I learned something very interesting yesterday at synagogue about the origins of the police.
I was reading a commentary on the weekly Torah portion, which I had written about (drawing attention to the theme of "justice" in the text). The commentary pointed out that while the emphasis in the Torah is on judges, it also mentions the importance of "law enforcement officials" in Deuteronomy 16:18: "You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment."
The commentary noted that while in the Messianic age, people would not need police officers to enforce the law, in todays age we do. (My rabbi noted that the Biblical ideal was to have "counselors," not police, to assist in the administration of justice, in the perfect world in which human beings never sought to flout the law.)
The relevance of Deuteronomy 16:18 was not lost on the congregants. We have been told for more than a year by the luminaries of Black Lives Matter -- in the streets, on cable news, and in the editorial pages -- that modern-day policing is a legacy of slavery, somehow tracing its origins to the officers who were dispatched to catch slaves that had escaped. It always came across as complete garbage, but it was spoken with great confidence and with an air of high dudgeon.
The reality: anyone who has a Bible can learn that police have existed for thousands of years. Moreover, the people Moses were addressing (or their parents) had just emerged from slavery themselves. The Bible recognizes that police are essential to the protection of freedom.
Think of Deuteronomy 16:18 the next time you encounter BLM.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
