The effort by the left to topple President Donald Trump by staging unrest outside the White House the weekend after the death of George Floyd -- violently, at least at night -- was the real "insurrection," an attempt by the Democrats, the media, the activists, and the Deep State to mount a "color revolution" that would force the president to cede power voluntarily.
Trump's walk across the park to the church was a public statement that democracy still governed the country, and not the mob. That is why they had to lie about it -- to mock it as a "photo-op" and to spread the lie that he had used violence to disperse "peaceful protesters" (which the journalists knew was a lie, because they themselves had been assaulted by the "peaceful protesters" ).
The event was the subject of a massive disinformation campaign -- aided by former senior members of the military, including Trump's own former Secretary of Defense, James Mattis. The media, who still obsess about Russian "disinformation," were part and parcel of an intense effort to mislead the public and provide the justification for regime change. (They eventually succeeded, in a way.)
What happened seven months later, on January 6, was an echo of the violence of that weekend, and the whole summer. When you attempt to seize power through mob force, all while chanting "this is what democracy looks like," there is a good chance at least some people on the other side will believe it.
The real "insurrection" was at Lafayette Square, and the truth will no longer be silenced.
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
