Despite all the craziness of the world, I'm having an incredible day. Two birthday parties for my younger kids, then a rock 'n' roll concert in which my eldest daughter performed -- well, it's just incredible.
Back to the task at hand. I'll look back a bit at the first GOP debate, and what it means for the future. And I'll talk about that Trump mugshot. In my view, it has determined the fate of our democracy.
What does that mean? Well, you'll have to tune in to find out. But I'll connect it to events in Israel, which offer us a bit of a glimpse into the future, as well as the forces that democracy is up against.
We have a special guest, too: Christian Adams of the Election Law Center. So tune in -- SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT. If you want to be part of the show, call in at 866-957-2874.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...