Today's news might reasonably be pre-empted by the story of the Baltimore Ravens kicker who knocked an NFL record 66-yard field goal off the crossbar in Detroit to win the game, crushing Lions fans' hopes for the 3,751st time.
But we do have other news to talk about. This is a big week ahead, with Congress facing three giant fiscal hurdles: 1. A budget to fund the federal government and avert a shutdown; 2. A bill to raise the debt limit and avoid default; 3. A bill on "infrastructure" that will a) cost up to $3.5 trillion and fund Socialism, and/or b) cost $1.2 trillion, mostly not funding real infrastructure.
We also have news on the pandemic: it's here to stay. We live in its world, rather than the other way around. At least that's what the drug companies say.
And the border is still a disaster. When DHS Secretary Mayorkas tells White House reporters that the Haitian migrants are all facing removal proceedings, they all nod sagely and marvel at the wonderful job Biden's doing. For people who live in the real world: "proceedings" mean the same thing as "release."
Our guests today:
- Dr. Kelli Ward, AZ GOP chair -- on the Arizona audit of the 2000 vote
- Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) -- on the fight to fund Israel's Iron Dome
- Rep. Chip Troy (R-TX) -- on the ongoing border crisis
SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
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This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
