I’m quite happy to be where I am, doing what I’m doing. I don’t want anyone to think (as some have done, mistakenly, before) that I wrote what I do because of some other personal ambition.
But I do have some ideas about how things ought to be done. And I’ve learned the hard way that in America, it’s best to be clear about what you want to achieve, rather than hoping people will notice.
So, with that… if I were in the Trump 2.0 administration, what would I want to do, and why?
1. U.S. ambassador to Israel - There is no shortage of good candidates, but what I would bring to the job is a record of thinking about how to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. With a president committed to the “deal of the century,” I think it would be possible to lay the foundations.
2. White House press secretary - Generally, I do think it’s better handled by a woman than a man, as Trump seems to believe. But I enjoy the cut and thrust of daily debate, and I would challenge the assumptions behind many of the questions. I’d also introduce a prayer to the briefings (see below).
3. White House faith director - they will probably give this to a pastor, and appropriately so. But I would like to introduce a moment of quiet reflection to the White House briefings, as an example for the rest of the country. I’d also arrange for a rotation of faith leaders to offer a weekly national sermon.
4. Antisemitism czar - I’ve been engaged in the fight against antisemitism my whole life, and I think I’d bring some fresh ideas to the role. I’d focus on the importance of George Washington’s promise to the Jews of early America that they would never have to live in fear in their new country, as they did before.
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
