Welcome to Daylight Savings Time! Still awake to enjoy the beautiful long day? A taste of summer, at the expense of sleep. Don't worry, this week's show will keep you on the edge of your seat.
We're going to talk about the war in Ukraine, of course -- and isn't it interesting how Joe Biden, who was ridiculing Mitt Romney in 2012 for warning us about Russia, is blaming everything going wrong in his presidency on Putin? Biden's right not to take steps that could lead to an escalation -- but he put us in this position. NATO is tiptoeing around Putin rather than the other way around, because instead of Putin having to worry about whatever Trump might do, we have to worry about what he might do. There was an arms race toward crazy, and it turned out crazy was a pretty good deterrent, but the election went the other way, and Russia beat us in crazy. Or, to use a chess metaphor, Biden chose to play with the black pieces, who move second, meaning that the best we can hope for (absent a colossal blunder, which I wouldn't rule out) is a draw.
Inflation is among the many things for which Biden blames Putin -- and we'll talk about that, too. It's one lie too many for the American media, who noted this weekend that inflation began almost as soon as Biden took office. What does it mean, going forward? Well, Congress is busy spending billions on earmarks, thanks to Democrats -- and a majority of House Republicans, mind you -- who brought back the practice. Plus: the Florida "don't say gay" bill still doesn't say "gay." We'll talk about all of it. You'll want to hear it.
Special guests:
Dan Eberhart -- CEO of Canary USA, on electric cars as an alternative
Steve Ellis -- President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, on earmarks
Melanie Israel -- Researcher at Heritage, on Democrats' social radicalism
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
