And you shall teach them diligently to your children

Shemot {10:1} HaSHEM said to Moshe, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs in the midst of them, {10:2} and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son's son, what things I have done to Mitzrayim (Egypt), and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am HaSHEM."

There is something very interesting contained in the first two verses of Parsha Bo which caught my attention when I read them. No it was not that HaShem continued to harden Pharaoh’s heart and the hearts of his servants. It was what HaShem said about the signs He performed and what effect He said they should have. You will recall last week I said that the ten plagues which G-d sent upon Mitzrayim, “…were actually designed to bring the Mitzrayim to acknowledge HaShem as the One True G-d.” Well here in Parsha Bo HaShem gives us another reason. “{10:2} and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son's son, what things I have done to Mitzrayim, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am HaSHEM."

HaShem wants us to tell the story of the Exodus over and over again, year after year, to our children and to our children’s children. Now we all know that the Exodus from Mitzrayim is a picture, as believers in Mashiach Yeshua, of our departure from the bondage of sin. Through Yeshua and the blood we are redeemed into a new relationship with HaShem just as bnei Yisrael (children of Israel) was. Moshe was a type of Yeshua. Both Moshe and Mashiach Yeshua were sent to redeem those which HaShem had called out and made kadosh (set apart) unto Him. However I found something even more interesting in these verses, in particular in verse 2.

Shemot {10:2} and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your son's son, what things I have done to Mizrayim, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am HaSHEM."

Look carefully at what HaShem is saying here, because it is very subtle. HaShem is saying (and I am paraphrasing). ‘YOU tell YOUR son and YOUR son’s son the signs I have done in Mitzrayim so that YOU may know that I am the L-rd.’ You, and I, are being told to tell the next generations about the Exodus, which we are to personalize, seeing as we too are among the redeemed, so that we, and I emphasize the “we,” may know that the L-rd is HaShem. In other words the telling of the story of the Exodus, which includes the telling of the plagues and the miracles which HaShem performed in redeeming bnei Yisrael, is as much, if not more for us to hear, as it is for the future generations to hear. How could this be?

In last week’s Shabbat sermon I taught about the principle of “Positive Confession.” I explained that we have enough negativity in the world and that HaShem does not want us to get caught up in the negative. He wants us to think, talk and act positively. I based the sermon on the following Scripture:

Pilifim/Philippians {4:8} Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

When Yeshua told us in: Korintim alef/1 Corinthians {11.24} And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. {11.25} After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

The “this” that Yeshua was talking about is the Pesach (Passover) which He was presiding over. Yeshua was saying to His talmidim (disciples) that in the past Pesach was celebrated strictly as a remembrance of Yisrael’s (Israel’s) exodus from Mitzrayim. Now He is saying the second Moshe has come to once again redeem His kadoshim (called out ones), but this time from the Mitzrayim of sin. Therefore when doing the Pesach, from now on, we are to remember Yeshua’s redemption of our souls. Thus the reference to the third cup of wine as representing His blood shed for us and matzoh (unleavened bread) as representing His body broken for us draws a parallel between ancient Yisrael’s and our redemption. As we perform the Pesach Seder (order or service) and remember Moshe, the redeemer of our flesh, so to now, are we to be reminded of Mashiach Yeshua, the redeemer of our souls. By telling the Pesach story of redemption in the hearing of our son and our son’s son we not only pass on our faith to the next generation (raising up our children in the way they should go), but we also reinforce our own faith by recalling our own redemption experience.

Many people do not have a problem telling their children fables and fairy tales. They do not even think twice about repeating lies concerning a Santa Clause that does not exist. Yet they neglect to give their children and just as importantly they neglect to give themselves, the positive confession of their personal redemption experience so that THEY will know that He is HaShem.

Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada.

Copyright 2004