Parashat Boפָּרָשַׁת בֹּא

Bo (“Come”) recounts the last three plagues that God inflicts on the Egyptians: locusts, darkness, and death of firstborns. God commands the Israelites to offer a Passover lamb sacrifice. After the last plague, Pharaoh and the Egyptians demand that the Israelites leave. Amid the drama of the final plagues and the Exodus, Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) marks the turning point where Israel shifts from being a passive witness of God's wonders into an active covenant people charged with mitzvot. It contains what tradition identifies as the very first commandment given to Israel as a nation: Kiddush HaChodesh, the sanctification of the new moon and the establishment of a calendar, designating Nisan as the first of months. The portion institutes the enduring observance of Passover (Pesach), with its paschal lamb, blood on the doorposts, and matzah, alongside the consecration of the firstborn and the mitzvah of tefillin. Running through it are the themes of divine judgment, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, redemption, and the lasting duty to retell the Exodus story to future generations.

In most communities across the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions, the Haftarah for Bo is Jeremiah 46:13-28. The thematic link is God's judgment on Egypt: where the parashah devastates Egypt through the final plagues to free Israel, Jeremiah prophesies that God will again strike Egypt down, this time through Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The haftarah closes on a redemptive note that mirrors the Exodus, reassuring the exiled people of Israel to "fear not" and promising their ultimate restoration, in contrast to Egypt's subjugation.

Bo is the source of some of Judaism's most recited texts. Exodus 12:2, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you" (HaChodesh hazeh lachem), is traditionally cited as the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people as a nation. The portion underlies much of the Passover Seder, including the eating of matzah and the "and you shall tell your child" verse (Exodus 13:8) recited in the Haggadah. It also contains two of the four passages physically written inside tefillin (Exodus 13:1-10 and 13:11-16). By tradition the portion has 106 verses and is typically read in January or February.