Category Archives: Torah 101

#33: Torah in the Second Temple Era

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The Second Temple Era was an eventful time for the Jewish People and the perpetuation of Torah. Over the course of the Second Commonwealth our nation was blessed with great legends, such as Ezra, Shimon Ben Shetach, and Hillel, but the Nation faced unprecedented tests too: We were forced to contend with hostile foreign nations; internally, we suffered from discord and sectarianism; and at various times the Rabbis were targeted with assassinations and purges. To understand the imperative for the codification of Oral Torah, we must study the treacherous and perilous conditions of Torah in the Second Temple Era.

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#32: From Moses to the Men of the Great Assembly: Development, Systematization, and Perpetuation of Torah

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Although the process to formally codify the Oral Torah did not begin for more than 1500 years after Sinai, there were many advancements in organizing and systematizing Oral Torah that began in earnest soon after Moses’ passing. In this special edition of the TORAH 101 podcast, we discuss the various developments in Oral Torah from Moses until the end of prophecy at the beginning of the Second Commonwealth. Among the many critical subjects discussed is the three different ways that Rabbinic ordinances can be rescinded.

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#31: Innovation and Dynamism in Oral Torah

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In the narrow sense, Oral Torah refers to the interpretation and understanding of the Written Torah. The Written Torah is written cryptically, and the Oral Torah demystifies and explains it. But the truth is that Oral Torah includes much more than that. Oral Torah includes all of Torah that is not included in the Written text. In our next installment on Rambam’s Thirteen Principles, we discuss the concept of Rabbinic Law, its roots, and how the corpus of Oral Torah was expanded.

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#30: What is Oral Torah?

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When Rambam lays out the Eighth Principle of his Thirteen Principles of Faith, that the Torah is divine, he includes believing in not only the Written Torah but also the Oral Torah as a necessary belief for Jews. But what exactly is Oral Torah? What is the relationship between the Written and Oral Torahs? In this podcast, the first of several on the important subject of Oral Torah, we get an important introduction to Oral Torah by studying Rambam’s Introduction to Mishnah and studying relevant Talmudic teachings.

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#29: The Comprehensiveness of Torah

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Ramban, Nachmanides (1194-1269), arguably the most impactful and significant Jewish personality of the 13th Century, was a towering, titanic figure, who wrote voluminously on all Torah and Talmud subjects. Perhaps his magnum opus is his magisterial commentary on the Torah. This podcast follows his fascinating introduction that he writes to his commentary on the Torah that deals with very fundamental questions relating to the authorship, nature, and dimensions of Torah. Studying this introduction will be a fitting continuation to some of the subjects we touched upon last time, and truly deepen our understanding of what we mean when we say that the Torah is divine.

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This TORAH 101 podcast is dedicated leilui nishmas Zev/Wolf Schiffman by his Jakobovits and Rubenstein grandchildren. May his soul be elevated 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!

Contact Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: 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 with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts

#28: The Divine Torah: An Expanded Definition

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 55:06 — 25.2MB)

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The Eighth Principle, that the Torah is Divine, is the central principle upon which all the Thirteen Principles lean. Our entire religion hinges upon the fact that the Almighty gave us His Torah. But what exactly does that mean? In this podcast we discover that the Eighth Principle is much deeper than a question of authorship; the divinity of the Torah means a great deal 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!

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

#27: Mosaic Prophecy

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The prophecy of Moses differs from all other prophecies. In fact, Rambam tells us that they are only nominally similar – in truth, they are two totally different experiences. When we break down the subject we find that the differences fall into several categories: Mosaic prophecy contains a different level of understanding than all other prophecies; the content of Mosaic prophecy is of a different nature; and Moses was subject to a completely different level of vetting than all other prophets, and consequently our faith in him is on a different level than our faith in all other prophets, both those who preceded him and those who came subsequently.

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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!

#26: Moses: The Greatest Man

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The Seventh Principle of Faith orients around the greatest man and the greatest prophet of them all, Moses. Moses towered above all members of the human species, and indeed over angels too. As a result of his supreme stature, Moses became the sole prophet who could bridge the two words and convey Torah to humanity. In this podcast we share some of our Sages teachings regarding the unparalleled, transcendent stature of Moses

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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

#25: The History of Prophecy + FREE TORCH Gift

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 1:14:12 — 34.0MB)

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In this sweeping retrospective of prophecy from Adam until the extinction of prophecy at the onset of the Second Temple Era, we address many fundamental questions: What is the critical difference between the prophecy of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all other prophets? How did an entire nation merit prophecy at Sinai? How did a wicked man like Balaam merit prophecy? What are the various types of prophecies through which the 24 Books of the Tanach were written and what are the differences between these experiences? What led to the decline and extinction of prophecy at the beginning of the Second Temple Era, and what was the very dramatic event that effectively ended prophecy? We also discuss what types of prophetic experiences continued even after full-blown prophecy ended.

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#24: Prophecy: An Introduction

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Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith can be divided into three general concepts: God, Torah, and Reward and Punishment. The first five principles oriented around the Jewish understanding of God. The four Principles from six through nine revolve around Torah. The first of those Principles in the concept of prophecy in general. In this podcast, we familiarize ourselves with the basic framework of prophecy: What does it take to become a prophet? How would the prophet receive prophecy? What is the content of those communications? How does the community vet a self-proclaimed prophet?

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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!

#23: The Parameters of Divine Providence

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A central tenet of Jewish theology is that the same Creator who created the Heavens and the Earth also supervises His creation on an ongoing basis. Moreover, that supervision, that oversight is personal and down to the most minute detail. As such, it would seem that everything that happens to us is the product of a divine decision. But what about the free will of others? What about the rigid rules of nature? Do these also play a role in determining what happens to a person? If yes, does that not detract from the notion of complete Godly oversight? In this podcast, we attempt to disentangle this knotty paradox into a neat, cogent principle outlining the parameters of divine providence.

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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!

#22: God Alone is Worthy of Worship

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 59:33 — 27.3MB)

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In the fifth of the Thirteen Principles of Faith, Rambam codifies that God alone is worthy of our worship and that we ought not worship anything else, nor worship God via intermediaries. What is the general concept of worshipping God and why it is such a central pillar of our religion that it merits a slot in the Thirteen Principles of Faith?

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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!