Category Archives: Ethics of the Fathers 2025

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Swelled Heart (6.6.36)

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It is a mark of Torah ignorance to be content with the degree of Torah study that you have. It is broader than the land and deeper than the sea. Torah is effectively infinite. To have a swelled heart – to feel supremely confident in your knowledge – is both foolish and counterproductive.

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Aversion to Honor (6.6.35)

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Honor is a funny thing. It yields no tangible, discernible, sensory benefit to the recipient, yet it is so highly coveted and desired. We all want respect. We all want others to look up to us and to admire us. Our standing in the eyes of others matters greatly to us. In way to wisdom number 35, we discover how potentially dangerous it is to care about what others think. We are advised to distance ourselves from honor.

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Loving Rebuke (6.6.34)+ 2026 TORCH Fundraiser Pitch

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The 2026 annual TORCH fundraiser is happening right now at giveTORCH.org.

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Please support TORCH and the Ethics Podcast with a generous contribution right now at giveTORCH.org.

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No one likes criticism. To receive criticism is painful. To be told what we did wrong stings. We bristle at the notion that we are flawed and imperfect. The mere knowledge of the existence of our shortcomings causes us discomfort. But receiving criticism is actually highly productive. It’s a good thing. It is very beneficial for someone who wants to use their life and the opportunities afforded to them to improve and to elevate and to transform. It is also a way unlock Divine wisdom.

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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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Loving Straightness (6.6.33) + 2026 TORCH Fundraiser

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Straightness is a virtue. Straightness means to be proper and upstanding in all of your conduct. It means doing what’s proper and just and good. It also references thinking. Straight, sensible, logical, clear, cogent thinking is better than crooked thinking. Way number 33 to wisdom is about this virtue.

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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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Loving Charities (6.6.32)

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Charity is a big element of religious life. Our Sages tell us that the mitzvah of charity equals all the mitzvos of the Torah combined. But monetary charity is only one type of charity. There are many different types of charity, in the love of charities is a means to acquire higher levels of wisdom. How? In this Ethics podcast you will learn.

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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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Loving Humanity (6.6.31)

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Why dont humans naturally love each other? Why is there often discord and disunity? Humans are a strange bunch indeed. In this very interesting and stimulating podcast we offer three distinct ideas as to what exactly is meant by love of humanity and why that would serve as a means to acquire Torah.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Mar 19, 2024

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DONATE to TORCH: 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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Loving God (6.6.30)

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The requirement to love God is featured prominently in our religion. The Shema – the pledge of allegiance of our faith – contains the mitzvah to love God right after the first sentence of accepting his dominion. This is one of the six constant mitzvos. What is love and for God? How do we love God? And how does this facilitate the acquisition of Torah? In this very enjoyable ethics podcast, we answer these important questions.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Mar 12, 2024

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DONATE to TORCH: 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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Beloved (6.6.30 Intro)

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Torah was not given to angels. Torah was given to humans. One way to expand our ability to acquire Torah is by enhancing our humanity. The more human we are, the more we are a worthy receptacle of Torah. But what does it mean to be a human?

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Mar 5, 2024

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DONATE to TORCH: 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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Sense of Mission (6.6.29)

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We love Torah. Torah study is our national pastime and obsession. It is enjoyable; it is fun; it is interesting — but to acquire it – we have to now that it is imperative: It is as indispensable as water, oxygen and bread.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 4, 2024

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DONATE to TORCH: 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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Making Fences (6.6.28)

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Humans are fallible. We are imperfect, yet we are tasked with being the stewards and the guardians of the perfect. We hold the Almighty’s Torah in our hands. We are tasked with perpetuating it from generation to generation and with rendering rulings in line with the will of God. The only way that we can stand up to the sacred task is if we make fences.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Nov 14, 2023

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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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Joyous With Your Lot (6.6.27)

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There is an unequal distribution of talents, gifts, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone is different. Everyone is their own world. This applies both in the spiritual domain and in the material/physical domain. A believer who understands that the Almighty gives everyone exactly what they need must be joyous with their lot. Your lot is exactly what the Almighty apportioned to you to fulfill your mission in life. It is also way number 27 to wisdom.

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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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