Category Archives: Inspiration

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

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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

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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

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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!

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

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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!

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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

Purim: Toasting your Troubles

Purim contains arguably Judaism’s strangest custom. On the day that we celebrate our nation’s triumph over Haman and his evil plot, we are required to drink and become so drunk that we forget about Haman’s treachery. What is the meaning behind this unusual custom?


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

A Grandson Remembers: Reflections, Stories, and Lessons of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe

My grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, was one of the 20th Century’s most important rabbis. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he had a very unusual path to becoming the transformative Torah Sage that he became. In this very special and personal podcast episode, I share several never-before-told stories about his life and I speculate several different theories to explain how he became such a great person. This is a unique podcast episode – stories, anecdotes, and lessons that can prove to be life-changing.

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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

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

Kindling the Jewish Soul: Understanding the Deeper Meaning of the Menorah: (Recorded Live in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada)

This unique podcast was recorded live at the Aish Thornhill Community Shul on the third day of Chanukah 5780. In the talk we suggest a cogent and unified explanation of the festival of Chanukah, and specifically, of the menorah candles. We begin by noting the many differences between the Chanukah candles and the other rabbinic mitzvah related to candles, the Shabbos candles. We then observe some interesting and surprising citations in the Torah literature relating to Chanukah and the menorah. And finally, we propose a novel explanation that reconciles all the questions and provides illumination to the festival in general.

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This podcast is sponsored by Michael and Galit Friedmann, in loving memory of George Friedmann, Shlomo Ben Aryeh

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