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Conversation (6:6:20)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 41:05 — 18.8MB)

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We are speaking beings. In fact, the central differentiation between humanity and animals is the capacity of verbal communication. The judgment that we face in Heaven is largely about how we deployed our superpower, our speech. The greatest mitzvos are performed with speech and some of the most grievous transgressions are also a product of the spoken word. What about idle chit chat? What about ordinary conversation? Small talk? There is a lot of gray area of speech that doesn’t immediately appear to be neither a mitzvah nor a sin. How are we to relate to this form of speech? In this Ethics Podcast we study the subject of speech and the Torah’s guidance for how to properly balance it.

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This Ethics Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui Nishmas Yosef Binyamin ben Avraham Chaim, George Topas, whose third Yartzeit falls out on 19th of Sivan, the day that this podcast is being released.

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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 – Kindle Fire (5781)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 33:31 — 15.3MB)

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Aaron the High Priest held a critical leadership role in the nation. A partial list of his jobs: he offered sacrifices, he did the Yom Kippur services which included the annual trip to the Holy of Holies, and he blessed the people. But there was one job that he was excluded for: When the princes of the tribes brought their respective tributes to mark the Tabernacle’s inauguration, Aaron and his tribe were not included. Understandably, Aaron was disappointed, but God comforted him: Yours responsibility is greater than theirs, because you kindle the Menorah each evening. Why was the Menorah service the best one to mollify Aaron? In this seminal podcast episode, we suggest a new approach that shines the light on Aaron’s greatness and his sacrifice.

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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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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: 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

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:02:06 — 28.4MB)

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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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Sleep (6.6.19)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 50:42 — 23.2MB)

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We all need to sleep. All humans, irrespective of their intelligence, their physical prowess, their wealth, must lay down in a comatose state for several hours a day and sleep. Sleep is also enjoyable. There’s something seductively delicious about sleep. What is the Torah’s attitude on sleep? Why did the Almighty design us that we need to sleep? What are the spiritual dangers in excessive sleep? In this ethics podcast we explore this fascinating subject. I would not recommend starting this podcast if you want to go to sleep. It’s so interesting, it will keep you awake. Caveat dormitator!

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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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#73: The Sequencing of Messiah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 56:04 — 25.7MB)

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What will happen in the times of Messiah? For us, that is an unanswerable question. Our Sages tell us that unless you are a prophet, it is not possible for you to know ahead of time how the Messianic transformation will unfold. That said, our Sages do provide us with descriptions and accounts and hints and allusions that can give us some insight into what we have to look forward to. In this podcast we focus on the concept that Messiah may be part of a sequence of events that string together to create the Messianic era.

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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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Shavuos Special – Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:53 — 30.2MB)

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The Sinai Revelation is the most significant event in all of human history: God revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people, He spoke to them, He gave them the Torah, and they lived. This day is revisited every single year on the festival of Shavuos. Our objective on this day is to renew our vows with God and to re-accept His holy Torah. But how do you accept the Torah? What are the prerequisites and necessary criteria for accepting the Torah? To answer those questions we have to study the Sinai Revelation and the events that preceded and succeeded it. In this very special podcast we explore many different dimensions and elements of the festival and the days that it commemorates and discover the essential quality that was needed to accept the Torah initially and the primary way for us to tap into the vast, awesome, spiritual power of Shavuos.

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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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Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:43 — 29.2MB)

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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 – Princely Pendulum (5781)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 43:09 — 19.8MB)

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The Princes of the Tribes make several notable contributions at the inauguration of the Tabernacle: They contribute 12 oxen and 6 covered wagons to aid the Levites in the transportation of the Tabernacle and each Prince donates a tribute of 21 animals, a silver basin and bowl brimming with flour and oil, and a gold ladle full of incense. Why were these 12 men chosen to serve as princes of the tribes? What happened to these people after the events of our Parsha? In this special edition of The Parsha Podcast, we trace the story of the Princes from their heroic beginning to their absolutely shocking end, following the surprising twists and turns along the way.

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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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Shavuos Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:05:07 — 52.2MB)

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Shavuos is the Festival that marks the day of the giving of the Torah. More than 3300 years ago, our nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and we experienced some thing that no other nation has ever experienced: the Almighty spoke to us as a nation and we lived to tell the tale. We heard the 10 Commandments from God and from Moshe and our nation was forever transformed. Every year we relive the Sinai revelation during the Festival of Shavuos. To help prepare for this momentous day, I gathered together with my TORCH colleagues in the glorious TORCH Centre to chat about the upcoming festival and how to make the most of it.

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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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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: 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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