In the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, God makes His covenant not with particular individuals, but with the Jewish people as a collective whole. Joshua Berman sees this as evidence that religion cannot be properly understood or experienced as an entirely individual affair, but only in the context of community and social relationships. Thus, explains Berman in conversation with Ari Lamm, religion—even in a liberal, pluralistic society—must not be confined to the private sphere, but should instead inform public and political life, as indeed it has in the American republic. (Audio, 56 minutes.)

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.