prohibitions from doing work (with the exception of preparing meals); e.) the festival is to be commemorated in perpetuity?
Answer: The answer is “f,” all the above.
a.) Matzah must be eaten for 7 days (Shemot 12:15):
b.) All leaven must be removed and cleaned from homes on the 1st day (Shemot 12:15);
c.) Whoever eats leaven during the 7 days is removed from the community (Shemot 12:15);
d.) The 1st and 7th days are sacred holidays, with prohibitions from doing work (with exception of preparing meals) (Shemot 12:16); and,
e.) The festival is to be commemorated in perpetuity (Shemot 12:14).
9.) How do the Israelites carry the unleavened dough, when leaving Egypt?
Answer: The Israelites carry the unleavened dough within the kneading bowls, wrapped within cloaks, upon the shoulders; Shemot 12:35.
10.) How long do the Israelites live in Egypt and approximately how many Israelites leave Egypt?
Answer: The Israelites live in Egypt for 430 years, and approximately 600,000 Israelite adults leave Egypt; Shemot 12:40, 37.
11.) What are the stipulations regarding eating the Pesach offering: a.) from foreigners, only circumcised strangers are allowed to eat the offering; b.) the whole lamb must be eaten, at once, by one group; c.) the lamb must remain within the house; d.) breaking of the lamb’s bones is prohibited; e.) the entire community must celebrate the festival?
Answer: The answer is: “f,” all the above.
a.) Foreigners are prohibited from eating the lamb unless the foreigner is circumcised (Shemot 12:43 – 45, 48 – 49);
b.) The whole lamb must be eaten, at once, by one group (Shemot 12:46);
c.) The lamb must remain within the house (Shemot 12:46);
d.) Breaking the lamb’s bones is prohibited (Shemot 12:46); and,
e.) The entire community must celebrate the festival (Shemot 12:47 – 49).
12.) Where are these words supposed to be placed as a reminder to the Israelites?
Answer: The words are to be placed on our arm and upon our forehead, as a reminder; Shemot 13:16.
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Discussion Questions:
Within an increasingly esoteric manner, is there any validity within the notion of Moshe and Pharaoh being the same individual? Is there any validity within the notion that, within each of us, there exists a certain Prophetic element of Moshe and a certain tyrannical element of Pharaoh? Is there any similarity between the doubts that Moshe communicates about his ability to confront Pharaoh (and intrinsically doubts about Adonai), and the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart? Can the story of Moshe, Pharaoh, and the liberation of Israel be understood as an esoteric (and perhaps metaphysical) liberation of the human ego from selfishness and past transgressions through Teshuvah towards knowledge and adherence to the Will of Adonai?
What is the intrinsic value and legitimacy within the existence of the locusts? Do the locusts exclusively exist to show Pharaoh and the Egyptians a point? Is there any legitimacy within the existence of the locusts? Are each of us simply manifestations of each other’s own respective karma? Are each of our actions simply the manifestation of the Will of God? Amidst the respective, and perceivably mutually exclusive, concepts of free will and omnipotence, which is the Reality and which is the illusion? And within the concept of ego and free will, what thought or idea can be considered as being originally derived from any one specific individual as each individual is simply a confluence of the respective influences that shape each individual (as every word that we learn, and every experience that we maintain, are provided and shaped through the lessons taught by others who respectively precede us)?
What is the metaphysical, esoteric significance of the Pesach offering of the lamb; and how does this compare with the meaning within matzah, as well as the goat that is set free for Yom Kippur?
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