Category Archives: Parsha

Vayeilech – Man on a Mission

Moshe has been the leader of the Jewish people since before the Exodus. Over the course of these forty years, Moshe has led the people through high times and low ones; through a split sea and the Sinai Revelation and countless rebellions. In our Parsha, Moshe hands off the reins of power to Joshua. The story of the unwinding of Moshe’s reign is one of dedication to a mission rarely seen in the annals of human history.

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The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day Two (Rebroadcast)

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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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!

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The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day One (Rebroadcast)

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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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!

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A Mystical Approach To The Rosh Hashana Readings ft. Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

As is true by Shabbos and all Festivals, on the two days of Rosh Hashana we read sections from the Torah and a supplemental reading from Tanach, the Haftorah. At first blush, the four readings of Rosh Hashana have no direct connection to the Festival. One day one, the Torah portion that we read is Genesis chapter 21 which relates the story of the birth of Isaac and the banishment and subsequent salvation of Ishmael. The Haftorah of day one is the story of the birth and youth of Samuel from Samuel I. These are certainly quite lovely stories, but they don’t immediately evoke the Day of Judgment and the New Year.

Same thing for day two. The Torah reading is the Binding of Isaac episode of Genesis chapter 22 and the Haftorah is from Jeremiah chapter 31 which talks of the destruction of the First Temple. What that has to do with Rosh Hashana is, at least initially, a great mystery.

In this very special pre-Rosh Hashana edition of the podcast, we bring on a guest to help us disentangle this intriguing question. My brother in law, Rabbi Shmuly Botnick, is a rabbi, a lawyer, and one of my favorite people to discuss Torah matters with. He has an incisive, creative, and agile mind and bears a vast repository of Torah knowledge. He will be our guide in trying to understand the deeper meaning threading through these four readings. What we learn will not only transform our appreciation of the Rosh Hashana readings, it will transform our understanding of what we are here to accomplish.

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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!

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Nitzavim – Drawbridge Of The Soul

With the entire nation gathered on his final day of life, Moshe warns the people against being seduced by idolatry. The nation, Moshe reveals, is particularly vulnerable to idolatry because of the people whose land through which we have traversed. We saw the Egyptian fascination with idolatry. We saw the various other nations obsession with paganism. Consequently, we are susceptible to mimicking their ways. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast – the antepenultimate episode of the fifth cycle of The Parsha Podcast – we explore a mysterious and quite inexplicable element of Moshe’s warning. What we discover is quite surprising.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by the Gelb, Goldman and Shacknofsky children in honor of our parents David and Susan Gelb. Wishing them and all of Klal Yisrael a happy and healthy New Year.

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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!

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Parshas Nitzavim & Vayeilech (Rebroadcast)

On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathered the entire nation – men, women, children, and according to the Talmud, all souls of future Jews – to pass them through a final covenant with God. The parsha also contains the prophetic predictions of the Messianic times, and it ends with a simple, binary choice: Moshe tells the nation, “Behold I have placed before you today, the life and the good, and death and evil… Choose Life!” Moshe is 120 years old to the day. He was born on the seventh of Adar and now it is the seven of Adar 120 years later. Today is his last day before his passing and he is taking leave from the nation and handing over the reins to Joshua.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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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!

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Ki Savo – Maniacal Determination

Our parsha contains perhaps the most difficult Torah portion to read and digest: The Tochacha (Admonition). In it we are told the consequences of our deeds. If obey the Almighty and hearken to His commandments, He will reward us with bountiful blessings. Should we deviate from Him and repudiate His Torah, however, He promises to unleash all manner of suffering upon us. And it is brutal. Our Sages calculated that the Tochacha contains 98 distinct curses and maledictions. What is the message of these ferocious curses? In this special edition of The Parsha Podcast, we suggest a novel approach to understanding what the Torah wants of us.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated anonymously in the merit of the speedy recovery for Daniel Zev Ben Miriam. He is a relative of a dear friend of ours who contracted a severe case of COVID and then it was discovered that he has cancer too and is undergoing treatment. He really needs a refuah shlema; please include him in your prayers. May he have a Refuah Sheleima – a complete and total recovery from his illness with no lingering effects.

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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!

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Parshas Ki Savo (Rebroadcast)

As the Book of Deuteronomy draws to its conclusion, the narrative makes a transition: Moshe finishes conveying the mitzvos to the nation, and sets up his final parting message to the people. First, he commands the nation to perform several elaborate ceremonies on the very first day that they cross the Jordan River; then he conveys a scathing, terrifying list of curses that will befall the people in the event that we deviate from the Torah.

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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!

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Ki Seitzei – A Lifetime A Day

The Midrash in our parsha calculates that the Torah contains 613 mitzvos, 248 positive mitzvos, where the Torah commands us to do something proactive, and 365 negative mitzvos, where we are instructed to refrain from transgressing the Almighty’s will. These figures are not coincidental. They are precisely targeted to enable us to accomplish our life’s mission. In this ground-breaking and earth-shattering edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore a transformational element of mitzvos that will radically reshape our lives – for the good.

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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!

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Parshas Ki Seitzei (Rebroadcast)

In the parsha that contains the most mitzvos of any of the 54 Torah sections (a staggering 74 mitzvos), we read about the wayward and rebellious son, the requirement to build a fence around your roof to prevent tragedy, two episodes that we are mandated to remember, and many, many more interesting and insightful mitzvos.

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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!

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Shoftim – Gateways to Great Pursuits

Justice is a virtue that we must vigorously pursue. Our Parsha begins by instructing us to establish a court system with judges and bailiffs throughout our gates and tribes. The judge is tasked with determining the merits of every case and the bailiff is in charge of implementation. This two-tiered model is not limited to the court system. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we propose that every pursuit of greatness hinges upon a “judge” and “bailiff” for the project to succeed. This episode is designed to be life-changing. It is, I promise, well worth your time

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Efraim ben Moshe whose yahrzeit falls out this week. May his soul be elevated in Heaven

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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!

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Parshas Shoftim (Rebroadcast)

This week we learn the laws governing all kinds of leaders: The parsha begins by detailing the laws of judges, the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, and what happens to rebellious judges; we read about the unique laws related to kings; there are more laws pertaining to the Kohanim; and we find the means of vetting professed prophets and what happens to the six kinds of false prophets.

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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!

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