Category Archives: Ethics of the Fathers

Torah Misappropriation (4:7)

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Our nation is blessed to be privy to the Almighty’s Torah. Those who immerse themselves in the Torah’s vast seas are the choicest and most admirable people of our nation. What benefits do they deserve? Is it OK for them to cash in on their Torah prowess? Should they demand honor for their Torah accomplishments?

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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

Life-Extending Teaching (4:6)

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What does it take to teach Torah effectively? What are the immense benefits of studying Torah with great diligence? What are the different modes of Torah study and what are the different benefits? In this deceptively simple Mishnah we learn about the power of commitment to Torah study, Torah teaching, and allowing Torah to influence you completely.

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!

Sanctification or Vacuum (4:5)

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If our life’s mission would be distilled down to one idea it would be Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of God’s Name). The opposite of Kiddush Hashem is Chilul Hashem (Desecration of God’s Name). Due to the gravity of these concepts, they are treated differently.

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:
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

Extreme Measures (4:4)

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My wise grandmother, of blessed memory, used to quip, “Everything in moderation.” That sagacious advice is, in fact, the backbone of Rambam’s understanding of proper character. In every trait, there are two polar extremes, and both are not ideal. The balanced approach, the golden medium, the moderate middle, the midpoint between both extremes – that is the sweet spot to strive for. But there is one exception. There is one character trait that is so harmful and dangerous, that extreme measures are necessary.

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The Eternal Ethics podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy and total recovery of Avraham Ben Faiga.

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 Critical Hour (4:3)

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How valuable is an hour of time? How much of a person’s life can be changed in one hour? In this mishna, Ben Azzai teaches us the power of a single hour.

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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!

Miracle Drugs and Superfoods (4:2)

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Something dramatic happens when the Soul is fed. It is empowered and its place in a person’s identity is augmented, and concurrently the Yetzer Hara’s influence is weakened. A virtuous cycle results wherein one Mitzvah makes the second Mitzvah more likely. Initially, the Mitzvos need to be force-fed like feeding a patient who refuses food. The earlier Mitzvos create a medicine-like transformation because by feeding the Soul, it captures a larger share of his identity and its needs become a bit more instinctual leading man to naturally desire more Mitzvos, and be drawn to them with magnetic attraction.

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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!

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise (4:1)

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Does it make sense to take pride in one’s intellect, fitness, or wealth? Our Sages teach us that those things are determined before someone is born, and therefore it would be ludicrous for us to take pride in what was given to us by God. But in a seminal teaching, Ben Zoma reveals that there is a version of wealth, might, and wisdom that is our’s and worthy of pride!

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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!

Complex Calculations (3:23)

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What is the relationship between Torah and secular disciplines such as astronomy mathematics? In a pithy and cryptic teaching, Rabbi Elazar Chisma – a Sage who excelled in both – offers an insightful perspective.

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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!

Preconditions to Torah (3:21-22)

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Torah is unlike any other discipline. Every other discipline can be acquired without preconditions; Torah can only be unlocked by someone who has successfully primed himself for that lofty status. In this Mishnah, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah instructs us on what is needed before Torah can flourish within us.

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Advanced Conflict Resolution (3:21)

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Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria got an unusual and controversial promotion at a very young age. Due to an escalating dispute between two of the great leaders of the era, the Nasi Rabban Gamliel was deposed and Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria, aged a tender 18, was appointed as the head of the Academy in his stead. The story of how this conflict was resolved can serve as a template of how to deal with very knotty high level conflicts.

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Hotel Incidentals (3:20)

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In his fourth and final teaching, Rabbi Akiva shares a powerful and serious parable that is designed to shake us up and take life seriously but also contains the undertones of a very inspirational and comforting message.

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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!

Divine Foreknowledge and Free Will (3:19)

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In this pithy teaching, Rabbi Akiva addresses some of the knottiest questions of Jewish philosophy: If God knows what we do ahead of time, do we have free will? If God is control of everything, is the world judged fairly? Why are the righteous and the wicked treated inequitably?

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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!