This week is the momentous story of the Exodus from Egypt. It is a timely portion this year, in that it coincides with the week of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday: Exodus has been a crucial source of inspiration in the movement for civil rights among black Americans.
The Torah talks about the final three plagues; the preparations for the Passover meal; and, finally, the Exodus from Egypt itself.
One interesting aspect of the liberation is that the first commandment the Jewish people are to observe as free men and women is the creation of a calendar. Free people manage their time.
In managing time, in naming and observing the months and days, we become co-creators, partners with God. He created the sun, moon, and stars; we name them, chart them, organize life around them.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2492615&jewish=Bo-Torah-Reading.htm&p=complete
https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/5000678/jewish/10-Ways-to-Celebrate-10-Shevat.htm
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
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
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 ...
