This week's portion begins with the physical requirements for the priesthood, as well as the sacrificial animals: both must be free from blemishes. It moves on to basic laws of the Sabbath and holidays.
The portion ens with the laws on dealing with blasphemy, and then the basic civil code of restitution for personal injury damages -- the value of an eye for an eye, the value of a tooth for a tooth, and so on.
It might seem odd that the Torah is so exacting about physical perfection. After all, isn't the role of the priest, and the animal, a spiritual one? Why must both be free of physical deformities?
Furthermore, isn't that unfair? We cannot help it is we are born with imperfections, or suffer accidents. The Torah seems to be excluding people who may have suffered through no fault of their own.
A friend once told me that the essence of the left-wing vision for the world is radical equality -- which leads to tyranny; and that the essence of the right-wing vision is excellence -- which can be cruel.
The Torah rejects the idea of radical equality. It says that some people simply will be born into certain roles, and that some people will be excluded, and that there is nothing we can do about it.
But it also includes the idea that in a different context, we really are all equal. The laws of blasphemy apply to all. The laws of restitution apply to all. We are equal before the law, always.
This week happens to coincide with Pesach Sheni -- the second Passover, when people who were ritually impure the month before can offer up their Passover sacrifices. It is a "make-up" day.
The "cruelty" of exacting standards for the Passover service excluded them. But they still have the same obligations as everyone else -- and they will have an opportunity to worship, too, in their own way.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2492749&jewish=Emor-Torah-Reading.htm&p=complete
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.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
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!
...
