Parshah Bo - Hashem Is Our Strength

The name of this week’s Torah portion, Bo, means “come.” Another way to translate bo is, “enter,” or “penetrate.” The Zohar states that Moses was commanded to enter room after room, penetrating to the very core of Pharaoh’s palace.

The Zohar continues, and says that Moses was scared of this command. He was overwhelmed by the command that required him to confront evil at its very core. To reassure Moses, Hashem told him to come, or in Hebrew, bo. Meaning, Hashem was already there, and He would stand by Moses as he confronted Pharaoh.

This command contains both the push of personal action and the reward of having Hashem’s guidance. Moses had to go to Pharaoh on his own, but Hashem was waiting there to support him while he faced Pharaoh.

This duo is shown in the many challenges in our lives today. We must penetrate to the core of all the challenges we face. It is understandable that we would be scared to do that, because if we weren’t then it’s not a real challenge.

And yet, we should do it anyway. We have the power to overcome any challenge because Hashem will always be waiting to stand with us. And once we see that Hashem is there supporting us, the challenge won’t be so scary anymore.

Hashem encourages us to push ourselves while also supporting us through it all. Hashem is the one that gives us strength, we just have to make sure that we take the first few steps.