Bo
Rabbi Schapiro on the Parshah: Bo
Unlike every later Pesach offering, the one brought the night of the Exodus was slaughtered in each individual house — and eaten there till morning. A look at what that reveals about Hashem's plan for every Jewish home to become its own small Beis Hamikdash.
Parshas Bo
Unpacks Rashi's explanation of v'lo yihiyeh bachem negef — that even a Yid discovered in the home of a Mitzri on the night of makas bechoros was spared. Draws out just how spiritually distant such a person must have been to still be there despite every warning and every makah already witnessed, yet Hashem Himself descended, so to speak, to rescue him. Applies the lesson to kiruv: just as Hashem lowered Himself to reach that Yid, every Yid is called to lower himself, if necessary, to bring another Jew closer to Torah and Hashem.
Parshas Bo
Explains Rashi's point that a Yid who happened to be in a Mitzri's house during makas bechoros was still spared, per v'lo yihiyeh bachem negef, despite every warning to stay inside and every plague already witnessed. Highlights how spiritually far this Yid must have drifted, and how Hashem nonetheless lowered Himself, so to speak, to save him. Draws the practical lesson that just as the Oibershter went to that Yid's level to bring him out of Mitzrayim, every Yid must be willing to lower himself to reach and be mekarev another Jew, however far removed he may seem.
Parshas Bo
Notes the striking halacha unique to korban Pesach — that it had to be brought inside each person's own home, with the two doorposts and the mashkof functioning as three mizbechos, unlike any other korban which requires the Beis HaMikdash or a bamah. Explains, based on the Rebbe's answer, that since Yechezkel refers to yetzias Mitzrayim as the birth of Am Yisrael, the korban Pesach hinted at the goal Hashem set from that very birth: through v'asu li mikdash v'shachanti b'socham — understood as b'soch kol echad v'echad — every Jewish home is meant to become a mikdash where the Shechinah dwells, a goal that will culminate in the third Beis HaMikdash with the coming of Mashiach.
Parshas Bo
Raises the difficulty in Paroh's warning before makas arbeh: Hashem had already hardened Paroh's heart, removing his bechirah chofshis, yet still threatens punishment for not letting the Yidden go. Resolves it through the Alter Rebbe's teaching in Iggeres HaTeshuvah and Tanya that even someone whom the Gemara says ein maspikin b'yado la'asos teshuvah can still break through with enough forcing of himself — dochuk v'nichnas. Brings the Maharsha's proof from Acher, whom a bas kol declared barred from teshuvah yet was still punished for not trying, showing that nothing, ultimately, stands in the way of teshuvah — not even Paroh's hardened heart.
Parshas Bo
Explores why the korban Pesach had to be roasted whole rather than in pieces, tracing it to the halachic principle that avodah zarah is assur b'mashehu, forbidden in any amount however small. Applies that idea to three everyday forms of self-worship: relying on one's own head over Hashem's will, doing whatever the feet want to chase, and running after food or parnassah as an end in itself. Shows why korban Pesach and bris milah together marked the transformation that made yetzias Mitzrayim possible.
Parshas Bo
Unpacks Moshe Rabbeinu's answer to Pharaoh, that the Yidden don't yet know how much they'll need to serve Hashem, and why Rashi reads it as leaving room for more than they already had. Brings in the Baal Shem Tov's teaching, illustrated by the well-known story of the Toldos and the frozen river, that Hashem sometimes teaches avodas Hashem through ordinary worldly events precisely because Torah's own lessons aren't always enough for the moment.
Parshas Bo
Works through the difficulty of makkat arbeh: Hashem announces that He hardened Pharaoh's heart, seemingly removing his bechirah, yet still punishes him for not letting the Yidden go. Resolves it through the Alter Rebbe's Iggeres HaTeshuvah and a Maharsha on Elisha ben Avuya, known as Acher, establishing that even someone told from Above that teshuvah is barred to him can still, with great effort, do teshuvah, and is held accountable precisely because that door is never fully closed.
Parshas Bo
Questions Rashi's comment that machar sometimes means 'now' and sometimes means 'a later time,' since even the first reading is literally about tomorrow, not the present. Reads machar as referring to the next generation, distinguishing a child who continues in his father's ways from one with a real generation gap, and shows why the Torah's instruction to answer the child applies with full force to both: the son who is already on your level and the one who seems worlds apart.