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Heavenly Headlines (4:13)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 37:10 — 17.0MB)

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What are the consequences of our behavior? What difference does it make if someone does a mitzvah or a sin? In this landmark teaching in Pirkei Avos we learn that our actions truly matter. We have the opportunity to make breaking news in Heaven. What Heavenly Headline will we write?

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on May 11, 2020

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Behaaloscha – Chiseled Hunk

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 53:30 — 24.5MB)

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Our Parsha begins with the commandment for Aaron to kindle the Menorah, the intricately embellished, seven-branched candelabra hewn out of a single block of gold. Towards the Parsha’s middle, we read about the set of silver trumpets that Moshe made, again hewn out of a single block of silver. The only other item with this requirement is the set of golden cherubs perched atop the Ark’s Cover. Why must these items be made in this unusual fashion? Why cant the Menorah’s branches be made separately and welded together? Why cant the golden cherubs be created separately and subsequently attached to the Ark’s Cover? In this fascinating podcast we propose a novel explanation that reveals the deep insight for the things that must be created by omission, and contrast it with the sukkah that has the opposite requirement: it cannot be made by hollowing out a mound of material to form the sukkah’s walls and roof.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of our dear friend and dedicated Parsha Podcast listener Steve Horak on the occasion of his birthday this week sponsored by his children Meirav and Ahron and granddaughter Libi. Happy birthday my friend! May this year bring only blessing and goodness to you and your family!

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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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Making Torah a Priority (4:12)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 49:31 — 22.7MB)

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Rabbi Meir is one of the most significant personalities in Jewish history. He was one of the five surviving students of Rabbi Akiva, and the one whose notes were used as the basis for the Mishnah. In this seminal teaching, he guides us on how to harmonize Torah study and making a livelihood and informs us of the great, eternal benefits of making Torah the central priority of our lives.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on May 5, 2020

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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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Behaaloscha – Bad Old Days (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:11:21 — 32.7MB)

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After a year at Sinai, the nation is finally on the move. Following the precise protocol of disassembly and decampment, the nation marches off from Sinai. Destination: Land of Canaan. At least that was the plan. More about that next week. In this week’s podcast we explore the events surrounding the Nation’s journey from Sinai. We examine Moshe’s unsuccessful attempt at cajoling Jethro to remain with the nation, the strange feature of the backwards facing nuns, and the inexplicable nostalgia that the nation exhibited for Egypt. Assembled together, we learn about a fantastic superpower of the evil inclination that’s stymies and stifles our ability to easily overcome difficult challenges.

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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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Getting Rich Doing What You Love (4:11)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 25:21 — 11.6MB)

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Which is a greater inhibitor of Torah study, being rich or being poor? You would imagine that both conditions would distract someone from dedicating their time to Torah study. In this Mishnah we find an answer to this question and consequently a way for someone to achieve a rags-to-riches turnaround thanks to committed Torah study.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Apr 29, 2020

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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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#96: Origins of Oral Torah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 47:39 — 21.8MB)

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The Torah was given to us by God with absolute perfection. A unique feature of that is the dual formats of Torah: written and oral. In this interesting and informative podcast, we begin the study of Maimonides’ magisterial introduction to his commentary on Mishnah. He begins by tracing the history of oral Torah all the way back to Moshe, he outlines the methods by which Moshe conveyed the Torah to the nation, and addresses the inadmissibility of prophecy in adjudicating Torah dilemmas. Torah is no longer in the heavens. We have other ways of settling uncertainties.

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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 Behaaloscha (Rebroadcast)

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

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The Jewish nation has been encamped at Mount Sinai for nearly a year; in this week’s parsha they finally depart from the Mountain of God, and sadly leave gleefully as a child escaping school. This kick starts a series of missteps that carry harsh consequences.

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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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Nasso – The Elusive Golden Middle

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 48:12 — 22.1MB)

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Our nation has been blessed with many great leaders. What is our definition of great leadership? In this interesting Parsha podcast, we go back to the story of the princes of the tribes. These 12 men were the heads of the 12 tribes. When Moshe and Aaron conducted the census in the beginning of last week’s Parsha, these 12 men accompanied them. In our Parsha, these princes make two donations towards the Tabernacle: they donate 12 oxen and 6 wagons for the transportation of the Tabernacle, and they each offer an elaborate tribute for the Tabernacles inauguration over the course of 12 successive days. When we look at their surprising backstory, their counterintuitive failure of leadership in an earlier stage of the Tabernacle, and their unusual epilogue we discover a fascinating saga that informs, inspires, and serves as a cautionary tale.

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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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Nasso – Nazirs Anonymous (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:01:00 — 27.9MB)

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The Nazir is someone who accepts a vow, typically for 30 days, to abstain from wine, to not cut their hair, and to not come into contact with the dead. This Nazir is holy. They are close to God. They are like a high priest. They are likely to reach prophecy. But there are some very unusual and surprising elements of the Nazir: the stated objective of the Nazir is to address the potential danger inherent in wine, yet when the period of the Nazir ends, the verse tells us that they resumed drinking wine. Why is the Nazir a temporary designation? In this very interesting podcast we suggest a comprehensive understanding of the subject of the Nazir and how it is designed to change the person. Listening to this podcast may inspire you to join your local chapter of Nazirs Anonymous™.

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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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Judicial Restraint (4:9-10)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 37:20 — 17.1MB)

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Justice is one of the three things that perpetuate the world. But should one strive to be a judge? In this very interesting Mishnah, the brainchild of a fascinating Sage, we discover that a person ought to be highly reticent in avoiding serving as a judge.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Mar 16, 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 Nasso (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:07 — 27.1MB)

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In the longest parsha in the Torah by verses, we continue to read about the Levite families and their responsibilities, we learn about the three tiers of the Nation’s encampment, the laws of a suspected adulteress, the laws of the Nazir, the Priestly blessings, and we read a very wordy account of the gifts of the tribal leaders during the weeks following the Tabernacle’s inauguration.

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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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