This week's portion continues the description of the sacrifices in the Tabernacle. Because it is the week after the Purim holiday, we also add an additional reading -- not from Leviticus, but from Numbers, describing the ritual of the red heifer.
There is lots of excitement around the concept of the red heifer, which is said by some to be one of the requirements for the messianic age. Red cows are rare and somehow, according to what I've heard, two have emerged in recent years.
That has some people excited about the possibilities for redemption in the near future. I don't know if I'd put all that much emphasis on a cow, but I would agree that living one's life in constant expectation of success is not a bad way to be.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2492715&jewish=Tzav-Torah-Reading.htm&p=complete
My son’s Little League All-Star team won a tournament yesterday. He went 2-for-2 with a single (here) and a double, both solid hits.
Vice President Kamala Harris won't release her official campaign policies. So we have to judge her on the basis of her past policies.
It is true that she adopted the most left-wing, radical ideas of any presidential candidate -- more radical than socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). It is also true that, as a local and state prosecutor, she occasionally adopted absurdly hard-line policies on particular issues, like school truancy, that exceeded anything a conservative prosecutor would have done.
The reality is that she has no particular moral core. She does what she thinks will get attention and advance her career. Her instincts are left -- far, far left -- but she is essentially just a power-hungry political climber.
Regardless, here are the craziest policies Harris has embraced, mostly on the far left and some on the far right.
1. Medicare for All. Harris adopted a fully socialist health care policy when she ran for president in 2019, thanking Sanders for pushing the idea. She ...
Kamala Harris is still hiding her policies, more than 3 weeks after entering the presidential race. But she is making some hires, which provide a clue to her policies.
She appointed an anti-Israel "liaison" to the Jewish community, Ilan Goldenberg. He's been pushing for sanctions against Israelis in wartime.
She appointed an anti-Israel "liaison" to the Muslim community, Nasrina Bargzie. She led anti-Israel protests against Jews on campus.
So... I think we know what Kamala Harris's positions will be on Israel and antisemitism.
Meanwhile... on Tuesday, a Trump-appointed judge Mark Scarsi, slammed UCLA for allowing anti-Jewish discrimination in the "encampments."
This issue is one among many, but it is emblematic of the differences between personnel -- and therefore policy -- between the candidates.
This week, we'll be focusing on the 2024 election. I'll start with a few points.
1. The situation is exactly as I expected: a close race, with Democrats having a slight edge and Republicans needing some surprises. That is how it will always be, in any situation in which Republicans actually have a chance to prevail.
2. Kamala Harris has a losing strategy: left-wing running mate, no stated policies, rhetoric that insults half the country, pandering to the left, etc. She is not going for independents; she's mobilizing the Democrats' left-wing base.
3. Trump doesn't yet have a winning strategy. Winning, for Trump, means being able to motivate Trump voters to participate in a process they consider to be rigged, and giving them hope of achieving victory, as well as a vision of victory.
Right now, Trump isn't doing #3 yet. I offer my book, THE AGENDA, as a solution. But really -- Trump can win this thing. If he gets his act together.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/164821116X
Special guests:
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