page_title: Bo (parsha)
section_title: First reading — Exodus 10:1–11
hierarchical_section_title: Bo (parsha) / Readings / First reading — Exodus 10:1–11
caption_attribution_description: English: The Plague of Locusts, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), gouache on board, 7 3/4 x 9 3/8 in. (19.8 x 23.9 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York
context_page_description: Bo is the fifteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Exodus. The parashah constitutes Exodus 10:1–13:16. The parashah tells of the last three plagues on Egypt and the first Passover.
  The parashah is made up of 6,149 Hebrew letters, 1,655 Hebrew words, 106 verses, and 207 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews read it the fifteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in January or early February. As the parashah describes the first Passover, Jews also read part of the parashah, Exodus 12:21–51, as the initial Torah reading for the first day of Passover, and another part, Exodus 13:1–16, as the initial Torah reading for the first intermediate day of Passover. Jews also read another part of the parashah, Exodus 12:1–20, which describes the laws of Passover, as the maftir Torah reading for the Special Sabbath Shabbat HaChodesh, which falls on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the month in which Jews celebrate Passover.
context_section_description: In the first reading (עליה, aliyah), after seven plagues, God continued visiting plagues on Egypt. Moses and Aaron warned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, or suffer locusts (אַרְבֶּה, arbeh) covering the land. Pharaoh's courtiers pressed Pharaoh to let the men go, so Pharaoh brought Moses and Aaron back and asked them, "Who are the ones to go?" Moses insisted that young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds would go, but Pharaoh rejected Moses' request and expelled Moses and Aaron from his presence. The first reading (עליה, aliyah) and a closed portion (סתומה, setumah) end here.
caption: The Plague of Locusts (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
exif: {}