Category Archives: Inspiration

The Rest of the Story with Esther Kaplan (Part 2: March 2021)

Esther Kaplan (née Wolbe), along with her husband AJ, experienced the worst nightmare parents can undergo when their adorable and perfect son Shlomo passed away only 16 weeks into his life. This intimate and stirring conversation follows up on the one we had in 2018 in which Esther shares the story of Shlomo’s life and opens up about how parents absorb and process such an unthinkable tragedy.

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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!

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

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TORAH 101

Reflections on Loss, Tragedy, and Bereavement: An Interview with Esther Kaplan (Part 1: March 2018)

Esther Kaplan (née Wolbe), along with her husband AJ, experienced the worst nightmare parents can undergo when their adorable and perfect son Shlomo passed away only 16 weeks into his life. In this intimate and stirring conversation Esther shares the story of Shlomo’s life and opens up about how parents absorb and process such an unthinkable tragedy.

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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!

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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DONATE Crypto to TORCH

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

rabbiwolbe.com/newsletter

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

A Life of Joy

When Adar enters, we increase in Joy (Talmud Taanis 29a). Adar, the month in which contains the Festival of Purim, kickstarts the season on joy in the Jewish calendar. On this month we were saved from Haman’s genocide, and it is closely followed by Nissan, the month of the Exodus. What does the Torah mean by joy? What is the role that joy plays in Jewish life? It turns out that joy is a central aspect of Jewish living.

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This podcast is sponsored by Danny Katz and Josh Newman in honor of Sarah Bandujo. We thank them for sponsoring

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DONATE Crypto to TORCH

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Tu B’Shevat: The Essence of the Rosh Hashana for Trees

The fifteenth day of the Jewish month of Shevat – known as Tu B’Shevat – is the New Year for trees and fruits. All the fruits that sprout before this cutoff are associated with the previous year’s yield and the ones that come afterwards are attributed to the new year’s. If that was all that we knew about this day it would be a pretty anemic day. But the Kabbalists revealed that is a very powerful and propitious day with deep, mystical meanings. In this special episode we plumb the depths of this day and discover its power and the potential. I must admit that coming into this project I knew very little about Tu B’Shevat. This was a truly eye-opening subject that I am sure will rivet the audience as it did me.

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This podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas Nachshon Dov ben Shmuel, whose 25th yahrzeit falls out on this year’s Tu Beshvat. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

The Shabbat Dinner: Customs, Rituals, and Practices

Shabbat is the beating heart of the Jewish family and the Jewish week. It is the portal through which the spiritual vitality for the entire week flows. This podcast idea was proposed in my email newsletter (visit rabbiwolbe.com/newsletter to subscribe). I had thrown out the idea of going through a Shabbat dinner and detailing all the practices that happen and why we do them – both as a way of enlightening people who are doing Shabbat dinner already and as a way of preparing someone who is about to partake in their first traditional Shabbat dinner. I tried to accomplish a lot of things in one episode and I truly hope it is valuable and useful to you!

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

The Sukkah and The Lulav

The two mitzvos of the Festival of Sukkos (Sukkot) are the shaking of the Lulav and the Four Species and the dwelling in the Sukkah. What is the deeper meaning behind these mitzvos? In this special pre-Festival episode, we examine the two mitzvos of Sukkos and see what they teach us about the Festival in general, and see how they can guide us to have a more uplifting and meaningful and productive Sukkot.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

The Repentance Continuum

The Ten Days of Repentance, beginning with the two days of Rosh Hashana and culminating in Yom Kippur, are the season of repentance in the Jewish calendar. On these days, the Almighty is close to us. Our prayers are more efficacious. Our spiritual accomplishments are amplified and accelerated during these powerful, awesome days. Our Sages have noted that the Torah section dedicated to repentance, Parshas Nitzavim, is read each year on the Shabbos immediately preceding the Ten Days of Repentance in order to get us in the repentance mode and to guide us how exactly to do it. In this special podcast episode we plumb the repentance narratives of Parshas Nitzavim to extract several ideas that can make our Days of Repentance, and of course our Yom Kippur, more meaningful and productive.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

The Shabbat Gift

The laws of Shabbat are vast and seemingly draconian. A study of its laws reveal a comprehensive governance of every aspect of our lives on Shabbat. The Talmud even declares that greetings one’s fellow on Shabbat is “barely permitted.” To an outsider looking in, the laws of Shabbat are crippling and limiting. The Talmud offers us a deeper insight. It teaches us that Shabbat is a gift from God’s most innermost treasure house, but it is a gift that initially seems to be a bad gift. How Shabbat amounts to a great gift is a deep secret. In this special podcast episode we reveal the secret to the Shabbat gift.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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This podcast episode is sponsored by Steve Goldberg in honor of his wife Melissa on the occasion of their second anniversary, and from all of us at TORCH and the entire podcast audience we wish them a hearty happy anniversary and many happy returns!

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!

 

An Invitation to The Afterlife (4:21-2)

We all recognize that we will eventually die. Each of us know that there will come a point in time where our body and Soul separate and go their own way. The body will return to its origin, the dust, and the Soul will return to its Heavenly roots. What happens to our Soul in Heaven is certainly a tantalizing question. In this Mishnah we learn about Olam Haba, the Next world, commonly called the Afterlife. What is the Afterlife? Why is it worth preparing for? What can I do to ensure that I am included in the invite-list for this eternal bliss? In this very critical podcast we attempt to penetrate the great mystery of Olam Haba.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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This special edition of the podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy and total recovery of Yehudit bat Sara who recently contracted the coronavirus. We hope and pray that she beats the virus completely and quickly with no lingering effects

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!

The Essence of Tisha B’Av

Tisha B’Av (The Ninth of Av) is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, the Spies returned from scouting the Land and spooked the Nation with their evil report prompting the Nation to needlessly bewail their fate the entire night. As retribution, God pledged: “You cried on this night for no reason, I will give you a legitimate reason to cry on this night.” And indeed, over the millennia, scores of unfortunate events happened to our nation on this inauspicious day. Why is this day so totally designated for bad things, what is the significance of the Temples for us today living in modern times, and what are we supposed to feel during the time of Tisha Bav?

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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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!

Bamidbar and Shavuos: The Indispensability of each Jew

Parshas Bamidbar is the Torah portion that we read immediately prior to Shavuos, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, each year. In this special episode, we offer a mind-bending idea to ponder the connection between Shavuos and Parshas Bamidbar.

To aid with visualizing the contents of this unique episode, please download the accompanying slideshow and follow along.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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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!

The Essence of Pesach

The Festival of Pesach is described as, “The time of our Freedom”, and “The Festival of Matzos.” What is the essence of these days? What is the distinct power that we can tap into over the course of this 8-day Festival? In this special pre-Pesach episode, we learn the central point of the Festival that marks the founding of our nation.

TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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