Shemoth 10:1 – 13:16
The weekly perashá is titled “Bo,” “Come.” The Holy Toráh recounts the final plagues that fell upon Egypt and how the Eternal, blessed be He, “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart. In the end, Pharaoh pleaded that Moshé take the people with everything necessary to celebrate the festival for Adonay, blessed be He. The Toráh states:
“Now ask about the former days which were before you, from the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other, whether there has ever been such a thing as this, or whether anything like it has ever been heard. Has any people heard the voice of Dio speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and lived? Or has Dio ever attempted to come and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, with trials, with signs, with wonders, with war, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terrors, as all that Adonay, your Dio, did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
To you it was shown, so that you might know that Adonay is the Dio, and there is none besides Him. From the heavens He made you hear His voice, to instruct you; and upon the earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them, and brought you out of Egypt with His presence and with His great power, to drive out nations greater and mightier than you from before you, and to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Therefore, know this day and reflect in your heart that Adonay is the Dio in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”
The exodus from Egypt is proof for Israel and for the entire world that He chose the Hebrews as His people. Furthermore, He revealed His laws and statutes specifically to them. The Eternal, blessed be He, requires that we use reason in order to learn, and the heart in order to reflect and be motivated to fulfill His decrees.
The sage Maimónides taught that the exodus from Egypt and the revelation at Sinaí demonstrate that the Toráh is true. There are four types of revelation: A, B, C, and D. Revelation type A is given to one individual. Type B is witnessed by two to one thousand people. Type C is given to a group of up to fifty thousand people. Finally, revelation type D is given to an entire nation. Logic dictates that revelation type D is the most verifiable of all. The only nation in the world that experienced revelation type D is the people of Israel, as seen above. Therefore, the existence of the people of Israel rests upon the testimony of the generation that left Egypt and stood at Sinaí to hear the divine words.
Hakham Yehonatan Elazar-De Mota