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 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
