We are well beyond the stage at which the various controversies surrounding our leaders have reached a degree of complexity that is impossible to manage. That allows partisans -- and the media -- to create highly selective narratives.
What conservatives have rarely had in this country is the opportunity to see a real investigation of liberal wrongdoing such that it became totally undeniable and led to real consequences. The system is almost designed so it can't happen.
It would be good, for instance, to document exactly what happened to make the "Russia collusion" hoax so destabilizing. There should be a real inquiry -- not a January 6-style show trial -- led by serious people with serious conclusions.
Instead we are stuck with things like the slow efforts of John Durham -- whose investigation is now being smeared by the New York Times as some kind of cover operation for Trump (the Times, of course, invested heavily in the hoax).
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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