Come With Me, Not Go Alone

This week’s parsha is called Bo—a small word with a powerful message. Bo means come, not go. When G-d instructs Moshe to confront Pharaoh, He does not say, “Go to Pharaoh.” He says, “Bo el Paroh”—come to Pharaoh. In other words: You are not going alone. I am with you. We are doing this together.

That subtle shift in language carries an enduring life lesson.

So often, we feel that if something matters, we must handle it entirely on our own. We tell ourselves that unless we can see the whole path clearly—unless we have the energy, confidence, resources, and certainty of success—it’s not worth starting. Anything less than full control feels like failure.

But Judaism teaches a different way of thinking.

The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot reminds us: “You are not free to desist from the work, but neither are you obligated to complete it.” Our responsibility is not to finish everything. Our responsibility is to begin.

This applies on a global level—and just as much on a deeply personal one. There are dreams we carry that feel distant. Ideals that inspire us, yet seem out of reach. We may lack the time, the stamina, the clarity, or the tools to see them through. And so we wait. We postpone. We convince ourselves that when conditions are perfect, then we’ll act.

Parshat Bo tells us: don’t wait to go—come.

Come with what you have. Come with uncertainty. Come with doubts. Come with small steps. You are not alone in the process.

What matters most is the willingness to start—to move forward a little each day. Progress does not usually arrive in dramatic breakthroughs, but through steady, consistent effort. Over time, those small steps compound. What once felt impossible begins to take shape.

We sabotage ourselves when we allow fear, doubt, or imagined expectations to paralyse us. When perfection becomes the gatekeeper, nothing gets done. Growth begins the moment we get out of our own way.

Bo reminds us that wherever we are asked to go in life, we are not being sent alone. We are coming—with the blessings, abilities, and resources already placed within us. We are here on a mission, capable of far more than we realise.

Set the goal. Aim for it. Push forward, gently but persistently. And trust that you are not walking this path by yourself.

We are not meant to finish the world—but we are meant to improve it, one step at a time, leaving it better than we found it.