This week's Torah portion includes the Ten Commandments, the pinnacle of spiritual connection between God and humanity, through the Jewish people.
Interestingly, the portion is not named after the Ten Commandments, or Moses, or Mount Sinai, but after Yitro (or Jethro), Moses's father-in-law, who visits the Israelite camp following the Exodus from Egypt, and gives Moses key advice about how to manage the task of administering justice to the people.
I find this portion particularly relevant this year, because I am currently on a book tour to promote my biography of my mother-in-law, Rhoda Kadalie, the South African political activist, human rights expert, NGO leader, and author.
Rhoda's writing and her insights into politics -- both in South Africa and the U.S. -- had a profound effect on my own thinking. The more I researched her work and beliefs, the more I realized how she had shaped my own outlook.
That is why the Torah honors Moses's father-in-law. While relationships with in-laws can be awkward, and even conflicted, they are among the few outsiders to whom we grant special access to our lives. And their impact can be profound.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
