June 21… traditionally the summer solstice and the first day of summer, though I gather that was yesterday for some reason. We finally had a break in the clouds and fog that are typical of the “June gloom,” and the smoke that has hung over LA due to brushfires north of town has cleared somewhat. so I am enjoying the weather.
I’m also working hard. Today I finished recording the audio version of my first novel, Joubert Park, which I wrote during the pandemic. I’m not entirely happy with the book, but it was a story I had wanted to tell for a while, and it was good to make a first effort.
It hit me today, as I was working on it, that the novel is really my attempt to explore the moral choices that Jewish people — who were nominally “white” — faced in apartheid South Africa. Similarly, my play about King David (which is too long and needs to be rewritten) is about exploring the personal choices of powerful people, and their political consequences.
Writing is a pretty good way to explore all of these things. Even if what you do never actually sees a lot of day.
I have one more audiobook to record: my book from about a decade ago about the biblical Book of Kings and its political lessons. Again, I’m not sure I’ve added anything profound to the worlds understanding of theology or statecraft, but I did enjoy exploring these themes in the context of a biblical narrative with powerful meaning and resonance.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
