Hello to all...
It's my 48th birthday on Friday. I realize I've once again managed to do the Torah portion of the week at the wrong time (i.e. last week's portion turned out to be this week's portion). So let me try a different tack.
What a crazy year it's been. In some ways it has been the best year of my life. I put almost all of my self-published e-books on Audible, and one of them -- on Zionism -- will be coming out in print in the fall. I traveled to Israel several times and had incredible experiences. My wife gave birth to a robust baby boy. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in; I've lost 25 lbs. since November. And Trump won the election, again -- which, to me, is an amazing miracle.
But perhaps you know the rest -- the neighborhood destroyed by fire, the home still standing but inaccessible, the frequent moves around L.A., which I have discovered is largely unlivable outside my old Pacific Palisades town.
My wife has moved to D.C. with our baby, ahead of the rest of us. She's the new Chief Economist of the Department of Labor. She's already doing an incredible job and having an amazing experience. I'm very proud of her.
I'll be playing a supporting role, keeping my job at Breitbart but also being the "on call" parent for the kids. There was some talk about my accepting a role in the administration, but things happened in a different way; that's OK.
I'm living in the four corners of my own experience and my responsibilities, and it's actually a very fulfilling way to live. Looking back at the last 30 years (really), I'm struck by a pattern that I can only see now, from this point.
That pattern is this: what I have always wanted most is to be accepted for who I am, not what I do or what position I hold. I have just wanted to relate to people in an authentic way. I'm finally able to do that. It feels ... incredible.
I'm still exploring it. I know there will be new challenges -- I don't really want to leave California, and who knows what is coming down the pike. We have to fight to save our home from insurance company shenanigans. Not easy.
But as I told a friend once: these are the struggles I want. These are the fights that I choose. And when you're in a fight, you just have to trust your practice and you instincts, and push yourself beyond what you once thought possible.
So, here's to birthdays, that magical day of the year for each of us.
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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