Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that she supported Israel's right to defend itself, but was concerned about the humanitarian cost in Gaza.
Then she added: "The war in Gaza is not a binary issue."
That is a fundamental dividing line -- not just between the two parties and the two candidates; not just on the issue of Israel; but between the two major forces in our society, between Judeo-Christian ethics on one hand and moral relativism on the other.
Perhaps the overall conflict can be described as complex, a clash of "right versus right." That is not a bad way to approach it if you are trying to make peace. But the war in Gaza? A war launched by murderous terrorists and the Iranian regime?
I heard Kamala Harris speak just hours after revisiting the sites of the October 7 terror attack, where unspeakable evil was unleashed by Palestinian terrorists.
She refuses to distinguish between the side that targets civilians and the side that tries to save them; between the side that revels in cruelty and the side that embraces humanity; between the side starts a war and the side that fights to end it.
There is something more important here than an obvious attempt to pander to Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan, or to split the difference between the anti-Israel mobs and their antisemitic slogans and anti-American behavior.
What we see here is a would-be leader without a moral core. Kamala Harris would be a disaster for Israel and the U.S. This really is the most important election of our lifetimes.
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
