Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot became a symbol of "progressive" misgovernance and intolerance. So when Chicago voters ousted her in the primary earlier this year, reform seemed to be in the air.
The hero: Paul Vallas, the 1990s-era CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, placed there by the corrupt but effective Mayor Richard Daley. Vallas is the latest in a long line of white liberal reformers.
Unfortunately, he was no more successful than his predecessors. He lost to Brandon Johnson -- a "defund the police" advocate and teachers' union organizer who is even further left than Lightfoot.
The city is basically done. Wealthy people and businesses, especially in real estate, are going to leave the city rather than face a slew of new taxes. The unions, which have destroyed schools, will rule.
And crime, which has skyrocketed out of control, will continue to be a terrible scourge. Millions of Chicagoans will continue to vote with their feet, as they have for two decades, moving to red states.
I used to live in the Chicago area. I left for ... California. It's run only slightly better than Illinois, and L.A. is a bit less dysfunctional. But it has weather, and a sense of freedom, even with taxes and rules.
The problem with socialism is that once it takes over a democratic system, it is nearly impossible to remove. It is the choice that ends all choices. But it is a temptation that may be impossible to resist.
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
