I'm in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where tonight I'll be on Tim Pool's podcast. I took the redeye from LAX to Dulles, and since I caught some sleep on the plane I thought it would be a good opportunity to visit this historic town and hike through the area a bit.
Wow.
First of all, the place is beautiful -- situated at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah, with the waters running gently over the rocks, and mountains stretching above, green and gold with the early foliage of spring. It's a spectacular gateway to the frontier.
The historic town itself, and the old armory site, are amazing. I especially enjoyed the monuments to Lewis & Clark: I had not known, until my daughter's school play a few weeks ago, that they had begun their exploratory journey by buying provisions in Harper's Ferry.
There is plenty of John Brown history, too, and the ultimate abolitionist radical is remembered in a number of places. But there are also Confederate landmarks, including a home once used by General "Stonewall" Jackson as an HQ, and now available as a B&B.
There's also a former black college, Storey; and a Catholic Church set beautifully on the hilltop, established when the Irish were building the railroads; and there's the spectacular Appalachian Trail cutting through the town and over the railway bridge, a magnificent walk.
There's so much of America in this one little place. So many different people, so many stories, so many ideas. One is reminded that our country is a place of humble origins and noble ideas. And also that there have been ages of struggle and conflict sharper than our own.
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
