Bo

Bo (—in Hebrew, the command form of "go," or "come," and the first significant word in the parashah, in Exodus 10:1) is the fifteenth weekly Torah portion (, parashah) 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 (Chol HaMoed) 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. Readings In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), Parashat Bo has seven "open portion" (, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (peh)). Parashat Bo has seven further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (samekh)) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion contains the first and part of the second readings. The second open portion covers the balance of the second and part of the third readings. The third open portion covers the balance of the third and all of the fourth readings. The fourth open portion covers the fifth and part of the sixth readings. The fifth and sixth open portion divisions further divide the sixth reading. The seventh open portion divides the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions separate the first and second readings, separate the second and third readings, and separate the third and fourth readings. Further closed portion divisions divide the fourth and sixth readings, and conclude the seventh reading. First reading—Exodus 10:1–11