It's Oscar night; does anyone care? Well, there are a few parties in L.A., but the real drama has been in the White House, with the exciting, entertaining, frustrating, and ultimately history-making confrontation with Zelensky.
We'll talk about that -- plus the latest effort by the anti-Israel left to foment chaos on campus. Columbia and Barnard are lighting up -- just as Leo Terrell and the DOJ's new antisemitism task force are descending on universities.
We'll also talk about how USAID is funding terror -- which doesn't mean that every USAID program is bad, but it does point to the left-wing capture at that department, run until recently by partisan Obama acolyte Samantha Power.
Finally, we'll talk about the Oscars, as we remember the influence of Andrew Breitbart, whose passing we marked yesterday. 13 years later, his legacy grows stronger, as Americans are seeing through Hollywood and the media.
Special guests:
Frances Martel -- Breitbart News foreign policy editor, on Trump/Zelensky
Zach Greenberg -- FIRE counsel, on the campus protests at Columbia/Barnard
Gregg Roman -- Middle East Forum executive director, on USAID and terror
Jerome Hudson -- Breitbart News entertainment editor, on the Oscars
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. PT (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
