Book of Days: asher553

RABBI CHAIM MENTZ ON CHARLIE KIRK:
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/414794
"Charlie Kirk was the Abraham of our times. I know people say Abraham. Yes," Rabbi Mentz said. "What did Abraham do? He was one individual in a world where they were throwing their children into volcanoes and he challenged everybody. 'Come to my tent. Let's talk.'" ... The rabbi noted the reaction from Kirk's supporters. "You just killed their main guy. Do you see rioting in the streets? Do you see anybody going across America saying we're going to go no justice, no peace? No. You know what they're all doing? They're all talking about how can we make America better? How can we become better? And that is the threat to the other side."

05 - Deuteronomy - 01 - Devarim

PARASHAH: Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22

Moses, nearing the end of his life and knowing he will never enter the Promised Land, addresses the Israelite nation.

ALIYAH 1 [1:1-11]

The lengthy opening passage of Deuteronomy seems to locate Moses' final address precisely in space and time. But, like the four rivers of Eden, the identity and location of many of the geographic markers are unknown to us today. And (as with the rivers of Eden) some commentators believe the names are to be interpreted allegorically.

In 1:9 - 11, Moses declares that "I cannot bear you alone [because] God has made you great. Behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. May God, God of your forefathers, add to you a thousand times as many as you are!" The great number of the Israelites is both a blessing and a burden, because, being numerous, they are difficult to govern. A large nation requires structures of government.

ALIYAH 2 [1:12-21]

Moses recalls the appointment of judges to administer the laws of the Torah. He then recalls the approach to the Holy Land, and the decision to send out spies to reconnoiter the land.

ALIYAH 3 [1:22-38]

The tale of the spies as told here differs somewhat from the version in Numbers. "There [in Numbers ch. 13 - 14], the sending out of the scouts was an order from God. Here, it is strictly the people's idea."

Also, this version makes no mention of the negative aspects of the spies' report as recounted in Numbers. Rather, in Moses' telling, "you did not want to go up, and you rebelled against the word of the Lord your God." [1:26]

ALIYAH 4 [1:39 - 2:1]

Upon learning of their punishment - that their generation would be banned from entering the Land of Israel - some people decided that they really wanted to go after all, and, in fact, were determined to enter the Holy Land now that it was off limits. They did, and were promptly routed by the Amorites.

The thing that gets me about this episode is that it's just so human. "We don't want to go into the Land of Israel!" "Okay fine, you can wander around the desert for 40 years then." "Wait wait wait! We're sorry! We really want to go!" "Too late." "No really, we're going and You can't stop us!" WHOMP.

ALIYAH 5

Now 38 years have elapsed, and the Israelites are ready to enter the Holy Land. They are warned to avoid confrontation with Seir (Edom), Moab, and Ammon.

ALIYAH 6

South of the Jabbok River, Sichon, which had refused safe passage to the Israelites, is conquered. Gilead and Bashan (kingdom of the defeated giant Og), around the Yarmuk River, are given to Menasseh.

ALIYAH 7

Reuben, Gad, and Menasseh are to cross the Jordan to do battle together with their brethren, before returning to their own lands east of the Jordan. Moses reminds Joshua of the victories against Sichon and Og, and to be courageous in the battles to come. [513]

I left work a little early, and thankfully got home a little early to enjoy the weather and start my weekend. Last Friday I was not so lucky: I left work early, but my homebound commute, normally an hour, took two and a half hours. A breakdown in the light rail switch meant that passengers on my line had to disembark and get on a shuttle bus, which took us to another station, where we had to disembark again and wait in the hot sun for a second shuttle bus, which finally took us to a point where we could rejoin the light rail. As you can imagine, I was not in a good mood by the time I got home.

So it was fortuitous that upon arriving home and checking my messages, I found a text from the sales side of the Nissan dealership where I usually take my blue compact for servicing. The little Versa has served me well enough, but the service bills were starting to add up and I was beginning to wonder how cost-effective it would be to keep the vehicle. Happily, the dealer wants me to come in and test-drive a new vehicle in the SUV line - a little closer to what I'm looking for, and, if factory-new, hopefully with an attractive warranty and service plan.

So I'm on for a test drive this coming Sunday. Given that my situation is more stable now than when I bought the compact (my credit then was so-so, and my options were limited), I'm cautiously optimistic that the forces of the universe will align in my favor and I'll be driving a new SUV soon.

It was hiding on a bookshelf in a far corner of my apartment. I've started re-reading the collection, beginning with Agnon's debut story (his 'signature story' as the collection calls it, because the title is connected with his pen name), 'Agunot'. It is a complex and haunting story about a mismatched bride and bridegroom in the Land of Israel; there is a 'love triangle' of sorts between the bride Dinah, the hired artisan Ben Uri, and Ben Uri's wondrous Torah ark (to which he develops an almost Pygmalion-like attachment).

The collection includes stories representing a cross-section of Agnon's career, including his stories of the Land of Israel (he first made Aliyah to Jaffa in 1908), of Germany (where he lived from 1913 to 1929), and of his native Buczacz, which occupied much of Agnon's writing after that city's destruction in the holocaust.

It's an auspicious time for me to renew my acquaintance with S.Y. Agnon, as this Sunday is the fast of Tisha b'Av, which Agnon claimed as his birthday.

I'm in the middle of another round of trying to bring some order to the chaos in my apartment, and, in particular, the books therein. I've collected almost all the Agnon books on one shelf, with the exception of one that I can't track down at the moment - a collection of his stories titled (ironically, under the circumstances) A Book that Was Lost.

I'm also pulling together all of my Gene Wolfe books. 'Shadow and Claw', the first volume of the two-volume omnibus edition the New Sun tetralogy, rides with me on my daily commute by light rail, and I spend a half-hour or so every morning reading it until I get off at Pioneer Urth in downtown Portland.

Work continues to go as smoothly as can be expected. We are a Dell shop, and our supplier has been experiencing supply-chain challenges of late, so for the time being the operative phrase is "Dude, you're not getting a Dell!" But the IT manager has let me know he is extending me for another month, and there's plenty of work to keep me busy in terms of organizing such stock as we still have in-house, catching up on ServiceNow tickets, and general housekeeping.

Sometimes it seems like housekeeping is 90 percent of life, but that's how it goes.

Out in the world of society, I'm finishing up a very busy month with the Party. Besides the city's July 4 parade, we've also had the Robin Hood Festival and the ten-day-long County Fair. It's my job to book us a booth and set up the volunteer schedule. We have a new team member, a young lady who's been active in College Republicans and Turning Point USA. I myself put in four shifts at the County Fair and had a blast. We got a very, very positive response from the public and gathered hundreds of signatures for four state initiative petitions. Hecklers were few and far between; usually our people just smile sweetly and say "Have a blessed day!"

(Me, I just laugh in their faces, none of this "have a blessed day" shit. But that's just me.)