Category Archives: Holidays

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The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day Two (Rebroadcast)

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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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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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Rosh Hashana Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

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Rosh Hashanah is the beginning. It is the beginning of the High Holidays. It is the beginning of the 10 days of repentance. It marks the beginning of humanity. On this day, Adam was created. Rosh Hashana marks the beginning of God’s Dominion and Kingship over the world, because a king absent a nation is no king. We mark these beginning with the festival of Rosh Hashanah. On this day, every human is judged. Every human passes before God like individual sheep. This is a day that we must prepare for if we want to make something of it. To help prepare for Rosh Hashanah, I gathered my colleagues at the TORCH Centre in Houston to share ideas and insights that will help elevate and transform our Rosh Hashanah.

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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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The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day One (Rebroadcast)

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The Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashana were not arbitrarily chosen. There are very good reasons why on the first day of Rosh Hashana we read Genesis chapter 21, which tells of the conception and birth of Isaac, and the banishment of Ishmael, his brush with death, and his salvation. 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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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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Elul for the Unprepared and the Undeserving

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The month of Elul is upon us. Over the course of the next few weeks, Jewish communities worldwide will prepare for the high holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur with special prayers and with a daily blast of the shofar. We are preparing. We are getting ready for the awesome days upcoming. But what about those who are not preparing? What about those who are undeserving? Is there a shortcut to Elul? Is there a cheat sheet for someone who wants to tap into the awesome powers of this auspicious time? In this podcast, we learn how to connect with these propitious days – even if we’re not prepared, even if we’re not deserving.

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TORCH Podcasts Survey

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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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The Kabbalistic Backstory of Tisha B’av with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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The Ninth Day of the month of Av is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar. On this day, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. On this same day the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. The Bar Kochba rebellion was stamped out with violent finality on this day. This is a day that is designated for tragedy and misfortune. What are the roots of this day? What can we do to help rectify and remedy it? In this exquisite podcast, the great Rabbi Shmuly Botnick weaves a complex, Kabbalistic tapestry on the roots of this sad day.

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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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Shavuos Special – Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

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The Sinai Revelation is the most significant event in all of human history: God revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people, He spoke to them, He gave them the Torah, and they lived. This day is revisited every single year on the festival of Shavuos. Our objective on this day is to renew our vows with God and to re-accept His holy Torah. But how do you accept the Torah? What are the prerequisites and necessary criteria for accepting the Torah? To answer those questions we have to study the Sinai Revelation and the events that preceded and succeeded it. In this very special podcast we explore many different dimensions and elements of the festival and the days that it commemorates and discover the essential quality that was needed to accept the Torah initially and the primary way for us to tap into the vast, awesome, spiritual power of Shavuos.

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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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Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:43 — 29.2MB)

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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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Shavuos Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

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Shavuos is the Festival that marks the day of the giving of the Torah. More than 3300 years ago, our nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and we experienced some thing that no other nation has ever experienced: the Almighty spoke to us as a nation and we lived to tell the tale. We heard the 10 Commandments from God and from Moshe and our nation was forever transformed. Every year we relive the Sinai revelation during the Festival of Shavuos. To help prepare for this momentous day, I gathered together with my TORCH colleagues in the glorious TORCH Centre to chat about the upcoming festival and how to make the most of it.

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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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The Secret of the Haggadah with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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The Pesach Haggadah guides us through the Seder night and the story of the Exodus. But as is always true in our religion, there are secrets and mysteries lurking beneath the surface. To plumb the esoteric depths of the Haggadah we invited back to the podcast the legend himself, Rabbi Shmuly Botnick. In this podcast you will be treated to an ingenious take on the Haggadah that will elevate, enlighten, and enrich your Pesach. This is not one to be missed!

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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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Pesach Roundtable at the TORCH Centre

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The Festival of Pesach is upon us. For seven days we will eat Matzah and avoid any traces of chometz. We will gather together with our families around the Seder table and recount the story of the Exodus, retelling and reliving the founding episode of our Nation. In an effort to get in the mode of Pesach, I got together with some of my TORCH colleagues to conduct a Pesach roundtable, discussing the themes, concepts, and power of the Festival of Redemption.

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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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The Secret of the Month of Adar with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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“When the month of Adar commences, we increase joy.” This oft-recited Talmudic dictum captures the emotion of this month. Adar is a time of joy due to the Purim miracles. It is also associated with, we discover in this belated month-theme podcast with the great Rabbi Shmuly Botnick, fish, the tribe of Naftali, techeiles, the Ark, the letter Nun in its various orientations and connotations, and the Sea of the Galilee. Recorded in the stretch run of the Fast of Esther, this podcast will entertain, educate, and intrigue you, and you will emerge with a greater appreciation for the month of Adar and for the genius of Rabbi Botnick.

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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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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