I'm listening to President Biden droning on about racism, etc., and abusing what ought to be a day of national unity to attack the new Republican House. He's focusing on Republicans' efforts to reverse Biden's 87,000 new IRS agents.
That's just the beginning of it -- he also lies about Republicans wanting to pass a "national sales tax" (without mentioning that it would replace all existing federal taxes, and it is not the position of the whole caucus), about student loans, etc.
Is that what this day has become? An occasion for petty, misleading attacks on the opposition over tax policy? Well, that's not what it is for me, but that's how Democrats use this holiday. It's so empty for them, so stripped of its meaning.
The only people who seem to take MLK Jr. and his non-racial vision seriously are conservatives -- not by erecting hideous statues in Boston, but by fighting for true racial equality, which is something Democrats no longer care about.
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.
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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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