It's a beautiful day in California. I've got a wonderful family; I've got a great job; I've got a nice home; most of all, I've got my good health.
That said...
1. War in Israel. How is it that Israeli civilians are still being made to run for shelter? How is it that we have a government in the U.S. that is sending money to the Palestinians despite ongoing terror?
2. Media bias. How is it that we have a media fixated on some minor crimes allegedly committed by a freshman congressman and completely ignoring the Biden family corruption revealed today?
3. The cost of everything. We are facing religious school tuition in the fall, plus a whole bunch of other bills, and I was just told by my insurance company that my car is a total loss after being rear-ended.
4. The endless stupidity of political debate. We have to deal with people who allow themselves to be lied to about everything -- the way Gavin Newsom lies about "book bans" etc. It never matures.
5. The fact that no one is punished for what they did to Trump. I get it, you don't like Trump. But we had the Russia collusion hoax, and no one was punished, and now... the CIA interfering in elections? Really? https://ace.mu.nu/archives/404363.php
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
