This week's portion launches the book of Leviticus. Commonly disdained for its intense focused on priestly rituals and sacrifices, Leviticus is essential to understanding the spiritual relationship between God and the Jewish people.
I must admit that my eyes glaze over when I read about the intricacies of the Temple service, and all the details of the sacrifices that are to be performed. Other people -- true scholars -- seem to have infinite patience for these laws.
Then I think about rituals that I do find fascinating, such as the ritual of the mikvah, which involves immersing yourself in water to renew your soul and connect to God. You can do this through almost any natural body of water.
If you feel a connection to a particular form of observance, then it holds a fascination for you. Some feel that way about prayer; some feel that way about charity. For some, it is the study of the laws of sacrifices in Leviticus.
In the Jewish eschatology, the Temple sacrifices will resume when the Messiah returns and the Third Temple is built. Some people feel that day is imminent. Whether it is or not, there is something special in a feeling of anticipation.
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:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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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 ...
