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Year Long Commitment to Tikkun Olam
Tu BiShvat for Families
South Bronx-Port Washington Community Partnership
The SHOFAR Project--Synagogues Helping Others Foster AIDS Resources
Matzah Fund
Exodus! 40 Hours of Service for 40 Years in the Desert
From the House of Bondage: Act on Darfur
Ohel Tzedek: Tent of Justice
Why Firstborns Are Such a Big Deal in the Torah
The research abounds: birth order has an impact on development. The Internet teems with articles on expected personality traits for firstborn and later-born children and, in a rare moment of consensus, experts agree that birth order matters.1 It influences a child’s need for attention, interest in interacting with adults versus peers, reactions to challenge and pressure, and relationship with parents. As the mother of two young sons (and a firstborn myself), I see evidence of this research daily and often wonder how birth order will affect my children’s lives.
Birth order matters in Parashat Bo, too. Bo begins with the final four plagues, culminating in that infamous, horrifying last plague: makat b’chorot, the killing of the firstborn. God takes this concept to its extreme, condemning every single firstborn — whether human or animal — to perish. The Israelite firstborns were saved by placing lambs’ blood on their doors.