Commentary

Put Your Faith in G-d, Not a ‘King’

Put Your Faith in G-d, Not a ‘King’

Joshua Norman

In the second reading of this week's Torah Portion (Shoftim, or Judges), G-d anticipates that the Children of Israel will forget G-d many years after settling Eretz Yisrael (D'Varim 17:14-20) and demand a king like all the nations around it.  This occurred in Chapter Eight of the First Book of Samuel when the Israelites asked Samuel to give them a king because Samuel was old and his sons were corrupt.  Even though Samuel warned the Israelites that they would go from being servants of G-d to helots of the king, the Israelites still insisted on a king because they would be like all the other nations and their king would go out and fight their battles.

Samuel warned the Israelites what the manner of the king would be.  The king would conscript their sons into his army and their daughters as his domestic servants; take their property to give it to his acolytes and impose heavy taxes on what the Israelites produce.  However, because the Israelites had rejected G-d and wanted a king, G-d told Samuel to make them a king.  This proves that we should be careful what we wish for, because sometimes, we just might get it. 

When Catholic Statues Attack
Commentary

When Catholic Statues Attack

Kevin Thomas

A Catholic school is removing its Catholic statues to be more inclusive. While this sounds like another action in the continued debate over controversial monuments, this is more a trend of religions, especially Catholics, hiding their beliefs, or watering them down enough so as not to be a bother.

It reminds me of a time I toured Georgetown University with my daughter on a fine spring day years ago. She had been accepted for the fall and we were checking out the campus.

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