This reading reviews some of the laws and rules regarding conduct among human beings. Among the more interesting laws is that of Deuteronomy 24:5: "When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, nor shall he be subjected to anything associated with it. He shall remain free for his home for one year and delight his wife, whom he has taken."
When my wife and I were first married, we had to live apart for several months, because I had committed to a congressional campaign in Chicago and she had taken a job in Washington, DC, partly to maintain her legal immigration status. (She became a citizen the following year.) She sometimes admonished me with the lesson of Deuteronomy 24:5, suggesting that perhaps I should have put politics aside for the sake of the newlywed year. Things would have been tough, anyway: it was the midst of the recession, and jobs were in short supply. We could not afford a honeymoon. But we could at least have been together all the time, instead of just on weekends.
I knew she was right. In some ways, I regret that choice. You never really get that first year back. We are very happy, 12 years later, but I learned the wisdom of that Biblical passage. And the importance of setting time aside for one another doesn't end after the first year. You need to make time to reconnect, beyond the pressures of work and the duties of family, which have no end, unless you set a boundary to them.
Today's episode is devoted to the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks. It was produced before the announcement of a ceasefire deal, yet remains current & relevant.
Please listen, and #bringthemhome.
SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET (4-7 PT)
This week's portion is a beautiful poem, containing the Covenant between God and the people of Israel. But given the breaking news that Hamas may actually have agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages, I will devote my remarks to that.
One hopes it is true; if so, it makes this week's additional reading, from II Samuel 22, even more relevant: David's song of praise to the Lord for delivering him from the hand of his enemies.
"18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support."
So much to focus on this week -- and much breaking news. A peace deal in the Middle East, perhaps? Eric Adams dropping out of the mayor's race? And a looming shutdown as Democrats push their demands beyond absurdity.
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