This week’s Torah portion opens with the words, “Bo el paro,” or “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that I may display these My signs among them” (Exodus 10). These opening words are familiar, but less familiar is our understanding of how the word “Bo,” which means come, becomes “go” in many English translations. So, which is it? It depends on the perspective of the translator who wants to set the scene unfolding before Moses and Pharaoh.

To begin, the familiar “go,” assumes that Moses is on the outside of Pharaoh’s court and is preparing to go in to Pharaoh. Here the translation leads us to the predicament facing Moses. Though a chosen leader, but not a seasoned one, Moses previously urged God not to send him due to his speech impediment. But God resolved Moses’s concerns by putting Aaron at his side to assure him in his role. Rather than disqualify Moses, God provided a partner with whom to accomplish this critical role.

“Go to Pharaoh,” also places the reader with Moses on the outside of Pharaoh’s court waiting for Moses to enter. The lone hero, accompanied by his trusted companion, Aaron, is now commanded to go with God’s blessing and accomplish the heroic task.

Alternatively, in some translations, “come” is used, instead. It doesn’t change the outcome, but it does change the scene. Since the rabbis taught that God’s presence fills all the earth, they concluded that God is already present in Pharaoh’s court. When God commands Moses and Aaron to enter and tell Pharaoh, “Let My people go!” God is already there. So, God says, “Bo,” come to Pharaoh. Loosely translated, “Come in to Pharaoh, for I have already hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers, in order that you may display My signs for me among them.”

The word “come” meets two needs: 1) it satisfies the rabbis’ understanding of God, whose presence fills the earth and is already steps ahead of Pharaoh who claims to be a god; and 2) Moses and Aaron can come to do what God has commanded them in the company of God because the hard work of taming Pharaoh is already underway. And, yet, “come” depends heavily on commentary about God’s presence, which is unavailable in the Torah, itself, while “go” becomes the action word we need in this verse.

The narrative that ensues is filled with power, suspense, and everything Hollywood needed to make an epic film. And for us, we learn that God’s presence fills the earth then and now. The places we need to enter, especially when we fear that we have to “go” to them, are already places where God is. We only have to “come” there to accomplish the task that is ours to do, even when the job is difficult.

Especially during times when we feel burdened and overwhelmed despite the goals and high places we know we must reach, knowing that God is there helps us come forward to do what we can. What are you waiting for? Go, because you’re commanded to go! Come because God is waiting for you to take the place that is already set for you.

L’Shalom,