Bo:

Exodus 10:1-13:16.

OVERVIEW

Hashem tells Moses that He is hardening Pharaoh's heart so that through miraculous plagues the world will know for all time that He is the one true G-d. Pharaoh is warned about the plague of locusts and is told how severe it will be. Pharaoh agrees to release only the men, but Moses insists that everyone must go. During the plague, Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron to remove the locusts, and he admits he has sinned. Hashem ends the plague but hardens Pharaoh's heart, and again Pharaoh fails to free the Jewish people. The country, except for the Jewish People, is then engulfed in a palpable darkness. Pharaoh calls for Moses and tells him to take all the Jews out of Egypt, but to leave their flocks behind. Moses tells him that not only will they take their own flocks, but Pharaoh must add his own too. Moses tells Pharaoh that Hashem is going to bring one more plague, the death of the firstborn, and then the Jews will leave Egypt. Hashem again hardens Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh warns Moses that if he sees Moses again, Moses will be put to death. Hashem tells Moses that the month of Nissan will be the chief month. The Jewish people are commanded to take a sheep on the 10th of the month and guard it until the 14th. The sheep is then to be slaughtered as a Pesach sacrifice, its blood put on their door- posts, and its roasted meat eaten. The blood on the door-post will be a sign that their homes will be passed-over when Hashem strikes the firstborn of Egypt. The Jewish People are told to memorialize this day as the Exodus from Egypt by never eating chametz on Pesach. Moses relays Hashem's commands, and the Jewish People fulfill them flawlessly. Hashem sends the final plague, killing the first born, and Pharaoh sends the Jews out of Egypt. Hashem tells Moses and Aaron the laws concerning the Pesach sacrifice, pidyon haben (redemption of the first born son) and tefillin.

Overview courtesy of Rabbis Newman and Sinclair, Ohr Somayach