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
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
