I think Trump is, on balance, a drag on Republican candidates -- not necessarily because of anything he has done, or because of the "quality" of the candidates he supports (have you seen the Democrats?), but for another reason.
The fact is that Democrats have created their own universe of meaning, sustained partly by the mainstream media, but also within the minds of millions of voters who do not share conservatives' aspirations, at least not consciously.
Their imaginary reasons for hating Trump have real-world results. I think that the riots of 2020 were the result of the fact that impeachment failed to take out Trump and that Democratic voters had little faith in Joe Biden to win.
They took matters into their own hands and simply launched an orgy of violence -- starting in Minneapolis because of George Floyd, but then moving to the White House itself before it fanned out across most of America's major cities.
Democrats were basically saying that they would make America ungovernable if Trump won again. In the weeks before the November 2020 election, they made that threat more explicit; "Shut Down DC" planned nationwide unrest.
Trump has been unfairly persecuted, though he has also made bad mistakes -- and none of that matters. The fact is that half the country simply will not be governed by Donald Trump. There is almost no way around that basic problem.
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
