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#69: The Miracles of Messiah

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Messiah is not an isolated, discrete, transformation that occurs in a vacuum. Messiah is the ultimate redemption. Our nation has experienced redemption before. The pattern of exile and redemption has been constant feature of our nation’s history. It began in Egypt. Our nation enslaved, tormented, and oppressed in Egypt for centuries until the Almighty redeemed us with the Exodus. After 850 years of hegemony, exile came again, this time in the form of the Babylonian exile: the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and sent the nation in chains to Babylon. The Persian exile and redemption is featured in the Purim story and the Greek in the Chanukah story. Currently, our nation is in the 4th and final exile, known as the exile of Edom. Messiah marks the redemption from this 4th and final exile. In this podcast we talked about Messiah in the context of the other exiles, and outline the miracles that we expect in the Messianic age.

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Parshas Terumah (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 52:28 — 24.0MB)

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One of the fundamental principles of Jewish philosophy is the idea of “Kedushah”, holiness. Holiness, according to the Jewish definition, is when the physical and spiritual worlds meet. In no location in the world is holiness more present than the Temple, and its predecessor, the “Mishkan”, the Tabernacle. In this week’s parsha we read about the instructions to raise the materials and to construct the Tabernacle and most of its vessels.

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Mishpatim – System of Sinai

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 49:32 — 22.7MB)

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The Parsha that follows the Revelation at Sinai contains an apparently motley potpourri of subjects: it begins with a wide variety of mitzvos of all types, presented in rapid fire succession. The Parsha concludes with two apparently unrelated subjects: it foretells of the conquest of Canaan and the conditions by which we will acquire it, and it revisits the Sinai Revelation and the events that led up to it. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore the surprising layout of the subjects of our Parsha and discover a fundamental and perhaps overlooked benefit of the framework of Torah.

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The Secret of Parshas Shekalim With Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

Podcast: Download (Duration: 59:52 — 27.4MB)

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:52 — 27.4MB)

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This week marks the first of the four special Parshiyos, the 4 weeks where we read a special citation from the Torah in addition to the weekly Parsha. After the conclusion of the Torah reading for Parshas Mishpatim, we read six verses from Exodus chapter 30 that discussed the annual fundraising effort for the Temple coffers. In honor of the annual TORCH fundraiser going on right now at giveTORCH.org, we invited the legendary Rabbi Shmuly Botnick to discuss the secrets and mysteries of this Torah reading. He did not disappoint.

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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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Mishpatim – Crowning Achievement (5781)

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

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The end of our Parsha revisits the Sinai Revelation of Parsha Yisro and recounts some of the preparations for the Ten Commandments. In the negotiations and deliberations in the runup to Sinai, the Nation declares that they will do and they will listen to all the commandments. This statement, we will do and we will listen, became the rallying cry of our people. Our Nation committed itself to God before we knew what that entailed. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore this very powerful and consequential declaration.

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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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Salt in Sacrifices (#118-9)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 19:17 — 8.8MB)

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One of the many processes and rituals done with sacrifices in the Temple is the mandatory salting of all sacrifices. Both animal sacrifices and meal offerings must be salted before brought upon the altar.

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48 Ways to Wisdom – #11: Friendly Critique (6:6:11)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 20:51 — 9.5MB)

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Humans are not perfect. Only God is. We are fallible. We are mistake-prone. Yet our mission and mandate is to discover truth. That is achieved, chiefly, via the study of Torah. The Almighty embedded truth and understanding of God in the Torah that He gave to us. But even our pursuit of Torah must be done properly. There are ways to corrupt the study of Torah as well. In this 11th way to wisdom we discover the imperative of gaining the perspectives of others. We cannot do it alone.

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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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#68: The Persona of King Messiah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 44:22 — 20.3MB)

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Messiah will not be an ordinary person. He will be a towering figure who’s impact reverberates the world over. In this podcast we study what our Sages tell us about who Messiah is and what his stature will be, and talk about the wide-ranging and far reaching implications that he will have.

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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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Ends Justifying Means: An Exploration of the Path of Pleasantness of the Torah

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:56 — 29.3MB)

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The Jewish people were trapped. Only a week after they left Egypt, Pharaoh had chased them in hot pursuit, and now they had no place to go: with their backs up against the sea, and a heavily armed Egyptian army encircling them, the nation complained to Moshe, “are there insufficient graves in Egypt?”. For his part, Moshe was praying. God showed the way forward: into the water. There was one thing that no one proposed: waging war. The nation was armed, but did not turn their weapons against their Egyptian foes. This idea serves as a springboard for a wonderful concept of an elevated life that we find in several places in the Torah. This podcast will help you appreciate the beauty and the greatness of Torah and the type of righteous people that the Torah is trying to mold us into becoming.

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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 Mishpatim (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:05 — 27.0MB)

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Parshas Mishpatim marks a stark change in the rhythm and pace of the Torah narrative. The preceding 17 Parshas contained a total of 41 mitzvos; this week we begin learning the Torah laws en masse. In this single parsha alone we have 53 mitzvos (only three parshas have more mitzvos). Beyond the varied laws, this parsha contains a prophetic promise and guidance regarding the conquest of Canaan, and the completion of the Sinai narrative that began in last week’s parsha.

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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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Yisro – Sinai Sales Pitch

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:55 — 23.3MB)

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Our Parsha contains the most significant event in all of human history: the Revelation at Sinai. An entire nation comprised of millions of people heard the Almighty directly. The nation heard the Ten Commandments and lived to tell the tale. This momentous event kick started our nation: thenceforth, we are bound by the laws of the Torah. The Almighty will do His part too: He will treasure us and cherish us. Prior to the Revelation, the Nation is pitched on the terms of this Covenant. By analyzing the sales pitch we discover the power and potency of Torah.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of John Magness. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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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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