This week's reading kicks off the fifth and final book of the Torah. It is a speech -- one of the greatest in history -- by Moses, right before his death, recalling the travels of the Children of Israel through the desert and restating the moral commitment to God's Covenant.
Why recall the whole story? Because Moses has been though all the ups and downs of the journey, which each had their own moral lessons. The journey itself is a moral statement, one that shows the limitations of the people -- but also their incredible moral potential.
This Sabbath is also before the observance of Tisha B'Av -- the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, marking the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. It is the outcome Moses warned the people about in this very speech, before his death.
But Moses also holds out hope, telling the people that God will not forget them, and that they can avoid destruction if they follow His ways. In the same way, the days after Tisha B'Av are among the happiest in the Jewish calendar, leading to the High Holidays of fall.
So this Sabbath is called Shabbat Chazon -- the Sabbath of Vision. Even as we mourn the destruction of the Temples and the near-destruction of the Jewish people, we see a more positive future, and we imagine what it can be. If you will it, as Herzl said, it is no dream.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/703951/jewish/Shabbat-Chazon.htm
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!
...
