Political Passover

When Passover begins at sunset on Monday evening the first family and about 20 others will gather for a ritual that neither the rabbinic sages nor the founding fathers would recognize.

The commandment of Passover is only to the Jewish People but the story and the idea of freedom that the holiday embodies is for all people all the time. What separates the human from the animal is our free will, directing our own lives, when freedom is threatened we turn into animals.

America is always touted as a free country from our very beginning; people come to America to be free, but what is free? The Torah implicit in the Ten Commandments was Cheresh/Engraved into sapphire; the Rabbis say don’t read Cheresh/Engraved but Cheresh/Free because the Torah makes one free.

There are 613 commandments in the Torah for the Jewish People who are obligated to perform through which freedom is obtained. When the 613 is connected to the Seven Commandments of Noah obligated by the rest of peoples of the earth makes the gematria 620 Keter/Crown.

The President as Commander and Chief protects the freedom of America where free choice is celebrated–when we chose to acknowledge the Creator than we are free. For the first family of our country to be partaking in Passover is a way of crowning the Creator at the highest level.

The Price of Words

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are suing a U.K. newspaper over an article reporting that their high-profile relationship is unraveling.

What makes this episode of flagrant gossip so repugnant is it also effects their six children and the basic structure of their family. There is nothing more important to the human being than the family–a branch upon the Tree of Life planted in the Garden of Eden.

The Talmud-Book of Law states, words that cause embarrassment brings redness to the face as a sign of subtle murder. Among the worst kind of speech is gossip–a pointless endeavor; the best kind of speech is prayer.

Only human beings have the capacity to translate thoughts into articulated words–it is what makes us different from the animals, be that spoken or written words. The Torah says that rich famous people should be honored one because God chose them for this reward and two because there are inherent difficulties in being rich–gossip about one’s family is the most pernicious type of invasion.

While people fight for the right of marriage this couple prefers not be married perhaps because family means more than family values. In the Torah the often quoted adage of an eye for an eye refers to monetary compensation–the question is what is the price for embarrassment?