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A Rigorous and Comprehensive Torah Study Regimen

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What would a comprehensive and rigorous regimen of Torah study look like? Suppose someone wants to really become a Torah maestro. What would be a fitting schedule of course work for them to become a well-rounded Torah scholar? Torah is the antidote to the evil inclination. How much Torah and how many Torah domains and disciplines must the person be immersed in in order to have the antidote fully administered? In this very interesting and different sort of podcast, we learn the principles of the two types of Talmud study.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Bamidbar – Common Census (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:16 — 27.1MB)

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The United States Constitution mandates that a nationwide census is conducted every decade. Other nations also conduct censuses. Censuses are common. Our parsha begins with a nation-wide census, the third census since the Exodus. But this census was highly uncommon. It was conducted completely differently than the way that any other census is done. When we probe the matter deeply we discover something absolutely profound. At the risk of over-promising, I highly recommend that you listen very intently to this parsha podcast. It will change your life.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Torah Misappropriation (4:7)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 48:23 — 22.1MB)

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Our nation is blessed to be privy to the Almighty’s Torah. Those who immerse themselves in the Torah’s vast seas are the choicest and most admirable people of our nation. What benefits do they deserve? Is it OK for them to cash in on their Torah prowess? Should they demand honor for their Torah accomplishments?

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 17, 2020

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Parshas Bamidbar (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 56:48 — 26.0MB)

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We kickstart the Book of Numbers with a census of the twelve tribes of Israel – not including the tribe of Levi who is counted independently – conducted by Moses, Aaron, and the most distinguished leaders of said tribes. Subsequently, we read about the banners of the tribes and their assigned encampments, the transference of the sanctity of the firstborn to the Levites, and the designated role of each of the Levite families.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Life-Extending Teaching (4:6)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 29:15 — 13.4MB)

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What does it take to teach Torah effectively? What are the immense benefits of studying Torah with great diligence? What are the different modes of Torah study and what are the different benefits? In this deceptively simple Mishnah we learn about the power of commitment to Torah study, Torah teaching, and allowing Torah to influence you completely.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 3, 2020

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Behar/Bechukosai – Tilling and Toiling

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 54:33 — 25.0MB)

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The laws of the Torah – all 613 of them – were conveyed by God to Moshe at Mount Sinai. This is explicitly conveyed regarding the first Mitzvah featured in the first of our double Parsha, the Mitzvah of shemitah, to allow the land to lie fallow each 7th year. When we examine the subject further, we find all sorts of connections between shemitah and Sinai. In this sprawling podcast, we discover the secret of shemitah and the imperative to aspire to angelic greatness.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Sanctification or Vacuum (4:5)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 20:15 — 9.3MB)

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If our life’s mission would be distilled down to one idea it would be Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God’s Name). The opposite of Kiddush Hashem is Chilul Hashem (Desecration of God’s Name). Due to the gravity of these concepts, they are treated differently.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Dec 17, 2019

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Behar Bechukosai – Hostage Letter (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:01:54 — 28.3MB)

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Our Parsha contains some of the most difficult portions in the Torah, the Admonition. Our nation is told of the consequences of failing to adhere to the rules of God. The consequences are fierce and harsh. When this section is read in the synagogue, it is done quickly and in an undertone to prevent the congregation from lapsing into depression. But the Admonition ends on a comforting note: God promises to remember the covenant that He forged with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Notwithstanding our intransigent behavior and our betrayal of God, He pledges to ensure that we endure come what may. This podcast orients around a fascinating peculiarity in this comforting note. We discover the unique role that Jacob plays in our history, the difference between his Jacob and Israel personas, and his connection with Elijah, the heralder of redemption.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Extreme Measures (4:4)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 25:16 — 11.6MB)

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My wise grandmother, of blessed memory, used to quip, “Everything in moderation.” That sagacious advice is, in fact, the backbone of Rambam’s understanding of proper character. In every trait, there are two polar extremes, and both are not ideal. The balanced approach, the golden medium, the moderate middle, the midpoint between both extremes – that is the sweet spot to strive for. But there is one exception. There is one character trait that is so harmful and dangerous, that extreme measures are necessary.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Nov 26, 2019

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Modern Day Heresy

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Heresies and idolatries come and go. The idolatry that titillated the ancients no longer excites modern men. The heresies that revolutionized the world a century ago no longer resonate. Any heresy is a repudiation of God, and thus is bound to vaporize like a puff of smoke. Falsehood cannot endure for long, and eventually all heresies dissipate. But a fixture of our world is the balance required to facilitate free will. When one heresy dies, another must take its place. Our sages tell us that the last heresy preceding the Messianic redemption is the repudiation of Free Will. In the third and final installment of my grandfather’s chapter on Free Will, we study the nature of this heresy and the mechanism by which the good and evil inclinations are balanced.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Parshas Behar & Bechukosai (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:38:04 — 44.9MB)

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This week’s double-Parsha closes out the Book of Leviticus. Parshas Behar begins at Mount Sinai, where the Almighty instructed Moshe to convey a series of laws to the Jewish people. The first is the mitzvah of Shemittah, the prohibition of engaging in any agricultural work every seven years. In two chapters in the Torah (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28) we read about the positive consequences of obeying the Torah and heeding its laws; and the terrible, painful consequences of disobeying the Law. Though reading Parshas Bechukosai is scary and a tad depressing, the truth is that this framework is the secret to our nation enduring such long and painful exiles.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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