This week's portion is one of the most difficult in the entire Torah. It covers many of the laws of war, as well as family and civil law. It also has several admonitions about sexual morality. In short, it is quite a lot to digest at once.
One of the more interesting passages considers the law of the "wayward and rebellious son" in Deuteronomy 21:18-21. The Torah says that in the case of a son who simply will not listen, the entire community is to stone him to death.
That seems harsh -- even barbaric -- and yet I have wondered, as our society is confronted all too often by mass shootings, with so many of the perpetrators being incorrigible young men, whether the Torah understood something.
Namely: that there are always going to be a few young men who, for whatever reason -- family dysfunction, mental illness, evil inclination -- make themselves the enemies of their parents and of the whole of the society around them.
We cannot and should not replicate the Torah's prescribed remedy -- and, indeed, the Jewish Sages suggest it was barely used. But the idea that there might be a capital punishment for rebellion may have helped keep the peace.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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