Category Archives: Mitzvos

Honoring Parents (#33, 48, 212, 260)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 41:28 — 19.0MB)

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There are no people to whom we owe a greater debt of gratitude than our parents. If not for them we would not exist. They tended to us as children; fed us; drove soccer practice – they raised us into becoming the person we are. Even if a person feels like his parents did not do a great job, the Torah mandates that a child respects and honors them. In this podcast we outline the parameters of this mitzvah.

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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

Refraining from Work on Shabbos (#32, 85, 114)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 40:09 — 18.4MB)

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The Torah warns us no less than twelve times not to work on Shabbos. What constitutes work and why are its laws so comprehensive and draconian?

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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!

Heralding the Shabbos (#31)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 20:16 — 9.3MB)

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Shabbos is a mitzvah that is equal to all 613 mitzvos combined. It is a the fountain of blessing; the epicenter of the week; it is vitally important for the Jewish soul. Therefore we are commanded to remember it and acknowledge it in attention-catching ways at its commencement and conclusion.

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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!

Not Taking God’s Name in Vain or Falsely (#30, 227)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 31:13 — 14.3MB)

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The Third of the Ten Commandments is the prohibition against taking God’s Name in vain. What is wrong with swearing needlessly and why is it considered such a severe sin?

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This Mitzvah Podcast is sponsored by Pascale Sharpe in honor of her husband Martyn and children Hazel and Daniel, and in appreciation of the TORCH rabbis’ dedication to spreading Torah to the Houston Community and beyond.

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!

Not making, bowing, or worshipping foreign gods (#27-29)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 16:53 — 7.7MB)

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Beyond believing in idols, the Ten Commandments instruct us to not construct, prostrate, or worship any idols. When we examine some of the pagan idols of yore we find out just how kooky and outlandish some of their practices were.

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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!

Not believing in foreign gods (#26)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 25:32 — 11.7MB)

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The second of the Ten Commandments is really four distinct mitzvos related to idolatry. The first one is a prohibition against believing in foreign gods, a miztvah upon which all of Torah hinges.

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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!

Belief in God (#25)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 22:47 — 10.4MB)

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The first of the Ten Commandments instructs us to believe in God who extracted us from the land of Egypt. Though some commentators argue that faith is a prerequisite for mitzvos and therefore cannot be included in the tally, there are still actions that can deepen faith that constitute a standalone mitzvah.

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

Limits to Shabbos Strolls (#24)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 22:46 — 10.4MB)

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This mitzvah is arguably the least known one that we have hitherto encountered. In the Book of Exodus we read how we mustn’t depart too far from our home base on Shabbos.

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

Retelling the Exodus Story (#21)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 20:46 — 9.5MB)

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During the Passover Seder, Jewish families worldwide gather together to fulfill the mitzvah of retelling the story of the Exodus. Do you know any other 3,000+ year old story that has been so faithfully maintained and widely retold?

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

Sanctification of Firstborn Animals (#18, 22-23, 393, 445)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 25:28 — 11.7MB)

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In the aftermath of the final plague of the Exodus, the Death of the Firsborn, holiness was conveyed on all firstborns, both human and animal. The five mitzvos in this podcast outline what you must do with (some of) your firstborn animals.

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

Matzah and Leavened Bread on Pesach (#9, 11-12, 19, 20, 485)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 26:38 — 12.2MB)

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For the duration of Pesach (Passover) Jews are commanded to eat matzah and to refrain from Chometz (Leavened Bread). This episode is extra crunchy!

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

Pesach Offering (#5-8, 13-17, 89-90, 486-487)

Podcast (mitzvah): Download (Duration: 32:43 — 15.0MB)

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The Pesach offering is one of the most important mitzvos in the Torah, and there are many details of the procedure that are enumerated as standalone mitzvos. This podcast will cover 13 different mitzvos that relate to this sacrifice.

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