Chapter 34 of Genesis tells a relevant story about civilian casualties in war. An evil prince kidnaps and rapes Jacob's daughter, Dina -- and then wants to marry her. Jacob's sons pretend to entertain the offer, and then Simeon and Levi enter the city, kill everyone, and rescue Dina.
The Bible suggests the residents of the city deserved to die for their evil behavior. But Jacob is furious, and rebukes his sons: "You have troubled me, to discredit me among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites, and I am few in number, and they will gather against me and attack me, and I and my household will be destroyed." (34:30)
The next chapter tells us what actually happened: "Then they traveled, and the fear of God was upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue Jacob's sons." (35:5) So what Jacob feared did not come to pass.
But Jacob never forgives Simeon and Levi. On his deathbed, he rebukes them again: "Let my soul not enter their counsel; my honor, you shall not join their assembly, for in their wrath they killed a man, and with their will they hamstrung a bull."
The point of avoiding civilian casualties is not just that the world will object. The world does not object to civilian casualties generally (anyone heard from Nagorno Karabakh lately?); it respects victory and strength, perhaps perversely.
But Jacob's point is that cruelty is corrosive, internally. That, ultimately, is the reason he cannot forgive his sons. Their murder of the entire town was immoral. Rescue the captive, and punish the guilty, but do not lose yourself in the process.
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 ...
