This week's portion is one of the most colorful in the Bible, telling the story of the evil king Balak and his attempts to hire the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. Balaam is waylaid by his own donkey, who is miraculously able to talk. In the end, he praises the people of Israel rather than cursing them.
That much is familiar to many people. But there is a twist at the end: the people are corrupted through temptation, and they fornicate with the daughters of the Moabites. What armies and prophets could not do, the lustful women easily accomplished. The result is pain, suffering, plague -- and, eventually, violence.
Jewish philosophy wrestles with the question of lust. There is a famous episode in the Talmud, in Tractate Sanhedrin (link below), in which the people manage to imprison the desire to commit the sin of idolatry. Having succeeded in that effort, they try to imprison the sin of lust, and they are successful in doing so.
But then things begin to go wrong. Without lust, they discover, chickens stop laying eggs. It turns out that lust is part of the essential life-force that makes the world go around. So the people release lust from imprisonment, and they merely blind it, so that desires like incest disappear. As for the rest of them...
Today's episode is devoted to the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks. It was produced before the announcement of a ceasefire deal, yet remains current & relevant.
Please listen, and #bringthemhome.
SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET (4-7 PT)
This week's portion is a beautiful poem, containing the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. But given the breaking news that Hamas may actually have agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages, I will devote my remarks to that.
One hopes it is true; if so, it makes this week's additional reading, from II Samuel 22, even more relevant: David's song of praise to the Lord for delivering him from the hand of his enemies.
"18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support."
So much to focus on this week -- and much breaking news. A peace deal in the Middle East, perhaps? Eric Adams dropping out of the mayor's race? And a looming shutdown as Democrats push their demands beyond absurdity.
Special guests:
- Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the shutdown
- John Carney - Breitbart News financial editor, on the upcoming jobs report
- Jerome Hudson - Breitbart News entertainment editor, on the Kimmel fallout
- Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on the UN and Gaza talks
- Matisyahu - award-winning reggae artist, on his new album, "Ancient Child"
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
