Kanye West, or Ye, chickened out the moment he was challenged to defend his views on Jews -- in the mildest way -- by Tim Pool on his podcast. West walked out and took his entourage, including antisemitic troll Nick Fuentes, with him.
It was a triumphant moment: first, because West could not defend his views; second, because he showed true cowardice in leaving the set; third, because the snarky Fuentes demeaned himself by scurrying after his new benefactor.
Such is the fate of all bullies: punch back, or even stand up for yourselves, and they flee in terror. I could not imagine a better or mere deserving fate for Ye and crew. No one canceled them; given a platform, they canceled themselves.
It was a victory for America -- not just because hate lost, but because free speech won. Pool showed that debate is the best way to expose and undermine haters -- not cancel culture, which reinforces their victimhood and notoriety.
Obviously, one has to be careful when setting up such a debate; haters will not always be as easy to defeat. But today's haters are not used to being challenged; they create their own bubbles on social media. They cannot withstand scrutiny.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
