It's been a tough year for America, for Israel, and for the world. Our economy feels shaky, there are still 100 hostages in Gaza, and the future feels uncertain. But in spite of it all, 2024 has been an incredible year, and not just for me.
I'll start with the personal. My wife, Julia, and I were blessed in September with the arrival of our son Rafael, our fourth child. He shares a birthday with my late mother-in-law, Rhoda Kadalie. We now have 2 girls and 2 boys, each wonderful.
My wife is as lovely as ever. On December 30 (tomorrow!) we will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I remain in awe of her in every way -- as a wife, a mother, an economist, a friend. A sexy, brave, dream of a woman. I'm so lucky.
My children continue to grow from strength to strength. My eldest daughter persevered and passed her lifeguard test; my elder son made the All-Star team in baseball; my younger daughter began taking ballet and is growing quickly.
My sister also had her first child -- also a boy -- and my brother announced his engagement. I completed my seven-year study of the Talmud, and started over, making a "Siyum HaShas" -- a rare achievement I never dreamed that I'd reach.
I expanded my creative work -- thanks to the encouragement of our friend and neighbor, the model and photographer Jessica Vaugn, who is teaching me to take photos, and encouraged me to put my library of work on Audible (I did).
I was blessed to be able to visit Israel four times -- once to follow Javier Milei, once during the first Iranian missile attack, once with a tour group of Christian leaders, and once at the end of the war in Lebanon. Each trip was very special.
It was amazing to watch Israel go from depressed, and embattled, a year ago to cautiously optimistic, and almost victorious, today. There is still much to do, but Israel is safe, and the common Israeli soldier has transformed the Middle East.
At home in the U.S.A., we witnessed the miracle of Donald Trump surviving an assassination attempt. He went on to win the election, and the popular vote. He will take office with a mandate, and the country seems to want him to succeed.
I experienced moments of pure beauty. Some that stand out: the waterfalls of Los Angeles after a wet winter; seeing surfers on Lake Michigan in the Chicago summer; capturing a photo of a comet in the twilight above the Pacific Ocean.
I felt I achieved a great deal of personal growth as well, at a deep and emotional level. There are things I achieved, in terms of my own routine, and in managing my emotions, that felt like genuine breakthroughs. I feel I'm moving upwards.
That said, there were some low moments, and some mistakes. Thankfully, these were setbacks from which one can recover. My weight went up, for example; I cut carbs (doctor's orders) and I've lost about 5 pounds since Thanksgiving.
There are some challenges that still remain. Some involve me, and some involve close friends. I'm trying to be the best I can be -- for myself, and for them. I may have to take some risks in the new year. There may be no better time.
So here's to 2024, and to 2025. I wrote at Breitbart that 2024 was a year of miracles -- and now we need more miracles in 2025. Maybe we need to make them happen instead of waiting for them to happen. Happy New Year to all!
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