I wish it weren't so and I hope I'm wrong. Biden's been terrible on the border, the deficit, and -- God help us! -- foreign policy. We need a strong leader like Trump. But -- sorry -- we're not going to get one.
(Unless things change, which they usually do. At least I hope they do.)
The economy is decent. Prices are high, but inflation is coming back down, and people have jobs. Economic growth is rapid, and interest rates are probably coming down next year. Stocks will probably rise.
Trump is the victim of a crazy campaign of "lawfare." That has earned him the much-deserved support of the Republican voter base. The rest of America doesn't care and many probably believe the charges.
I don't care what the polls say. People are afraid of the chaos Trump brings. Biden is a total failure but people will take it over the chance of catastrophe. I hope Trump wins. But he's probably going to lose.
Don't forget that Biden has vote-by-mail working for him; media bias; tech censorship (oh yes, it still exists); plus the courts and the rest. It means it's almost impossible for him to win. It also means that the Republicans won't accept the result and that many will lose faith.
I hope I'm wrong. I haven't lost hope for America. But here we are.
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
