Torah Discussion Starter: Feeling Guilty?
There are a number of Torah passages that we wrestle with as modern Jews reading back on this ancient text and one of them is from this week’s parashah, Bo. After the 10 plagues, Pharaoh finally decides to let the Israelites go from slavery and tells them that they may take their livestock with them. Pharaoh also does something surprising and asks for the Israelites to bless him as they leave. At this moment, God tells the Israelites to “borrow” the belongings of the Egyptians for their journey and the Israelites end up taking all of their gold and silver. There is lots of speculation as to whether or not the Israelites stole all the wealth from the Egyptians, whether or not the Egyptians deserved it, etc. As a parent, to me, it really screams GUILT! (Like the pictured guilty puppy that got your attention.)
QUESTION FOR YOU:
Guilt rarely goes away without taking some sort of action. Have you ever made a huge mistake and tried to make up for it?
Rabbi Aimee Gerace
