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Parshas Shoftim

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This week we learn the laws governing all kinds of leaders: The parsha begins by detailing the laws of judges, the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, and what happens to rebellious judges; we read about the unique laws related to kings; there are more laws pertaining to the Kohanim; and we find the means of vetting professed prophets and what happens to the six kinds of false prophets.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in honor of all the TORCH students worldwide who are beginning the school year and their families. We look forward to a fantastic year of learning and growing!

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

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.org
Twitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links:

This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah: Apple Podcasts

Marital Rights and Responsibilities (#46)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 25:59 — 11.9MB)

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A healthy and harmonious marriage cannot be sustained by love alone. The Torah teaches the responsibilities and obligations of a husband that constitute the framework in which their relationship can flourish.

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

Elul: Making the Most out of these Favorable Days

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Elul is the name of the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe. The 40 days spanning from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur are the most spiritually auspicious days of the year; during this period we can re-imagine who we are and who we want to be — and transform into that idealized self.

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

Complex Calculations (3:23)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 33:43 — 15.4MB)

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What is the relationship between Torah and secular disciplines such as astronomy mathematics? In a pithy and cryptic teaching, Rabbi Elazar Chisma – a Sage who excelled in both – offers an insightful perspective.

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

Parshas Re’eh

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This week’s parsha marks a transition in the Book of Deuteronomy: it is no longer primarily about admonishment and rebuke and warnings, instead we read a bevy of mitzvos – some repetitions and some new ones that have hitherto not been mentioned.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of Mitch Stanley, a dear friend and stalwart supporter of TORCH. Thank you for your friendship and support, we deeply appreciate it!

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

Parshas Eikev

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:00 — 27.5MB)

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We pick up where we left off last week amid Moshe’s speech to the nation before his passing, and as in the previous few weeks, Parshas Eikev is jam packed with insights and timeless lessons. Moshe pivots between looking back on the conduct of the nation in the preceding 40 years and admonishing them for their misdeeds, and gazing forward to the conquest of Canaan and the secrets to making their settlement peaceful, prosperous, and secure.

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

The Female Jewish Slave (#43-45)

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The Torah allows a father to sell his minor daughter as a servant, and the new master can opt to marry her or wed her to his son, but he cannot restrict her from redeeming herself prior to the conclusion of her term and he cannot sell her to someone else. How can we make sense of these highly unusual mitzvos?

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

What God Actually Wants

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The Torah is God’s revelation and directives to mankind. In it, He commands, instructs, and guides us in how to behave and what to do in our lives. But what does God really want from us? What’s the bottom line? In an intriguing and provocative verse in Deuteronomy (10:12), Moses asks this question. His answer, though, raises even more questions.

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

Preconditions to Torah (3:21-22)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 31:41 — 14.5MB)

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Torah is unlike any other discipline. Every other discipline can be acquired without preconditions; Torah can only be unlocked by someone who has successfully primed himself for that lofty status. In this Mishnah, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah instructs us on what is needed before Torah can flourish within us.

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

Parshas Va’Eschanan

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:41 — 30.1MB)

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This week’s parsha continues Moshe’s monologue to the nation in the weeks preceding his passing. He begins by recounting his repeated efforts in trying to convince God to rescind His decree that Moshe not enter the Land; Moshe then begins the retelling of the Torah; and we read many warnings and predictions about proper behavior and the consequences of abandoning Torah and mitzvos. This is a parsha replete with iconic verses and big themes!

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

Ep. 68: The Yom Kippur War (Part Three: The Tide Turns)

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 58:48 — 26.9MB)

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The Yom Kippur War is – at least from a military perspective – a tale of two conflicts: The early stages of the war were completely one-sided, with the combined Arab armies of Syria and Egypt dominating the battlefields and making huge gains and inflicting punishing blows to the Israelis. But the tide dramatically turned, and ultimately – though with substantial loss of life and materiel – the Israelis gained the upper hand and produced an incredible military victory, albeit with very meager gains after the diplomatic and political dust settled.

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

Parshas Devarim

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:28 — 23.1MB)

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5 weeks before his passing, Moses gives a three-parsha-long speech to the nation, which constitutes his last will and testament. He begins with a retrospective of the history of the nation over the past 40 years since the Exodus – subtly rebuking the nation, guiding them, admonishing them, ensuring that they don’t repeat their mistakes of yore.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of the engagement of my brother in law, Shua Florans, to his bride Suri Schachter. May y’all have a wonderful life together, and establish a home full of prosperity, and harmony, and good health! Mazal Tov.

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