This week's portion tells the story of the birth and boyhood of Isaace, from the promise of the angels to the binding of Isaac for sacrifice on Mount Moriah. In between we the end of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the wells of Be'er Sheva.
In a portion with many famous passages, perhaps the most famous is Abraham's argument with God, in which he challenges the Lord to act in accordance with his own principles, and spare the city of Sodom for the sake of the innocent.
Ultimately, there are not enough innocent people -- even Lot behaves rather strangely -- and the city is destroyed. There is a later parallel to this story, and to the behavior of the Sodomites, at the end of the book of Judges (19-21).
There is also a parallel, told in the additional Haftarah reading (Kings II 4:1-37), of the Prophet Elisha and the good Shunemmitess, whom he promises a son -- and whom he later assists by bringing his son back from apparent death to life.
I once heard Aviva Zornberg say in a lecture that the child who is resurrected is the Prophet Jonah, and that his prayer in the belly of the whale is a recounting of his experience of being dead until he was revived through Elisha's assistance.
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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