This double portion covers the ceremony for the annual Day of Atonement (including the sacrifice of the scapegoat, literally a goat upon whom the people's sins are place, and that is then sent away).
It also includes a series of everyday prohibitions, including sexual prohibitions (including homosexuality) -- rules that the people were said, according to legend, to mourn, once they learned about them.
Some rules seem quite contrary to nature, or at least to the deep taboos that seem to be almost instinctive. Others are less so. The people understood they would have to develop restraint themselves.
The Torah thus connects private morality with public destiny -- for the private sins of the people, it warns, could lead to the loss of the land. This is a heavy moral burden, with which each must wrestle.
There is also the rule about treating the "stranger" well -- a passage that is frequently cited to argue that illegal migrants should be welcomed to the country, rather than arrested or deported.
But the "stranger" in the Biblical text does not merely live among the people; he "sojourns" there, with the implication being that he obeys the laws of the people (which is the problem re: illegal immigration).
This week, we are tackling two major areas of contention between the Trump administration and Democrat governors: fighting crime, and redistricting. The president is sending the National Guard to blue cities -- and blue states are trying to stamp out Republican representation. Is this a civil war situation?
Special guests:
- Bradley Jaye -- Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on redistricting
- Tom Manza, California Business and Industrial Alliance, on Gavin Newsom
- Jon Fleischman, veteran California political expert, on the special election
- Dan Backer, veteran political lawyer and consultant, on corruption
- DJ Mark Anthony, on a recent visit to Rome and visiting Pope Leo XIV
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's portion is the last of the month of Av -- also known as Menachem (Comforter) Av -- which begins in mourning and ends in celebration and anticipation of the New Year and the process of repentance and renewal.
In a similar vein, the portion features Moses offering the Israelites a choice between a blessing and a curse. They are masters of their own fates: if they obey God's commandments, they receive the blessings -- and vice versa.
The key commandment is to reject idol worship. There is said to be something magnetic about the practice of worshiping idols in the new land, such that it would be constant moral battle, both individually and collectively, in the land.
Nowadays, according to Jewish tradition, humanity has lost the urge for idol worship (and the antidote, which is divine prophecy) -- but there are several near substitutes, such as lust or excessive appetites for worldly pleasures.
We are wired for compulsive behaviors, bad habits, and even addictions. These ...
We have so much to talk about this week -- Trump's efforts to negotiate peace through negotiation, and Gavin Newsom's efforts to divide Americans through gerrymandering. We'll also talk about Playboy leaving LA and California.
Special guests:
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Russia & Ukraine
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on Newsom
Harmeet Dhillon - DOJ Civil Rights Division chief, on the fight against DEI
Jessica Vaugn - Playboy model on political commentator, on California
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 PT
Call: 866-957-2874
