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 portion, one of the shortest, repeats the terms of the covenant: do good, and receive reward; do evil, and receive punishment. The Torah makes clear that this applies to individuals: it cautions against rationalizing sin.
Deuteronomy 29:18 says: "When he hears the words of this oath, he may bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I will enjoy peace of mind even if I follow my heart’s illusions.’ As a result, God will add the punishment for his 'drunk' (unintentional) sins to the punishment for his 'thirsty' (intentional) sins."
The punishment for sin is one thing; the punishment for excusing oneself from the moral rules is that you are punished even for inadvertent sins.
The lesson: don't try to make up an independent morality, separate from the one God provides to the people. If you could ever do such a thing, you'd be so great that you'd be worthy of being punished for even inadvertent sins.
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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
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
