This week's Torah portion focuses on the distinction between sacred and profane in various aspects of life. I believe it was Max Weber, or perhaps Emile Durkheim, who identified that distinction as the essence of religion itself.)
The text runs through various observances and sacrifices, and then comes to the basics of Jewish civil law -- the oft-misunderstood passage of "eye for eye, tooth for tooth," which is often seen as an example of Old Testament brutality.
The rabbis interpreted that passage to mean that the loss of an eye should be compensated for up to the equivalent value of an eye, a tooth for the monetary value of a tooth, and so on -- not that corporal punishment should take place.
Though the rabbinic Oral Law that forms the basis of many of Judaism's peculiar restrictions is often discounted by "progressive" branches of Judaism, this case shows why the rabbinate and its interpretations were absolutely necessary.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2492749&jewish=Emor-Torah-Reading.htm&p=complete
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:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
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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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