Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) trotted out a now-familiar defense of President Joe Biden on Sunday morning against the impeachment inquiry against him: he was just doing what any dad would do when he helped his son, Hunter Biden, make money from access to power.
Alternatively, this defense holds that Republicans are mean because Biden was just trying to help a son struggling with addiction.
I don't know what the truth is in the Biden family, nor does anyone else. I do know there was a glaring conflict of interest, which even the Obama administration flagged, and there is good evidence of corruption implicating Biden as well as Hunter and the family.
What I mean is that I don't know about the father-son relationship. I tried writing about it last week, and stopped, because I don't know.
I do suspect that there is a possibility Joe Biden used his son to go on foreign errands for cash -- and that he might even have enabled, or ignored, Hunter Biden's addictions, in doing so. Maybe he even thought the addictions were helpful: it meant Hunter Biden could be told to do things other people ordinarily wouldn't, because he was desperate for cash and knew how to manipulate people to get it.
I think that could be true; I also think Biden could just have been worried about his son when he staged a reported intervention in 2019. Maybe he was just worried about his 2020 run. Who knows.
What I do know is that this was not just as simple as a father's love for his son. This was also about Joe Biden's own greed. One part of the story does not negate the other, but both stories must be told.
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
