This week, the Torah tells the familiar story of Noah and the Flood, followed by the story of the rainbow -- God's promise never to destroy the world again. (Now, might be a good time to, you know, remind Him of that promise.)
That story is followed by the story of the Tower of Babel, which is the Biblical explanation for the diversity of human languages: we grew too arrogant and tried to reach God. The stage is set for Abraham's eventual emergence.
The portion begins by noting that Noah was righteous "in his generation." That could mean he would not have been considered righteous in a less corrupt generation -- or that he was even more righteous considering his environs.
I have some thoughts about that specific interpretative dilemma that I explore in my forthcoming biography of Rhoda Kadalie. Thinking about the story helped me realize something really profound about her life and her ideas.
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
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
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 ...
