This week's portion continues the description of the service in the Tabernacle. It goes on to describe the cloud that covered the Tabernacle, and how it signaled to the Israelites whether to stay in one particular place or to pack up and travel.
Moses begs his father-in-law to stay, and to join them en route to the Promised Land, but he leaves and returns to his own home. The people cry out for meat, and God sends them an excess of it, such that they regret ever having asked.
At the end, there is a famous episode in which Miriam is punished with the skin affliction called tzara'at -- often mistranslated as "leprosy" -- for gossiping about Moses's wife. She meant no harm, but it is dangerous to speak about others.
What stands out for me in this portion is the question of coming and going -- when to stay, when to go; when to join a group or a conversation, and when to leave it. Moses would later be barred from the Promised Land; perhaps his father-in-law's strength in resisting an invitation to join the Israelites on their journey will give Moses strength, later on, to absorb the pain of not being able to join the Israelites as they cross the Jordan River and complete their journey.
We're going to talk about the historic attack on Iran's nuclear sites -- and that's not all. There's plenty to come this week, including more work on the "Big, Beautiful Bill," plus more battles with California, and Hollywood implosions.
Special guests:
Bradley Jaye -- Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the BBB
Mark Mitchell -- pollster at Rasmussen Reports, on polls regarding Iran
Lisa Daftari -- Iran analyst, foreigndesknews.com, on post-regime Iran
Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore -- Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, on Gaza food aid
Jamie Paige -- Westside Current journalist, on L.A. and California politics
Jerome Hudson -- Breitbart News entertainment editor, on Hollywood failures
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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.
