There's news that Gavin Newsom -- facing recall -- and the state legislature are proposing to use some $7 billion of the $26 billion in federal stimulus cash it received under President Joe Biden to pay back rent owed by thousands of "low-income" California families. (I use quotes because you can earn almost $150,000 per year in San Francisco and still qualify.)
No doubt people are glad to have the relief -- and landlords will be glad to get the money -- but there are also many questions here.
One is about fairness. Theoretically, taxpayers in other states are subsidizing rent in California. Is that what Congress knew it would be doing when it passed the "COVID relief"?
Of course, the money is just being borrowed, or printed, so perhaps taxpayers elsewhere won't feel the pinch. And other states also have a surplus (because it turns out they didn't need "relief" as badly as Biden and the Democrats said they did.) But California itself has almost $400 billion in debt -- the highest of any state. Shouldn't there be some plan to use part of the money to pay that down?
There are also other questions. The state has crumbling infrastructure and a glaring homeless problem. Are these going to be addressed, too? Maybe there is so much cash that the state can spend whatever is needed on these other problems as well?
If money grows on trees, why didn't we try this before? What about inflation? Or incentives?
Gavin Newsom faces a recall, which explains some of the sudden generosity. Do we want to allow politicians to buy votes in this way? Maybe so, if it is for the public benefit?
All interesting questions, which are -- of course -- not really being asked. Curiously, San Diego reports that it has hundreds millions of dollars in unclaimed money that was supposed to help people with rent relief -- even before the new proposed spending.
Maybe people like doing things for themselves, if they can?
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
