What a week it's been... my son was born last Sunday and we named him today: Rafael Micah Pollak. A symbol of life and continuity, amid the war of the past year -- and what a series of victories Israel and America can finally celebrate.
We begin with the latest on Hurricane Helene, which has left 64 dead in a trail of destruction across Florida and the South. Then the latest on Israel, which is on a roll against Hezbollah. Naturally, Biden wants a ceasefire, lest Israel win...
And that brings up China, a topic that never came up during the ABC debate, but which JD Vance should bring up this week in his debate with Tim Walz. We will talk to Gordon Chang about the big picture in U.S. foreign policy in 2024.
Also: what kind of prosecutor was Kamala Harris, really? Jeff Clark, a former DOJ official under Trump, has been doing some digging, and has come up with... nothing. It turns out she may never actually have led a case in court.
Special guests:
Jeff Clark - former DOJ official, on Kamala Harris's prosecutorial record
Lee Smith - author, on Israel's successful war against Hezbollah, and Iran
Gordon Chang, author of “China’s Project to Destroy America”
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
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This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
