It's Thanksgiving week -- one of the sweetest weeks of the whole year! I am flying back from sunny, er, very rainy Florida to bring you a roundup of what's going on and what lies ahead. The Biden BBB bonanza bill heads to the Senate, where it faces a very uncertain fate. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted -- and we will explore the consequences for all the journalists and politicians who defamed him. And China is very much in the news -- with disappearing tennis stars, and cornering the market on cobalt (thanks in part to Hunter Biden's corruption).
Oh, and there's a spate of looting in San Francisco -- and the 'burbs, now, too.
Guests:
Michael Pillsbury - on China, Taiwan, Peng Shuai, and Hunter Biden's cobalt
John Pierce - former lawyer for Kyle Rittenhouse, who predicted acquittal
SiriusXM Patriot, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: (866) 957-2874
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
And more!
Special guests:
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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