Category Archives: Parsha

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Shemos – Grooming Greatness

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 49:52 — 22.8MB)

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Moses is the greatest leader of our history and the archetype of a great, transformative leader. Why was he chosen for the role? What was his training to become the leader he became? What are the Torah’s guidelines for leaders and people of influence. In this podcast we examine the Torah’s retelling of the protracted dialogue between God and Moses. Moses is resisting accepting the mantle of leadership. He objects for a bevy of different reasons before he ultimately accedes to accepting the role. Each objection posed by Moses and each rebuttal offered by the Almighty contain the keys to becoming a great leader.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by my friend Krzysztof Grudzień in honor of his wife Malina on the occasion of our recent marriage.

On behalf of the entire Parsha Podcast family we wish them a hearty congratulations on their marriage and wish them a life of happiness and great health and harmony and prosperity together!

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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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Vayechi – The Five Stages of Transformation

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 42:20 — 19.4MB)

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The Book of Genesis is replete with interesting stories. We follow the narrative about Adam and Noah and their families, Abraham and his odyssey and trials, Isaac and his family’s challenges and triumphs, and of course Jacob and Joseph and their stories capture our imagination and curiosity. “Torah” means instruction. As part of the Torah, Genesis must be instructive. Where are the instructions of Genesis? Stories are great, but what are the lessons? In the final Parsha Podcast of 2020 we suggest several answers to this important question.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Eli and Temima Lebowicz in loving memory of Eli’s mother Nancy Lebowicz, Chana Rochel bas Azriel Zelig, whose yartzeit falls out this week. May her soul be elevated in Heaven

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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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Vayigash – Fruitful Famine

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 39:22 — 18.0MB)

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In Parshas Vayigash, the Joseph trilogy comes to a close. The saga that began when Joseph was 17 ends when Jacob is reunited with his favorite son, now viceroy of Egypt. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we offer three interesting observations: On Yocheved’s border-crossing birth, on Jacob’s second bargain with Esau, and on why the years of famine were worth it.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Alan and Phyllis Kritz in honor of the son Julian on the occasion of beginning to work at Jones Day. On behalf of the entire PP family, we wish Julian a hearty Mazal Tov and warm Congratulations on your new job. May you have tremendous success in this endeavor

If you want to sponsor an episode of the Parsha Podcast or if you have any questions or comments, please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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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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Mikeitz – Talent Evaluation

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 47:18 — 21.7MB)

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Joseph is one of the most impressive figures in Jewish history. His accomplishments are vast: His holiness under spiritually treacherous conditions are legendary, his faith in God remained unwavering, he is the paragon of seeing God’s Handiwork in the bad deeds of others. His accomplishments extend beyond the spiritual: At the age of 30 he undertook perhaps the most ambitious project in history: Organizing and stockpiling enough food to feed the entire world for 7 years. How is that for a Five Year Plan? Its astonishing to think about what goes into that, and Joseph pulls it off flawlessly. Joseph is the epitome of a wunderkind. Yet his brothers are blind to Joseph’s talent. In this podcast we explore the question of how Joseph’s brothers failed to recognize his prodigious abilities.

This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Joseph Daniel and Elijah Levi Hiller in loving memory and honor of Reyna Hiller, my beloved wife and best friend of blessed memory. May Hashem bless and keep you, and may you always know how deeply you are loved and missed. May Reyna’s Soul be elevated in Heaven, and We appreciate their sponsorship and friendship

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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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Vayeishev – The Holy Hologram

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:47 — 23.2MB)

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Joseph is one of the greatest heroes of Jewish history. His greatest deed was when he resisted temptation and rebuffed the seductions of his master, Potiphar’s, wife. Our Sages tell us that thanks to this valorous deed, Joseph became the viceroy of Egypt and merited to sustain the entire world! The Midrash tells us that the Splitting of the Sea was due to Joseph’s gallantry. How did Joseph muster up the courage to resist the Yetzer Hara’s onslaught? The Talmud gives a very interesting answer.

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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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Vayishlach – Unrequited Love

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:19 — 25.3MB)

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This a unique edition of The Parsha Podcast that you dont want to miss. Instead of the usual one big idea that we typically cover in a Parsha podcast, in this version there are FIVE groundbreaking insights that can change your life. We learn about a remarkable staff and its powers, about the pliability of sunshine hours, about the kabbalistic result of Dina’s encounter with Shechem, about the Torah’s view on prayer, and about the mysterious origin of Amaleik. This episode is a dandy.

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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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Vayeitzei – Laban’s Potion

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 42:01 — 19.2MB)

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As the father of all four of Jacob’s wives, Laban is in effect the father in law of the Jewish people. If we examine Laban’s story, he seems to have both qualities and shortcomings. He is constantly invoking God, he seems to be gracious and hospitable. But he also had a dark side. He is greedy and rapacious and deceptive, he is not exactly trustworthy. If we had to make an evaluation of Laban, he would get a mixed results. But the Torah’s verdict is much more stark: Laban is labeled as a super villain, worse than Pharaoh. In this podcast we speculate as to why Laban is so deadly.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by my dear friend and loyal podcast listener, Michael Rosen in honor of his marriage this week to Daniella. On behalf of the entire Parsha Podcast family, I would like to extend my warmest blessings to the young couple. May they share a life of happiness and joy and harmony and peace, and may they build an amazing Jewish home together!

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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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Toldos – Esau’s Fatal Flaw

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 38:18 — 17.5MB)

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Jacob’s twin brother Esav is one of the worst villains in Jewish history. He seems to be an unending litany of bad character. Our parsha ends with Esav dead set on committing fratricide by actually murdering his own brother. Esav is just one bad apple. But is it possible that things could have ended up differently for him? Is it possible that Esav could have become a great hero of Jewish history? In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast we suggest a counterfactual way that Esav could have become someone very great, and we isolate the reason why he failed.

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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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Chayei Sarah – Portal to Paradise

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 39:58 — 18.3MB)

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The Torah dedicates an unusually large amount of verses in the beginning of this week’s parsha to describe a real estate transaction between Abraham and a gentleman named Ephron. Sarah has passed and Abraham seeks to buy Ephron’s cave to inter her in. Initially, Ephron acts with supposed generosity and offers it to Abraham for free. But Abraham insists on paying for it, and ultimately pays an exorbitant fee for the cave. Why does the Torah spend so much time on this transaction? In this special episode we probe the meaning and mystery of the Cave of the Patriarchs.

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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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Vayeira – Abraham’s Three Protégés

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 45:52 — 21.0MB)

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Abraham was the most influential person in human history. He changed the tides of history, he popularized Monotheism in the world, he is the father of many nations, and fittingly his story is told at considerable length in the Torah. In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast we study his relationship and interactions with his three closest students: Lot, Eliezer, and Isaac. When we study Abraham’s impact on these three, we discover three different type of disciples and three different type of tutelage.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of David Borowsky on the occasion of his recent engagement to Chana Frand

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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Lech Lecha – Go West, Young Man

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:44 — 23.2MB)

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Abraham is the Torah’s first protagonist. The entirety of this parsha and the subsequent one are following the forefather of our nation. Why does the Torah spend so much time telling the story of this ancient figure? In this life-changing episode, we study Abraham’s odyssey to find the precise guidelines to fulfill our latent potential. This podcast episode is designed to change your life. I hope it succeeds.

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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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