Democrats are trying to portray the midterm election as a referendum on democracy -- casting themselves as the great defenders thereof.
It is beyond obvious by now: Democrats reject the outcome of any democratic election that they lose. The entire "Russia collusion" conspiracy theory consumed the Democratic Party for years -- because they reject democracy.
But there's something even more nefarious going on. When Americans use the term "democracy," we don't simply refer to the act of voting. We also mean the system of rights that protects individuals from abuse by the majority, as well as the checks and balances that stop the government from exceeding its power.
And that's where Democrats have been actively destroying democracy, as we know it, for more than a decade -- a project that accelerated under Barack Obama and has continued since then, assisted by the so-called Deep State.
The Mar-a-Lago raid is the latest example, but there are so many others. Even the January 6 Committee, ostensibly investigating an "assault on democracy," abrogated the rights of the minority and the witnesses in its partisan zeal.
The Democratic Party, like left-wing parties worldwide, cares more about the outcomes it seeks -- all related to economic redistribution -- than the process through which decisions are meant to be made (see the student loan bailout).
The Democratic Party is the single greatest threat to democracy in America today, because it rejects the founding principles of the country and is killing liberties that were once taken for granted.
So, yes, democracy is on the ballot.
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
