This week's Torah reading tells the incredible story of the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau. Jacob wrestles with an angel, and prevails; at the end, he receives his new name, Israel, which describes a struggle with God -- perhaps the best description of the ongoing Jewish philosophical orientation to the world.
Jacob and his family continue into the Land of Israel, and a disturbing incident takes place, in which his daughter Dinah is kidnapped and raped by Shechem.
Her brothers pretend to deal with the local residents to allow her to marry Shechem, the local prince. But they soon rescue her instead -- slaughtering the entire town along the way. Jacob is horrified by their behavior and worries that it will make him more vulnerable to attack by other inhabitants of the land.
Instead, however, the aggressive tactics of the brothers cause others to fear Jacob and his family, despite their small number -- a tale with resonance today.
Despite his family's overall success, Jacob loses his beloved wife, Rachel, who dies giving birth to Benjamin. It is a loss from which he will never recover -- but her legacy would live on through the early kingship of Israel and the Temple.
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!
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