Engaging our children in Parshas Bo
The following are some suggestions of ideas for conversations with our children by the Shabbos meals of Parshas Bo. The key here is to get the children involved through debate and stimulation.
The Makos – Arbe, locusts
Suddenly, the day starts darkening and you look up and starts seeing large masses of dark clouds coming towards you. In no time, the sunshine and day light is covered over and it looks like night time. As these clouds come nearer you see that they are swarms of locusts. You run indoors, and look out the window. They descend and cover everything. Imagine the huge noise of them and that if you go outdoors you could get attacked by them. They cover the ground and you cannot walk without stepping on them. There is no longer any greenery left.
The Egyptians though of a great plan. They could trap the locusts and then eat them! Imagine the Egyptian Superstore – all types of pickled locust, in milk and brine, etc. At the end of the maka Hashem decreed that not a single locust should remain as food for the Egyptians. Suddenly there is a loud bang and like bullets or rockets shooting out of their containers the pickled locusts rise up and shoot out of the ceiling leaving destruction in its wake.
The Makos – Choshech, darkness
Picture practical examples of how to relate to the Makos. Take the maka of Choshech, darkness. Imagine an eclipse of the sun – total darkness. Or a sudden electric blackout. Or picture the whole dungeons – a pit in the ground totally dark and damp. Try and picture the life of someone blind. Tryout the game of blindfolding a child and get them to try and move around the room – see how many times they fall and bang into things and hurt themselves. This is just how the darkness was for the first three days.
Now move one and imagine the last three days of darkness where they could not even move. Picture afterwards the pain of pins and needles and how tired they must have been.
The Makos – Killing of the firstborn
Paro tells Moshe in his anger to never see him again. This is true as later when the plague happens, it is not Moshe that goes to Paro as usual but it is now Paro in pyjamas in the middle of the night who comes to Moshe.
Who would be scared of this plague? Surely only the firstborns and they were the targets. Chazal say that the firstborns formed a rebellion and fought against Paro’s army resulting in lots of deaths – למכה מצרים בבכוריהם. However, when midnight came, if there was no firstborn at home then the eldest person in the house died. Suddenly, even other Egyptians were now all scared for their lives as they did not know the rule of who counted!
Why did Hashem keep Paro, a firstborn alive – saved from this plague? Perhaps this was in order to keep alive to see the final victory at the splitting of the Yum Suf.