Tucker Carlson used a candidate forum on Friday to wreck the GOP presidential primary field. That wasn't his goal, of course, but that's what happened, because the candidates aren't used to challenges.
Several candidates seemed to believe the line -- where do they get this from? -- that the U.S. must defend Ukraine at almost any cost, rather than seeking some kind of negotiated deal to end a stalemate.
Others seemed plainly out of their depth. Word on the street is that Amb. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were the only two who really did well. Gov. Ron DeSantis did OK. (Trump didn't go.)
I've not always been a huge fan of Tucker's style -- the cackle is a little much -- but his adversarial style, while abrasive, is useful in separating the wheat from the chaff. Major-league pitching, here.
My friend Mark Levin, similarly, has a hard-hitting book coming out called "The Democrat Party Hates America." I'd never give a book that title. It risks alienating readers and dividing the country even further.
And yet -- there's a use to it. It's hard to forget. And while many on the left are simply well-meaning-but-misguided, a few really do hate the country. It's important to "call that out," to use a popular phrase.
It's important to have a wrecking crew. They might not be the best to build bridges, but they do clear out a lot of what needs removal. A vibrant political movement will have all types, and many approaches.
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
