Today is a Jewish fast day, remembering the day the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem, so I'll be doing this show without the usual popcorn and coffee. Will I make it? Tune in to find out -- and to hear from amazing guests.
We'll start with Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East. The Saudis now say they will not increase oil production, and opening their skies was not a move toward peace with Israel. So did he achieve anything? I think he did, in spite of himself.
While Joe was away, California Gov. Gavin Newsom paid a visit to Washington, testing the waters for a presidential run -- just in case, you know, something were to ... happen to Biden. He's angling to be the alternative -- to Kamala.
Meanwhile, back home, L.A. is preparing to host the MLB All-Star Game, which was controversially moved from Atlanta last year for political reasons. What will it say about life in L.A., and California -- and blue-state America?
The primary elections are one way to take the pulse of the electorate -- and we will talk to a candidate who's in the field in Maryland, Mathew Foldi, in a newly-competitive district that Republicans think they can take in the midterms.
Special guests:
Alan Dershowitz -- noted legal pundit, on Biden's Middle East trip, and Roe
Elex Michaelson -- of Fox 11 KTTV, who interviewed Gavin Newsom in DC
Matthew Foldi -- Republican primary candidate in Maryland's 6th district
Jessica Vaugn -- model and pundit, on the economy and L.A. today
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
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
