I shared a thought on Twitter yesterday that led to a rather unusual backlash, one led by a former college friend who has been a troll for years already.
Reacting to a story about CNN blaming Tucker Carlson and "replacement theory" for the horrific mass shooting by a racist gunman in Buffalo, I pointed out that to the extent "replacement theory" is a problem, at least in its non-racial sense, it derives its power from the fact that it provides the best explanation for Democrats' complete refusal to guard the U.S. border.
Boy, did that set the cat amongst the proverbial pigeons. I was called a racist, a white supremacist, you name it. I endured all kinds of abuse, some of which I won't bore you with. But through it all, I had a thought: I bet this isn't an article.
You see, when I screw up, or post something stupid, it almost invariably ends up as an article somewhere -- at Media Matters, or at some other left-wing website. It might still happen, but thus far, nothing: pure crickets.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be an article, you see, because I felt that my critics would not want the whole tweet to get out. Because not only to I allow for the fact that "replacement theory" might be a problem, but I point out that Democrats lack an alternative explanation for their failures. And the fact is that there really are political motives for Democrats' inaction on the southern border.
Sure enough, today: silence. At least so far.
https://twitter.com/joelpollak/status/1525869457435807744?s=20&t=ymm42t69LYc42_TrWr46-A
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
