In last week’s Torah reading, a brief passage of merely 85 characters (Numbers 10:35–36) describing the prayer Moses would say before and after transporting the Holy Ark is set apart from the rest of the text on either side by the inverted letter nun. At least, that is how the passage is usually marked in Torah scrolls produced in the past few centuries. Sholom Eisenstat observes the different versions of this notation that have appeared in Jewish manuscripts since ancient times—one of the few variations in a text that has otherwise been preserved with remarkable consistency. He also examines the interpretations rabbis have offered for these markings, in all their forms. One of the most striking is offered by the Zohar, which in typical fashion sees them as symbolizing the Sh’khinah, or the immanent, feminine, manifestation of God:

The Zohar describes the nuns surrounding the text as depicting the Sh’khinah travelling through the desert riding on top of the mishkan, the portable Tabernacle, scouting the route and protecting the people of Israel (Numbers 10:33). This relationship demonstrates Her love for the people of Israel.

Thus the Zohar, reasons, the nun is backwards to denote the physical orientation of the Sh’khinah:

According to the discourse here, the Sh’khinah changed Her posture depending on whether the people were moving or resting; She either faced the people or She faced toward the ark, turning Her back on the people. The Zohar then discusses some of the ramifications of the posture of the Sh’khinah: would it be appropriate comportment on the part of the Sh’khinah to turn Her back toward the people?

Recent reports suggest that the White House has at last acted to allow the shipments of weapons that had been withheld from Israel and to end further the delays. On this topic, Elliott Abrams comments, “I don’t know what and how much has been held up, but it shouldn’t have happened. The level of delay should be zero.”

In this interview with Ariel Kahana, Abrams also comments on the failings of U.S. policy toward Iran, and the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce existing sanctions:

According to Abrams, Iran has indeed halted the advancement of its nuclear program on rare occasions. “This happened when Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, and when [President] Trump eliminated Qassem Suleimani in 2020. The U.S. needs to be ready to use force in Iran, but credibility is critical here. Only if [Iran’s leaders] are convinced that the U.S. is willing to act will they stop.”

Abrams claims that the U.S. president tried for two-and-a-half years to revive the nuclear deal with Iran until he realized it wasn’t interested. “Iran has benefited from this situation, and everyone outside the administration sees it as a failure.”