Category Archives: Parsha

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Parshas Mikeitz (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:03 — 29.8MB)

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Parshas Mikeitz continues the narrative of Joseph in Egypt. We pick up his story two years after his failed attempt at earning a reprieve via his cellmate, Pharaoh’s butler, who was about to be reinstated to his post as Pharaoh’s side. Joseph is languishing in a dungeon for a crime he did not commit; after being sold to a foreign land as a slave by his own brothers. By the end of the Parsha, Joseph is firmly ensconced as Pharaoh’s viceroy, and is amidst a long back and forth with his brothers who are in town to procure provisions during a fierce famine.

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Vayeishev – War On Terror

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:17 — 25.3MB)

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Our Parsha contains the first act of several interconnected stories: Joseph had dreams of grandeur (literally) and he was placed on a path towards actualizing them. But his story in the Parsha is a series of setbacks that only later on result in him assuming the throne. Judah also has the beginning of a momentous accomplishment: he becomes the father of the forbearer of Messiah this week. But that is not quite known until much later. As leader of the fledgling family of tribes, Jacob is set on a path towards his descendants burgeoning into a great nation. None of these protagonists can achieve their spiritual destiny and apotheosis unless they first hit a spiritual nadir. The lessons for us are powerful and germane.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of a young birthday boy: Eitan Pinchas Sendowski the son of our dear friends Alon and Natalie turned 2 this week. Happy birthday young man! May young Eitan live till 120 and grow and mature into a special person and a special Jew who brings joy to his parents, his community, and his Creator!

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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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Vayeishev – Reuben’s Special Message (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:07:23 — 30.8MB)

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One of the most shocking events in the whole Torah occurs in our Parsha: Joseph’s brothers sell him as a slave to a caravan of traveling Ishmaelites. Two of his brothers helped ensure that he wasn’t killed. Reuben argued that he should be cast into a pit and not to slaughtered outright, and Judah urged them to sell him as a slave and not allow him to languish in the waterless pit. Why did Reuben and Judah, out of all the brothers, stand up to save Joseph? When we examine the sources, we make some interesting discoveries.

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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 Vayeishev (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:32 — 30.0MB)

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Parshas Vayeishev contains two intersecting, seemingly scandalous, storylines, that after all the dust has settled we can see are harbingers of the Messiah and Redemption: Joseph is hated by his brothers, and is eventually sold by them as a slave after they nearly killed him. By Parsha end, Joseph is languishing in an Egyptian prison after being falsely accused of attempted rape. Judah is also humbled in this week’s Parsha, after cohabiting with his daughter in law who masqueraded as a prostitute. In the moment, these scandals brought shame; but ultimately we can see the Divine Hand manipulating events to effectuate the salvation of the Jewish family and 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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Vayishlach – Forefathers and Fouruncles (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:02 — 27.0MB)

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The story of the Forefathers is well known. The Fouruncles, less so. Intertwined in the story of our nation’s progenitors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis, is the story of our nation’s uncles, namely Lot, Ishmael, Laban, and Esau. These Fouruncles capture a large share of the narrative of Genesis. Why does the Torah expend so much attention to the Fouruncles? What is the avuncular message that we can draw from the repeated run-ins that the Forefathers have with the Fouruncles? In this interesting episode, we both invent a new word (Fouruncles) and discover a pattern that accompanied our Forefathers’ ascent to greatness, one that can be hugely beneficial for us too in our pursuit of greatness.

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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 Vayishlach (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:57 — 27.9MB)

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After successfully escaping the clutches of his deceptive father in law, Laban, Jacob heads back west to the Land of Canaan, and back to his family. The journey back home was a lot more tumultuous and chaotic than anticipated.

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Vayeitzei – Ladders To/From Heaven

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:12:52 — 33.4MB)

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On the way to Charan Jacob stopped at Mount Moriah. He spent the night there and the Torah documents his very fateful dream: he saw a ladder suspended between heaven and Earth, upon which Angels of God were ascending and descending. The commentaries offer multitudes of interpretations as to the symbolism and meaning behind this ladder. In this very special and unique Parsha podcast we briefly survey some of the interpretations, and then delve deeply into two most interesting and arcane interpretations of this ladder. We discover how on one dimension, this ladder descends from Heaven to Earth, and on another dimension it is our means of ascent from Earth to Heaven on high. This is not a podcast you will easily forget!

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Marvin Bentley, the brother of our friend Barb Pudlo, who passed away today. 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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Vayeitzei – Holy Sheeple (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:18 — 29.0MB)

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A large section of our Parsha contains intricate descriptions of Jacob as a shepherd. Initially, he worked for Laban as a shepherd for 7 years for the rights to marry Laban’s younger daughter Rachel. When the 7 years concluded, Laban swindled him, giving Leah instead, only ceding Rachel after Jacob agreed to work as a shepherd for an additional 7 years. After 14 years, Jacob’s tenure as a shepherd continued: for six more years, Jacob served as Laban shepherd in exchange for pay, with all spotted and speckled sheep born to the flock being acquired by Jacob, and all monochromatic sheep remaining Laban’s.

What is the salience of the Torah’s protracted descriptions of Jacob as a shepherd? Why did Jacob seek the speckled and spotted sheep specifically and not the monochromatic sheep? Why does the Torah spend so much time discussing Jacob the shepherd? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we dive deep into the meaning and mystery of the sheep of Laban.

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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 Vayeitzei (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:08 — 28.9MB)

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Parshas Vayeitzei follows Jacob as he is fleeing from his murderous brother Esau and travels to Charan to the house of Laban, his wily and deceptive uncle, and marries multiple wives and fathers 12 children.

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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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Toldos – Jacob’s Heist

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:38 — 29.6MB)

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We are told to respect the will of our parents. Certainly, if your parent is righteous, it is severely inappropriate to violate their will. All the more so if your parent is one of the greatest men who have ever lived. But Jacob violates the will of Isaac. Isaac wants to give a prophetic blessing to Esau, and Jacob and Rebecca conspire to usurp the blessing. Jacob impersonates his older brother and under false pretenses presents himself as Esau and steals the blessings. What is the justification of this usurpation? Why are Rebecca and Jacob interfering with the will of Isaac? Why does Isaac favor Esau, the wicked of the twins, to begin with? Why do these indispensable blessings arrive to Jacob – and by extension to us – in this most convoluted, surprising, and circuitous of ways? In this wonderful Parsha podcast, we dive deep into Jacob and his grand heist of the blessing intended for Esau.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by my dear friend Gilaad Levy in the merit of a complete Refuah Sheleimah for Yonatan ben Marla. May he merit a complete and total recovery from his medical situation with no lingering effects.

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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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Toldos – Twin Powers (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:42 — 27.3MB)

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Our Parsha features two very different twins. After decades of infertility, Isaac and Rebecca are blessed with twins, identical twins the Sages emphasize, who could not be more different: Jacob dwelled in the tents of Torah, eventually becoming the third and final Patriarch of our nation, and Esav was a man of the field, a trapper, a hunter, a blood shedder who stands in the way of Jacob, impeding him at every turn. Why did Esav go awry? Why did the son of Isaac and Rebecca end up as he did? In this episode of the Parsha Podcast we explore some threads and angles to this question and emerge with a foundational principle that can help us design a life to perfection.

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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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