I woke at 3:30 a.m. and jogged from my hotel to the Western Wall, the Kotel, to pray just after 4:00 a.m. I jogged back, showered, packed my belongings, and headed northwards, meeting old friends at the incomparable Hotel Magdala, on the Sea of Galilee.
We drove north to the Golan, stopping at an olive oil factory in the town of Katzrin before reaching Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the Middle East. A group of Israeli soldiers from the new Alpine Brigade took us around the mountain and to a lookout from Har Dov, a strategic point that Hezbollah wants Israel to give up: it commands all of northern Israel.
We drove onwards to Majdal Shams, the northernmost town in Israel, a Druze village where 12 children were killed by a Hezbollah rocket in July -- in retrospect, a turning point in the war.
Later, at the brigade's base, there was an incoming rocket alarm, and we ducked into a shelter. Several Christians in our group began a joyful song of prayer to lighten the mood. We heard the booms of the Iron Dome, and emerged to see the smoke trails of the downed rockets.
We headed south again, witnessing a spectacular sunset over the Galilee and Lebanon. In the distance, there was a wisp of smoke, rising from an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. In the evening, I met for a delicious dinner in the Golan with a cousin who happened to be on a hiking trip.
So many thoughts in one day. Wondering what the future will bring; wondering about my own purpose in all of this; enjoying the fellowship of my fellow travelers; admiring the fortitude of the soldiers after more than a year of war; feeling so many emotions. A Thursday in Israel.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
...
