Between 55: Day 7 (Saturday) | Lebanon and the Islamabad Talks (I Don't Know)

24 Nisan 5786 AM | 1 AVE. 

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by Your Spirit and invited the nations to share in the richness of Your Word. We thank You for the people and state of Israel, including the Messiah, our First Fruits, through whom the harvest of life has begun.

Today is the seventh day of the Omer according to the minority Sadducean count, which is 0 weeks and 7 days.

May the Spirit of Truth prepare my heart for the revelation of the 50th day.

6:50 AM EDT in Albany. 

Jonathan writes:

As I sit down at my desktop this morning, I am eating my first crop of raw lentil sprouts. I've been getting caught up since 4:15 AM on the news, mostly related to the Islamabad talks, which is unusual for me on a Sabbath lately, but not off limits if that is what the moment seems to demand. 

This is probably the biggest test of J.D. Vance's political career. The Iranian team's emphasis on a ceasefire in Lebanon and the unfreezing of assets as a precondition for talks is a geopolitical masterstroke enabled by the refusal of France (with the EU) and Erdogan (with NATO) to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety. With this EU-NATO oxygen to breathe, Iran is effectively isolating Israel as the stumbling block to regional peace and positioning Trump and Vance as Zionist puppets. This reinforces antisemitic and anti-Netanyahu sentiment on the global left and on the woke right in America.

The majority of Jews in Israel perceive Hezbollah as an existential threat that must be defeated now. The majority of Jews in the Diaspora perceive Netanyahu's unremitting military campaign against Hezbollah as an existential threat to the Jewish reputation worldwide. They're probably both right.

This said, I believe Trump needs to put Netanyahu firmly in his place. Israel should not be bombing in Lebanon while the Islamabad talks are underway, and Netanyahu should not be dictating Lebanon ceasefire red lines to Trump - not if Israel wants continued American support at the UN Security Council. Lebanon is not Gaza, and Israel is not on the UN Security Council. Lebanon is a sovereign state, and the US as a P5 Member has the authority - with Council backing - to tell Israel and Hezbollah to observe a ceasefire while talks at Islamabad are underway.

Trump also needs to lean on Macron and Erdogan, of course. As talks in Islamabad unfold this weekend, this is precisely the time for the EU and NATO to send Iran an unmistakably clear message: Hezbollah, like Hamas, is not a legitimate political party. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. It is a non-state "cancer" in Lebanon that must be completely disarmed and dismantled. The people of Lebanon have a right to freedom from conflict between Iran and Israel. Vance, for his part, must not fall into the trap of describing the carnage and displacement in Lebanon as a "separate but related skirmish." He must lean heavily into the interconnectedness of Iran's illegal proxy fronts against Israel, while underscoring the desirability and importance of a rapid and durable ceasefire in Lebanon.

Now, for words from a true master of Jewish and American values, consider this breathtaking 3-point Shabbat message from Rabbi Ammi Hirsch: The Week That Was.

Tomorrow I will return to the Daily Chumash with Rashi and the Daily Wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe at the beginning of Leviticus 12.