Author Archives: admin

#16: How can Humans have Free Will if God is in Total Control?

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 58:00 — 26.6MB)

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In the previous podcast we discussed the Second Principle of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, that God is the sole Singular Power. How can that precept be reconciled with another pillar of Jewish faith – that man is in control of his own destiny and choices via his free will. Is man in charge or is God in charge? Do we determine our destiny or is it predetermined by God? How can our ability to make free independent choices be reconciled with the Principle that God is the sole Power?

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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!

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

Bulletproof Fences (3:17)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 1:13:01 — 33.4MB)

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Rabbi Akiva is one of the titanic figures of the Mishnaic Era. He served as the vital link transmitting the Torah that he studied from his predecessors to his students amid ceaseless oppression under the Romans. In the first of three consecutive Mishnas authored by Rabbi Akiva, we learn the keys to avoiding catastrophic promiscuity, getting and staying rich, achieving wisdom, preserving Torah, and more.

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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. 66: The Yom Kippur War (Part One: Prelude to War)

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 1:03:46 — 29.2MB)

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On October 6th, 1973 – on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar – a coordinated, surprise attack was launched on the State of Israel by its two great adversaries: Egypt in the South and Syria in the North. The Yom Kippur War would go on to be the bloodiest, and most consequential war in Israeli history since its founding. In Part One of our series on the Yom Kippur War we study the period between the Six Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973: We outline the 3-year War of Attrition that was conducted immediately following the Six Day War; examine the factors contributing to the outbreak of hostilities; assess the military and strategic strength of the adversaries; and discuss the severe Intelligence failures that led Israel to be so unprepared for war.

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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 Emor

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:21 — 29.5MB)

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Parshas Emor contains a staggering 56 mitzvos, nearly all of them relating to either to the Kohanim, the priests, or to the Festivals, and the parsha ends with a very unusual episode that happened at Sinai.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Abe Hidary, Avraham Ben Miriam Z”L. May his soul merit an ascendancy in Heaven

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!

Not to Kidnap (#36)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 25:24 — 11.6MB)

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In two separate instances the Torah warns us against stealing. With the understanding that the Torah contains no redundancies, the Talmud explains that one refers to stealing money or possessions, and the other refers to stealing people, i.e. kidnapping. When we read in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shall not steal” it refers to kidnapping.

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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 Kedoshim

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 57:56 — 26.5MB)

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This week’s parsha has the highest mitzvah density of any parsha: In its 64 verses we learn 51 separate mitzvos covering many different areas of Jewish practice, including arguably the most famous mitzvah in the whole Torah.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Rivka Bas Reb Avrohomi. May her holy soul merit an ascendancy in Heaven

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!

#15: The Singularity of God

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 53:33 — 24.5MB)

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The Second Principle of Jewish Faith declares that God is One. But not like one of a pair; and not like one of a group; and not like one person that can be divided into many [smaller] units; and not like a thing which is numerically one but can be infinitely divided, rather He – God, may He be blessed – is One that there is no comparable oneness. The Principles is indicated in the most famous verse in the Torah: “Hear O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One.” This podcast is intended to explain what is meant by the notion that God is One.

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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!

Against Adultery (#35, 188)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 26:34 — 12.2MB)

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Our society has trivialized adultery. In ancient times it was an absolute no-no even in societies that did not abide by other mitzvos; but in modern times it is tolerated and condoned. The Torah has a very strict prohibition against adultery and draconian edicts and safety measures to prevent it.

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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 Acharei

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:20 — 29.5MB)

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The three chapters of our parsha cover three general categories. First we read about the Yom Kippur sacrifices and procedures; then we learn about the prohibitions against consumption of blood among other ritualistic and sacrificial laws; and the final chapter is oriented around the many prohibited sexual relationships.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Shlomo Ben Chaim Elisha HaLevi. May his soul merit an ascendancy in Heaven

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!

Greeting Everyone with Joy (3:16)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 59:29 — 27.2MB)

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Rabbi Yishmael was the scion of one of the most prestigious families of our nation and a titanic Sage of the Mishnaic Era. In this podcast we share several of the fascinating stories about his fruitful and sometimes tragic life and explore the connection between those episodes and his teaching in Pirkei Avos.

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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!

#14: Faith vs. Emunah: Understanding the Difference between Intellectual and Instinctual Belief in God

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 55:45 — 25.5MB)

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The Thirteen Principles of Faith are the foundations of our religion. Just as the foundation of a structure is indispensable for ensuring the integrity of the building; these principles are necessary prerequisites for Jewish faith. But just as is the case in a building, the foundations are in the background – no one resides in them – in Judaism these principles are vital but are not the object of our spiritual lives. In this podcast we contrast the differences between the fundamental faith that underpins our religion, and the faith that is the lifeblood – the bread and butter – of the religion itself.

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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!

How we Navigated Having a Child on Shabbos and a Framework for Raising Children Well

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:07 — 26.1MB)

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This past Shabbos, my wife and I were blessed with a newborn baby girl. As Shabbos-observant Jews, this raised some interesting halachic dilemmas. In the first part of this podcast I tell the story of how we navigated the various problems, and then we pivot to constructing a framework for raising all kinds of children well based upon the Four Sons of the Pesach Haggadah.

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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!