The second weekend since the great Election Day victory brings some new excitement -- and some new controversies. Trump's latest Cabinet picks are causing both excitement and frustration -- we'll have the latest on the debate.
Also -- we're watching races closely, including several that are too close to call, and where Democrats are counting on late ballots -- or illegal ballots, in PA -- to win. We'll talk about that -- and how Democrats plan to oppose Trump 47.
We'll also talk about some other hidden conservative successes, such as defeating ranked-choice voting, which had allowed Democrats to win in Alaska.
Finally, we'll talk about faith and foreign policy. We'll speak with author Mark Judge about Jewish culture, and to Michael Lucci about China's rise. And I'll play some clips from my weekend interview with Mike Huckabee, where we discussed his recent appointment as ambassador to Israel.
Special guests:
Shawn Steel - Republican National Committeeman for Califorina
Ryan Walker - Heritage Action, on ranked-choice voting and PA Senate
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News reporter, on the PA Senate recount
Mark Judge - author, on the contributions of Jewish Americans
Michael Lucci - nonprofit founder, on how states are contributing to China
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
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
