The Trump verdict was manifestly unjust, for two "passive" reasons and one active one.
The first "passive" reason is that this president should never face a jury trial in a place like New York City, where the population has been weaponized against him. Purely on a statistical basis, only about 1/4 of the residents would be inclined to support him, and most of them would only do so if no one else could find out.
The second "passive" reason is that this is the kind of case that never should be brought against anyone, because it is decades old and there is no direct contemporaneous evidence. It's just her word against his, and he's unpopular and an obvious political target.
But the third -- and "active" -- reason is perhaps the most disturbing: the judge (a Bill Clinton appointee, no axe to grind there!) -- allowed character evidence into the trial. He allowed two women who claimed to be victims of Trump (no proof, or court judgment) to testify that Trump might have done what this plaintiff said because it's similar to what they, non-plaintiffs, had experienced. He even allowed the "Access Hollywood" tape to be played, as if Trump's rude speech was evidence that he lived down to his words in this specific instance. This type of evidence is highly prejudicial and is not supposed to be introduced outside of specific circumstances.
Based on how the judge ruled here on the evidence, anyone who can claim to have met Trump at a party can sue him for assault because even though they might not have any other evidence, the "Access Hollywood" tape shows a propensity to commit assault in general.
This is a miscarriage of justice, underlined by the fact that the jury lacked the audacity to find him liable for rape (on a weak, civil standard) but somehow found him liable for assault and defamation for defending himself. They knew it was their civic duty to hurt him and they did not want to be accused of shaming his accuser.
The verdict should be overturned. But it will limit Trump's appeal beyond his base -- which will support him now, more than ever. The justice system, meanwhile, is being damaged almost beyond repair.
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
