This week's portion covers the first seven of the Ten Plagues. God tells Moses that he has heard the prayers of the people, and he is about to bring them out of Egypt. But the path is not a straight one.
Over and over, Pharaoh sees the power of God, and begs Moses for forgiveness, and makes all kinds of promises -- but then reneges. God, in fact, "hardens his heart" to make sure that he backs down.
What lesson could God have wanted to teach the people? I think the reality is that change is so difficult -- and freedom so frightening -- that people will only attempt it once they have no other alternative.
This is a guide for our own lives. Those who have struggled to fix bad habits or escape addictions know how many times one fails until one finally succeeds. The story of the Ten Plagues tells us that's normal.
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:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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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 ...
