Bo

This week’s Torah reading, Bo, contains Moshe’s words to Pharaoh, “We will go with our young and our old…”  (Exodus 10:9).
In the Jewish tradition we take great care to let the elders precede the young.  In many places throughout the Torah we are told to “stand before the aged,” “give a seat to the aged,” “give honors to the aged,” and so on.  So why would Moshe indicate the young go before old?  
The answer is that when liberation is near it must be achieved by the next generation.  So it was when the Jews settled Palestine the young from Poland, Russia and Yemen came first.
It was also the same when the Jews went down to Egypt.  The youth Joseph came first only to be followed by his elder siblings and father.
The sacred task of our time is for the elders to share the wisdom they have accumulated through the years and for the next generation to reignite the fires of tradition and growth.
The Torah speaks to our hearts when it states that each of us has a sacred place in the world with holy tasks to be meted out.  No one is dispensable; especially not the aged.
In each generation the Torah will be embodied by the aged and carried by the young.    

 “Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they shall instruct you.”–Deuteronomy 32:7 

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