It's Presidents' Day -- a substitute for Washington and Lincoln's birthdays, which once gave us even more public holidays in an already-short February. It's a bit generic, but I like to use the day to think about my own favorite president -- James Madison.
What I like about Madison is that he basically wrote the blueprint for the Constitution in his study after reading everything he could about government, then applying his mind and writing down his ideas. He was not a scholar; he was simply a public-minded intellectual.
I guess, at the risk of vanity, I see a bit of myself in that story, or at least the kind of writer I would like to be. And I have tried to write about certain subjects in that way -- notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I have even stood in the room where Madison did it.
It's sad to hear that Madison's estate, Montpelier, has been taken over by "woke" revisionists who want to emphasize the fact that he was a slave-holder. (It wasn't his only failure; he arguably erred in going to war against Britain in 1812, and failing to conquer Ontario.)
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/the-woke-takeover-james-madisons-montpelier
Still, it's worth remembering that America owes much to a president who cared enough about ideas to devote months at a time to their study and interpretation. Those ideas persist, and survive the flaws of the man who brought them together in so elegant a fashion.
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
