Perhaps by now you have seen the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt. In one scene, the character of Moses is portrayed as being plagued(!) by his conscience immediately after killing the Egyptian who had been beating the Israelite (see Exodus 2:12). In fact, the movie eliminates the secretive nature of this act as the Biblical narrative presents it (look it up!), and instead depicts Moses as fleeing Egypt - not because the Egyptian authorities are seeking his life - but as a result of his moral abhorrence of his own act. The taking of a human life is judged by this animated pacifist as reason for self-exile from society. Unfortunately, the film does not take up the issue of the wholesale loss of Egyptian life in the ensuing plagues sequence and splitting of the sea. In the movie, Moses never questions God's fierce methods in freeing the Israelites from slavery. We shall return to this issue below.

The Torah portion of Bo is found in Exodus 10:1-13:16. It continues the plagues narrative that began last week in parashat Va'ayra, and also contains the first detailed legal section in the Pentateuch: the laws concerning the sacrifice of the paschal lamb and the first laws of the Passover holiday. The portion contains what is perhaps one of the most enthralling - and horrific - narratives in the entire Bible: the destruction of all the first-born of Egypt. 

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