How's your new year going? Mine is incredible. I mean, really good.
That's not to say the world's in a better place, but I certainly am.
I hope some of my newfound optimism is something you'll enjoy...
Today we're looking ahead to the Iowa caucuses, which take place Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (sort of an odd choice, no?). We'll also look at what's happening in the Middle East -- and how it is affecting politics here in the U.S.A. as we head into the election.
We'll also look at MLK Day and how it intersects some of these themes. In particular, I'm going to play an excerpt from my 2021 book, "The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it)," which I'm busy recording on audiobook. The section I'll play deals with Black Lives Matter and what it can learn from Israel. Yes, you heard that right -- the BLM movement has opposed Israel, but there is actually a lot it can learn.
We'll also talk to John Bryan, who bought a home rumored to have an old Revolutionary War fort inside it. Not only did he discover the fort, but he also restored it. You'll want to hear the amazing story.
Special guests:
Richie Greenberg - on San Francisco calling for a Gaza ceasefire
John Bryan - on restoring a Revolutionary War fort
Frances Martel (tentative) - on the war against the Houthis
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call in: 866-957-2874
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
