This week's Torah reading deals with the laws of ritual purity, as well as the deaths of both Miriam and Aaron, and Moses's sin in striking the rock. All weighty topics, revealing the heavy moral burden of leadership.
The additional reading, from the book of Judges (11:1-33), is the story of Yiftach (or Jephthah), one of the most tragic stories in the Bible. It is the story of how a leader is trapped by his own vow -- forced, in effect, to sacrifice his daughter.
The two readings mirror one another, because they show that even the smallest words and gestures by leaders can have dire consequences.
But the story of Yiftach also has another curious element: that of the redeemed outcast.
Yiftach is an outlaw before he becomes a leader. He is cast out by his brothers because he is the son of a concubine and therefore illegitimate. He lives on his own, gathering a band of fellow misfits around him as a personal army.
Under threat of invasion, the leaders of Israel finally turn to Yiftach for aid. He makes them a deal: he will defend them, if they make him their leader. They agree to those terms, and Yiftach and his band of outlaws are vindicated.
There's a lesson there about leadership, too: just as leaders bear a moral burden, so, too, do the rest of us bear a responsibility to care for every member of society and treat each other with dignity -- not to cast anyone aside.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
