This week's reading discusses the famous story of the 12 spies that Moses sent to scout the Land of Israel as the people waited on its borders, hoping to fulfill the Exodus. The tragic report of ten of the 12 leads to despair and 40 years of wandering in the desert.
The consolation: God ends the portion by instructing people about the laws of tithing from bread produced in the Land of Israel. Thus he renews the promise that they (or their children) will, one day, enter it.
I am always moved by the story of Caleb, son of Jepphunneh, going straight to Hebron to pay respects to the patriarchs and matriarchs, reaffirming the deep familial connection to the land, and the faith in the fulfillment of God's promise.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
