Category Archives: Parsha

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Bo – Timelines of Exile

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:20:57 — 37.1MB)

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Our ancestors spent many years in Egypt prior to The Exodus. How many years exactly? That’s a bit complicated. In our Parsha the verse says that after 430 years, the nation finally left Egypt. But when God told Abraham about the Egyptian enslavement at the Covenant between the Parts, He only spoke of 400 years. Where do those extra 30 years come from? On a more basic level, if you calculate the actual years that the nation spent in Egypt, it is way less than even 400. In this very interesting and unique podcast, we share that there are actually 11 different timelines of exile in Egypt. Each one of them is substantiated by textual references in Scripture and corresponds to a different element and dimension of exile.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of a new baby – Moshe Botnick, son of Rabbi Shmuel and Malka Botnick. כשם שנכנס לברית כן יכנס לתורה לחופה ולמע”ט

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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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Bo – The Bloods and The Crisp (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:42 — 29.2MB)

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The dramatic events of the Exodus reach a crescendo with the nation’s Exodus from Egypt. After 210 years of servitude and subjugation, the Almighty people leave Egypt with great miracles and fanfare. A very specific set of things had to happen to enable this redemption. Immediately prior to the Exodus, the nation circumcised en masse and brought the Pascal sacrifice, and our sages tell us that these two mitzvos, the blood of the circumcision and the blood of the Pascal sacrifice, were preconditions to the Exodus. Absent these two mitzvos, the nation would not be able to leave. What is so special about these two bloods? What do they reveal about the nation that was formed with the Exodus? In this delightful podcast we discover some answers.

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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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Parshas Bo (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:25 — 27.7MB)

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After the first seven Plagues of Egypt related in last week’s parsha, Pharaoh and his people were still unwilling to release the Children of Israel. In Parshas Bo, the miracles and wonders of the Almighty intensified, culminating in the Death of the Firstborn and the Exodus from Egypt.

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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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Vaeira – Hail to the Chief

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:34 — 29.6MB)

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Our Parsha details Moshe’s repeated efforts to get Pharaoh to send the Jews free. Pharaoh proved to be a tougher nut to crack, as predicted by God. His intransigence was deeply embedded. It would take 10 plagues to get him to capitulate. In this Parsha podcast we take a deep study of the 7th plague: the plague of hail.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by my Alen Lvovich in loving memory and leilui nishmas his wife’s maternal grandfather, Sander ben Lazar. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven.

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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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Vaeira – Manufactured Adversity (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:14:18 — 34.0MB)

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Prior to Moshe and Aaron making progress in their mission to extract the Jewish people from Egypt – their first efforts yielded no success, at least not in that realm – the Torah once again introduces Moshe and Aaron and delineates their pedigree. It begins with delineating the families of Ruben and Shimon, and then it proceeds to the tribe of Levi and it’s family heads. One of the Levites that are mentioned, aside from Moshe and Aaron, Elazar, Aaron’s son and successor, and his son Phineas. The Torah reveals to us that Elazar married from the daughters of Putiel, a reference to Jethro and Joseph according to Rashi. The attribution of Phineas provides a launchpad for a fascinating exploration of an important subject: how much should parents and educators strive to ease the environment in which their charges operate, and how much adversity should be created for them. Along the way, we discuss the fascinating and frankly puzzling arrangement that Moshe had with his father-in-law, Jethro.

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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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Parshas Vaeira (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:59 — 27.9MB)

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Our Parsha begins in the middle of the dialogue between Moses and God. Moses’ initial foray into saving the nation has gone horribly awry. Instead of alleviating the pain of the Jewish nation; his intervention exacerbated it, and he returned to the Almighty asking for an explanation. In His response, God tells Moses that he will yet see the tremendous miracles and signs of the pending Exodus. In our parsha, that plan begins to unfold, and we read about the first seven of the eventual Ten Plagues.

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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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Shemos – The Name Game

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:18 — 27.6MB)

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The Parsha and the Book are called “Shemos”, meaning names. A review of the Parsha reveals all sorts of names-related subplots: The Parsha begins with enumerating the names of the sons of Jacob; Shifra and Puah’s real names are obscured as are Moshe’s parents who remain nameless; Moshe himself is named by his adoptive, Egyptian mother; Moshe kills the Egyptian with the Name of God; Moshe asks God which Name of God should he say send him; Moshe’s father-in-law has seven names. In this Parsha podcast we explain the nature of names in the Torah, share a fascinating insight into the different permutations of names, and propose a new way to discover the mission for which you were sent here.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas Henoch Dov ben Tzvi Hirsch, Rabbi Henoch Dov Hoffman Z”L, who passed away a few weeks ago. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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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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Shemos – Moshe’s Moxie (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:08:07 — 31.2MB)

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The story of the Jewish people in the book of Exodus gets off to a difficult start. The nation is firmly ensconced in Egypt, but their experience there is decidedly unpleasant. They are enslaved, tormented, and systematically oppressed. Things go from bad to worse when Pharaoh decrees that all Jewish baby boys be killed. When Moshe first petitions Pharaoh to have them released, he intensifies their servitude. The Parsha ends with the nation reeling from the exacerbation of their servitude. When we read the Parsha in the Torah, we can appreciate a different angle of what happened. From the very first chapter, the seeds of redemption are planted. The Parsha mostly follows Moshe as he begins his journey to save the nation. In this podcast we study and explore the concurrent story lines of our Parsha, and discover two interrelated themes that define Moshe as a person and as a leader.

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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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Parshas Shemos (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:09 — 27.1MB)

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The Book of Exodus begins with the Egyptians cunningly enslaving their Hebrew subjects: mandating that they work in backbreaking labor, killing their male sons, and trying to stamp out their spirit and curb their population. But God heard their cries and saw their suffering and dispatched the greatest of all men, Moses, a reluctant leader, to lobby Pharaoh to release the people.

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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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Vayechi – Unexpected Greatness

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:01:51 — 28.3MB)

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Prior to his passing, Jacob gave a series of blessings to his descendants. He blessed Joseph and Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Menashe. He gathered his sons and blessed all twelve of them. In this podcast we study a fascinating element of Jacob’s blessings to his grandsons. There is something that he spotlights in Ephraim and Menashe that is highly relevant to us 3500 years later.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of a Refuah Sheleimah, a complete and speedy recovery for Gila Miriam bat Chaya. She is the daughter of a dear friend of ours who was recently diagnosed with a very serious and late stage cancer.

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

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Vayechi – Anti-Oxidance (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:14:48 — 34.2MB)

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Immediately prior to his passing, Jacob gathered his sons with the intention of revealing to them what will happen at the end of days. With his 12 sons coalesced around him, Jacob was forced to pivot: the Almighty withdrew His Shechinah from him, and he was no longer able to be able to convey to them what would happen at the end of days. Instead, he began saying other things. Going through his sons one at a time, he highlighted their qualities, flaws, and destinies. When Jacob concluded these deathbed blessings, he passed. In this podcast we explore the nature of these blessings and the profound and indispensable lessons that they provide for us.

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

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