Chaburat Taryag: Parshas Bo

Hello, dear children! It's Saba Kadisha. Oy, oy, oy! Last week we saw seven plagues. And Pharaoh still said no. But this week, Bnei Yisrael finally go out to freedom! But first, we learn! Sunday after school, the four friends came like every week to Saba Kadisha's room. This week we read Parshas Bo, and it has three things every kid needs to know. Three? Star-counter ready. A star for each one. Easy! Number one: Moshe and Aharon came to Pharaoh again and told him: Let Bnei Yisrael go out! And Pharaoh's servants told him: Maybe you should listen. But Pharaoh said no again. And then came the plague of locusts, a huge cloud of grasshoppers. It covered the whole sky and ate every green leaf in the fields. Not even one leaf was left. After that came the plague of darkness, darkness so thick you could almost touch it, and the Egyptians couldn't move from their places for three days. But in the homes of Bnei Yisrael, there was light. Children, we can bring light too: help whoever is having a hard time, and make someone sad happy. So we can bring light too. One star! Number two: Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon: Hachodesh hazeh lachem rosh chodashim. This is the first mitzvah Bnei Yisrael received: Rosh Chodesh. Every time the moon is renewed, a new month begins. And then every family prepared a korban Pesach. They put a red sign on the doorposts of the house and ate it together inside the house. And at midnight came the last and biggest plague. And Pharaoh said: Go out! And Bnei Yisrael went out, so fast that the dough didn't have time to rise, and that's how it became matzah. Children, the matzah teaches us zrizus. When there's a mitzvah, we don't wait. We do it quickly and happily. As we say: Mitzvah haba'ah l'yadcha, al tachmitzenah. So when there's a mitzvah, we do it quickly. Two stars! And number three: Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim with great joy and took vessels of silver and vessels of gold, as Hashem promised Avraham Avinu. And in the parsha there's another mitzvah: tefillin. Inside the tefillin it's written how Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, and we put them on the arm and on the head to remember every day. And on Seder night, every Abba tells his children this whole story, as it's written: V'higadta l'vincha. And that's how every generation remembers what Hashem did for us. Children, Hashem wants us to always remember the good He did for us. That's why we mention it every day in davening, and whoever remembers a favor is happy and always thanks Hashem. So we need to remember and say thank you to Hashem. Three stars! The counter is full! And just then, Yisrael came in, and with him Dubi, his little brother. And Dubi said: Rabbi Zalman, our old neighbor, said that the stairs are very dark at night, and he can't see anything. So here's this week's mission: One: bring light to others. Two: do mitzvos quickly, with zrizus. And three: always remember what Hashem did for us. My gadget says: a little light chases away a lot of darkness. Let's buy him a small lamp! And I'll bring money from my piggy bank. In the evening, the friends stuck a small lamp on the wall of the stairs. And Rabbi Zalman said: Now I can see every step. Thank you, children! Just like in the homes of Bnei Yisrael: light inside the darkness. My gadget says: whoever lights up others has light too. And Rabbi Zalman went up the stairs without fear, and smiled a big smile. And the first star lit up. The next day, the gabbai of the shul asked: Who can help me arrange all the siddurim? And the friends were in the middle of a ball game. Maybe after the game? No! A mitzvah we do quickly, like the matzah! And the friends ran and arranged all the siddurim neatly on the shelves. And the gabbai said: What zrizim! And the second star lit up. On Thursday, the friends prepared a little play about Yetzias Mitzrayim for the little kids in the gan, so the little ones will also remember what Hashem did. And the little ones sat and listened with big eyes, and at the end everyone sang together: Avadim hayinu! And the third star lit up. My gadget says: whoever remembers says thank you. And at the end, the friends and Saba Kadisha sang a happy niggun together. Friends, this week we brought light, we did a mitzvah quickly, and we remembered what Hashem did for us. Three stars! The mission is complete! On Shabbos night, at the table, the friends told everyone about the matzah and about Yetzias Mitzrayim. Dear children, this week you were a light for others. You did mitzvos with zrizus, like the matzah, and you remembered what Hashem did for us. And next week, we reach Parshas Beshalach. And what will happen by the sea? We'll see next week! And now, thank you for watching with us, and Shabbat shalom! And next week, Bnei Yisrael walk in the desert and reach the great sea. What will happen there? We'll find out next week!