I'm on the El Al flight to Israel. It's almost full, just like the one I took 3 weeks ago. It was encouraging to see a giant pile of duffel bags and suitcases at LAX: donations for the war effort from friends of Israel.
I've been wrestling with this trip a bit. The last one was special; I cannot expect it will be the same. And I have also been enjoying my children and my wife a lot the past several days. It's hard to leave.
At the same time -- I know there are men deep inside Gaza right now who have left their wives and children at home for weeks, to fight a terror that not only threatens Israel, but all of us around the world.
I cannot sit this one out. I cannot stay at home and say, thankfully, that I and my loved ones are safe. I have to go; I have to write the story, at some personal risk. It is a duty, and it is worth the effort.
Something happened to me over the past two weeks that hasn't happened to me before: people have come up to me, over and over, and told me how closely they followed my writing on Israel.
I'm bearing witness in a way that I cannot simply do from afar. And so I must go. And I'm happy to go, happier still as the journey goes along. Happy to be there, to remind Israelis that they are not alone.
I don't know exactly what I will see. I'm starting in the north, then going south. There will be interviews, meetings, chance encounters. Maybe a rocket attack or two. We shall see. It will be worthwhile.
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!
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