Bo
What are the challenges of our journey to freedom?
Reflection by Ariel Dominique Hendelman, the Or HaLeV Team
"The title of this week’s Torah portion, Bo, means `come` or `come in.` This portion has the final three plagues in it, as well as, of course, the story of our exodus from Egypt. The blessing and challenge of Bo is our freedom. We take that first step out of the narrow space of Mitzrayim and become conscious journeyers. This freedom is not merely ‘freedom from,’ but ‘freedom to’ – to be in direct and close relationship with the One Who Created Us and All.
The blessings of this journey to freedom are perhaps obvious, but what about the challenges? When we were in Egypt, our time was not our own. Each day was marked by the labor we were forced to do. In the narrow place, we ourselves became narrow, and in our perceptions, the entire world became narrow along with us. Then all of a sudden, the world becomes wider and more expansive; our time is our own. With freedom comes responsibility.
In our meditation practice, we are constantly trying to get beyond the surface of things. This is a radical act in a world that is always seducing us back up to the surface, telling us that it is there where we will find happiness. But we know that’s not true.
In the words of Rabbi Shefa Gold, `Constantly bombarded with stimulation, we begin to rely on that stimulation to keep us from boredom, and dreaded emptiness. The spiritual challenge of Bo lies in the cultivation of a rich inner life. The obstacles to inner-ness, and depth, are represented by the heart of Pharaoh, the obstruction through which we must pass on our way to freedom.`
The question becomes, how do we acknowledge a heart that has hardened, a self that has become constricted by the illusions of the surface? Perhaps that first step of acknowledgment is the key to our liberation.
May our practice this week bring us to true freedom - recognizing the bountiful riches that are within us, and that deep connection to source which is always extending its outstretched hand to us."