15. BO

by Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Perhaps the greatest archetypal tale in all of human culture about addiction to top-down, unaccountable power is the story of Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus.

Now, today, we are seeing this tale lived out before our own eyes. The present government of the United States has become so addicted to its own power, so swept away by its own arrogance, that it is playing out the tale of Pharaoh.

And the US government is not alone: the present government of Iran is talking like Pharaoh; Al Qaeda acts like a mini-Pharaoh.

Pharaoh begins by hardening his own heart to the plight of the poor and powerless, and after a series of disasters (the "plagues") brought on by his own arrogance, his addiction takes over.

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 1/13/2005

This Torah portion shows how Moses comes to face Pharaoh. It invites us to face this question:

How can we face the Pharaohs in our own lives?

Maybe we are most conscious of the Pharaohs that bring plagues of climate

Rabbi Arthur Waskow

Parsha Bo
Our Torah portion this week begins, "Bo l'Pharaoh." Most translations say "Go to Pharaoh" but I hear it as "Come to Pharaoh," not "Go." Thus God is already in Pharaoh -- &q

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 12/2/2004

One of the key moments of the Biblical story of the Exodus comes after seven eco-disasters. Pharaoh's own advisers shriek at him: "Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?" (Exodus 10:7).

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