Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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On our son, Rafael Micah

Our new son brings healing to our family and to the world. As my wife, Julia, mentioned, his birth on the 22nd of September, the 19th of Elul, closed a circle of mourning and symbolized a renewal.

She went into labor on the yahrzeit of his great-grandmother, Esther Perkel, and he arrived on the birthday of his grandmother, Rhoda Kadalie, both of blessed memory.

Moreover, we gather here today just days before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and just eight days before the anniversary of the terror attacks of October 7th, 2023.

There is still a hole in my heart.

We still have hostages to rescue, but also victories to celebrate.

Today’s simcha is a deliberate response to the terror of October 7th. I traveled to Israel soon after the attack, with the country at war. In weeks that followed, my wife and I discussed the idea of having another child. We had always planned to do so, but the timing suddenly seemed urgent.

In November, I visited the family of IDF Lt. Col. Salman Habaka, who helped save Kibbutz Be’eri and gave his life in combat in Gaza. On that visit I prayed for what you now see today.

We honored Salman’s family today because the Jewish people have always relied on friends from outside our community. In fact, the Torah portion that contains the Ten Commandments, Yitro, is named for Moses’s father-in-law, who was a Midianite priest. His descendants, the Kenites, lived among the people of Israel. It was Yael, a Kenite, and Julia’s namesake, who delivered victory over the terrorist armies of Canaan.

Rhoda was such a friend, as are so many of you here today. We owe such friends an eternal debt.

We thank each of you who traveled to be with us today — my parents, Naomi and Raymond, from Chicago; my cousin Leora and her fiancé Emauel, from New Mexico; my aunt Sharon and uncle Errol from Phoenix; my good friend Jacob Silver from Palm Springs; and so many more. People have been so generous with help and good wishes. Thank you also to Rabbi Nachman Kreiman for performing the circumcision. And thank you to all who are watching on Zoom.

A bit of Torah: today’s daf, or page, in the Talmud, discusses the quality of different kinds of wine — a relevant topic in light of today’s ceremony, in which the baby is given wine to sooth his pain. For some mundane purposes, the Talmud says, any wine will do — even water that is poured over the sediment of a barrel to make a wine-like drink. But for special occasions, only pure wine will do — and the Talmud specifically mentions red wine as the preferable variety.

That recalls the blessing that Jacob gave Judah, the son from whom the kings of Israel would descend. Jacob says that Judah will be “red eyed from wine and white toothed from milk.” He also compares Judah to a lion.

Yesterday, as it happens, my parents saw a mountain lion on the way to synagogue — we see them from time to time here. This morning, I saw another lion — a sea lion — in the ocean. These are symbols of strength that I hope reflect our son’s future.

Another insight: we are here early in the morning. One may perform a brit milah at any time in the day, but the tradition is to do so as early as possible, because that is what Abraham did when circumcising Isaac.

In 2019, I traveled to Lithuania, to my grandfather’s old town of Joniskis, where the locals showed me a Talmud volume they had found but could not identify. I recognized it: it was open at the very page describing this mitzvah and the need to do it early.

The message is one that the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, z”tl, used to teach, and which I carry with me: any good deed worth doing is worth doing right away.

That was the spirit of Salman Habaka. That was the spirit of Esther Perkel. That was the spirit of Rhoda Kadalie. That is the spirit of my parents.

And that is the spirit you have shared by joining us. May we all be blessed by this occasion, and may we each be Inscribed in the Book of Life for a Happy New Year.

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Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
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This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

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The drive home 💔
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Additional note about this week: Sabbath of Vision!

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!

Weekly Torah reading: Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1 - 3:22)

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 ...

Breitbart News Sunday: show rundown (July 27, 2025)

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 ...

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