Category Archives: Parsha

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Vayeitzei – Red and White Blew it

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 51:50 — 23.7MB)

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Jacob was one of the greatest people who have ever lived. He triumphed over angels. He had angels do his bidding. His visage is etched into God’s throne of glory. He is considered the choicest of the forefathers, the one who merited bearing twelve sons who spawned the twelve tribes of Israel. His life was a series of challenges. His twin brother Esau was his polar opposite and, at this point, was out to kill him. His father-in-law was the wily trickster Laban who sought to deceive him at every turn. Jacob had a mesmerizing impact on his surroundings. His departure from a place was palpable. He had the ability to extract sparks of holiness from inanimate objects. But there were two people whom Jacob was unable to influence: the Red Esau, and the White Laban. In this podcast, you find out how and why they blew it.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Will Sukenik, Avraham Ben Velvel who passed away recently. Will was a titan of a man, an exceptionally generous person, and a remarkable leader in the Jewish community. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven

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DONATE: 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 – Rock and Roll (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:04 — 22.9MB)

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Jacob undergoes a meteoric transformation in our Parsha. At the onset, Jacob is a 77-year-old penniless bachelor fleeing from his brother Esau’s wrath. When the Pasha concludes, Jacob is at the helm of a veritable empire. He has 12 children with his four wives, is enormously wealthy, and is heading back to encounter Esau’s rage. How did Jacob manage to accomplish such a magnificent transformation? In this special retro edition of the pasha podcast, we explore the wondrous narrative and storyline of Jacob in our Parsha.

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DONATE: 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 – Infertile Crescent

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

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Why were the patriarchs and matriarchs infertile? Why did Isaac favor Esau? Why did Isaac require delicacies to bless Esau? Why does the Torah offer an extended narrative of Isaac and wells – digging wells, wrestling with wells that got plugged up, quarreling over wells, naming cities after wells? Why does anti-Semitism exist? These are some of the questions addressed in this very interesting and provocative Parsha podcast. Join us as we go backstage in Parshas Toldos.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmat Yehuda Ben Yehhaskel Tabibian who passed away recently. May his soul be elevated in heaven.

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DONATE: 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 – Smoking Camels (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:12 — 27.1MB)

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Two very different boys are born in this week’s Parsha. Esau, the older one, is ruddy and hairy and looking for trouble. Jacob, the younger one, is wholesome and righteous. The beginning of our Parsha describe the unusual events surrounding the conception and birth of these two boys. When we read it on a superficial level, it does not immediately resonate. What is the deeper messages behind the birthing narrative? In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore the prayer of Isaac and Rebecca that led to her conceiving, the two fabrics that Esau is compared to, and the recurring theme of camels in the narrative surrounding this family. This is a podcast that you will enjoy and remember.

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DONATE: 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 Toldos (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:06:32 — 30.5MB)

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In Parshas Toldos we meet twin boys that are polar opposites: Esau, beloved by his father Isaac, is a man of the fields; while Jacob is loved by his mother Rebecca and prefers to dwell in the tents of scholarship. These two children will spawn nations and ideals that diverged from each other even before they were born.

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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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Chayei Sarah – Age of the Matriarchs

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:47 — 27.4MB)

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Sarah lived a relatively long life. She passed away at the age of 127 after learning about the Binding of Isaac. Our Parsha begins with her passing, eulogy, and burial in the Cave of the Patriarchs. Just as when the sun sets in one area, it automatically rises in some other place, with the passing of Sarah came the rise of a comparably bright light: Rebecca. In this edition of the Parsha podcast, we explore the legacy of Sarah, the age of Rebecca at her marriage, and examine the founding families of our people.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas David Gedaliah ben Efraim, the unforgettable David Genecov, of blessed memory, whose third yartzeit was today. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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DONATE: 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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Chayei Sarah – Buried Alive (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 42:03 — 19.2MB)

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Sarah died at the age of 127. Abraham negotiated with the Hittites for the purchase of a burial plot, the Cave of Machpelah. The objective of the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah was to bury the dead. These three facts are featured at the beginning of our Parsha. On the surface these facts seem wholly unremarkable. In year 8 of the Parsha Podcast we try to go beneath the surface, behind the veneer, into the subtext of the Parsha and to discover the secrets — the deep secrets — contained in the substrate. Is there a deeper meaning of Sarah’s age at death? Why is the role of the Hittites in facilitating Abraham’s purchase revisited so man times in the Torah? Why does the Torah repeat numerous times that the objective of Abraham’s purchase to bury the dead? In this Parsha Podcast we discover some wonderful and deep insights.

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DONATE: 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 Chayei Sarah (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 56:23 — 25.8MB)

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Some of the highlights of this week’s parsha: Immediately after the Binding of Isaac, Sarah passed away at the age of 127, and soon afterward Abraham had to procure a burial spot for her. In addition, Abraham sent his trusted confidante, Eliezer, to his hometown to find a spouse for Isaac.

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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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Vayeira – Sodium and Gomorrah

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:09:33 — 31.8MB)

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Abraham was the paragon of faith. He was also the paragon of kindness and hospitality. When he was 99 years old and only three days removed from a very painful and debilitating circumcision surgery, Abraham launched into a frenzied act of superlative hospitality to three travelers (who later turned out to be angels). These twin attributes worked synergistically. Abraham used his hospitality to advance his lifelong mission of disseminating the Name of God in the world and publicizing the Name of God to all. The Parsha is studded with other iconic episodes and narratives: Abraham’s intercession on behalf of the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah; Lot’s kindness in Sodom and Gomorrah; the overturning of those cities and the rendering of Mrs. Lot into a pillar of salt; Lot’s incestuous tryst with his daughters spawning the forbearer of Messiah; the birth and maturation of Isaac; the banishment of Ishmael; and of course, the Binding of Isaac. In this edition of the Parsha podcast, we study the Parsha and then take a tour backstage.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Steve Horak in honor of his wife becoming a doctor – Dr Elena Silberman Scott, and in honor of his niece Emily Silberman becoming bat mitzvah, and in honor of his granddaughter Levy Schwartz Messing‘s first birthday.

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DONATE: 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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Vayeira – Abraham Abraham (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:44 — 29.6MB)

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On the second day of Rosh Hashanah each year we read chapter 22 of Genesis, the Binding of Isaac episode. Abraham is instructed to take his beloved son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice atop Mount Moriah. Abraham does as told, only to be stopped at the very last moment. In this very special Parsha podcast episode, we explore three dimensions of this iconic event. We try to go deep and deeper as is our mandate. We begin by addressing the three times that people are described as walking together; we proceed by suggesting a new approach to the call of the angel, “Abraham, Abraham;” and we end with the curious overlap between Abraham’s Binding of Isaac and Adam’s banishment from the Garden. This is an episode that you will really enjoy.

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DONATE: 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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