This week, we begin the Book of Deuteronomy, which is a recapitulation of the drama of the first four books of the Torah. It is also Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision, which precedes the fast day of Tisha B'Av.
The portion is a concise summary of Moses's leadership during 40 years of wandering through the desert, from the disappointment of the 12 spies when the Israelites first reached the land, to the appointment of Joshua as leader.
Tisha B'Av mourns the destruction of the two Holy Temples, and many other tragedies that befell the Jewish people. The fast will begin just before the end of the Sabbath; we will read the book of Lamentations in synagogues worldwide.
Tradition holds that the Sabbath before Tisha B'Av allows one the vision to see the redemptive era of the future, when the Third Temple will be restored. One has the ability to break out of mental prisons of all other kinds, as well.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/703951/jewish/Shabbat-Chazon.htm
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
