Category Archives: Inspiration

Purim: Toasting your Troubles

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 25:46 — 11.8MB)

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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?

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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 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

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

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:38 — 31.4MB)

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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.

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

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

Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:57 — 24.7MB)

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 53:57 — 24.7MB)

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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 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

Why Gratitude Matters + FREE TORCH Gift

Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:12 — 24.4MB)

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Gratitude is a character trait that is universally lauded. In Torah Literature it is, of course, a central characteristic of the righteous, and even the secular world has adopted it as an admirable virtue. But when we examine the Torah sources we discover that gratitude is not only about being nice and pleasant, it lies at the very heart of our life’s mission.

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!

Book of Jonah Part Two: Studying the Yom Kippur Reading on a Deeper Level (Chapters 2-4)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:05:51 — 30.1MB)

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On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of the protagonist, Jonah, and of the people of Nineveh. But our Sages let us in on a secret that the Book of Jonah contains a hidden, kabbalistic story embedded beneath the story – which also teaches us powerful, topical messages for the Day of Atonement. In part two of this series, we learn about what happens to the soul after death, the basics of reincarnation, and how to discern the vestigial characteristics leftover from a person’s first lifetime.

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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!

Book of Jonah: Studying the Yom Kippur Reading on a Deeper Level (Chapter 1)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:10:35 — 32.3MB)

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:10:35 — 32.3MB)

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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!

Insights from the Rosh Hashana Torah Reading (2nd day – Genesis Chapter 22: The Binding of Isaac)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:01 — 25.2MB)

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:01 — 25.2MB)

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On the second day of Rosh Hashana, we read the Torah section of Genesis chapter 22 that tells the very famous and quite troubling episode of the Binding of Isaac. Abraham – the same Abraham who railed against the ways of child sacrifice of the pagans – is instructed by God to take Isaac – the same Isaac who was declared as the one who will be Abraham’s true progeny – and offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. In this podcast we attempt to understand the many connections that this reading has with the themes and ideas of Rosh Hashana.

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This special Pre-Rosh Hashana episode is sponsored by Mike Fisher in loving memory of his father – Meier ben Feitl v’ Shayneh Yente, who passed away this past year on the 19th of Av. 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!

Elul: Making the Most out of these Favorable Days

Podcast: Download (Duration: 36:25 — 16.7MB)

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Elul is the name of the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe. The 40 days spanning from the first of Elul until Yom Kippur are the most spiritually auspicious days of the year; during this period we can re-imagine who we are and who we want to be — and transform into that idealized self.

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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!

What God Actually Wants

Podcast: Download (Duration: 49:59 — 22.9MB)

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The Torah is God’s revelation and directives to mankind. In it, He commands, instructs, and guides us in how to behave and what to do in our lives. But what does God really want from us? What’s the bottom line? In an intriguing and provocative verse in Deuteronomy (10:12), Moses asks this question. His answer, though, raises even more questions.

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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!

How we Navigated Having a Child on Shabbos and a Framework for Raising Children Well

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:07 — 26.1MB)

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This past Shabbos, my wife and I were blessed with a newborn baby girl. As Shabbos-observant Jews, this raised some interesting halachic dilemmas. In the first part of this podcast I tell the story of how we navigated the various problems, and then we pivot to constructing a framework for raising all kinds of children well based upon the Four Sons of the Pesach Haggadah.

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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!

How to Overachieve

Podcast: Download (Duration: 46:35 — 23.9MB)

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There is a learnable quality the underpins every transformational change and improvement that humanity has achieved. It is what separates the people who are inspired to change and actually implement grand ideas from the common folk who do not influence the world for the better.

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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 Art of War with the Yetzer Hara

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:08 — 22.0MB)

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The Yetzer Hara is the villain of our life. It’s other names are the “satan” and the “angel of death”. It seeks to undermine us and inhibit us from accomplishing our life’s mission. thankfully, the Sages of the Talmud offered us a multitude of strategies and tactics to combat and resist this deadly force. In this podcast we will try to suggest a general theorem that underpins all of their suggestions.

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This Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of my grandmother, Rebbetzin Rivka Wolbe, a true woman of valor; a princess; a woman of sterling and noble character and stoic resolve.

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 by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.