All of the polls are moving toward Trump -- except one, which is the most accurate and the most pro-Trump (in terms of results): Rasmussen. Why?
This race is still too close to call. And while I would rather be Trump than Harris, she has a lock on the votes of women who put abortion above all other issues and who hate Trump with a burning passion. (You can hear it in Michelle Obama's anger at men who back Trump, against women's supposed wishes.)
I feel like Harris can't win -- not just because Trump has so many ways to win, but also because even if she does win, the election has been so rigged in her favor, while her performance has been so bad, that no one will accept it.
That is not to say there will be a violent rejection of the results. Rather, people -- especially men -- will quietly withdraw and insulate their lives, as much as is possible, from public life, the law, the eyes of the state. (Many do already.)
I feel a sense of optimism, partly because the prospect of a Harris win, I believe, has motivated Israel to take risks -- successfully -- to defeat its enemies. I think many others will follow that example and pursue their interest, regardless.
A Trump win would present new challenges: the task of governing will be nearly impossible. Harris would be stuck with problems largely of her party's own creation: inflation, debt, instability, crime... good luck with all that, Democrats.
Trump would be infinitely preferable, and would open new possibilities for joint investment, cultural renewal, global (yes, global) leadership... but we will also survive a Harris presidency, though it may come at a deep and lasting cost.
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
