I had a bit of a grumpy time yesterday around the scheduling of several video interviews. I love the hosts, and I appreciate their time, but video is so hard to pull off. It requires you to stay home, and to stop whatever else you are doing.
I realize that consumers of news are increasingly turning to video (though I don't quite understand the appeal of just watching someone talk into a mic). But who has time to make all that video? Especially if you're gathering news?
I'm a fan of radio and always have been. Podcasts are also great. I just can't think of any reason to tie up 2 of my senses for content that I can consume with one. Especially with four kids, work to do, a house to clean, etc. etc.
There are exceptions, of course. I think there are great TV programs, panel discussions, etc. that are much better in a visual medium (though still good in audio alone). But unless you have that level of production value... I don't get it. Doesn't seem worth it.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
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This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...