Category Archives: Parsha

Ki Sisa – Coronavirus: Three Lessons from the Torah

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 39:29 — 18.1MB)

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The deadly coronavirus (COVID- 19) is dominating the world’s attention. Our Sages teach us that when danger strikes, we must ponder our behavior and search for lessons. We believe that this virus is a message from God. What is the message? What is He telling us? Of course, only prophets can answer that question definitively, but in this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we offer three suggestions gleaned from our parsha regarding what lessons we should take away from this pandemic.

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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!

Contact Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links:

This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts

Terumah – Apex Holiness

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 32:10 — 14.7MB)

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Our parsha features the greatest bargain in human history: God instructs us to erect a Mashkan, a Tabernacle, for Him, and provided that we follow the rules to a tee, He will dwell amongst us. At Sinai, the nation became God’s Chosen People. What exactly was missing after Sinai that necessitated building the Tabernacle?

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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!

Yisro – Spiritual Metamorphosis

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 27:41 — 12.7MB)

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Moshe’s father in law Yisro is arguably the most unusual character in the Torah. His arrival comes at a very crucial time – sandwiched between the major founding events of our nation – and his contribution is somewhat marginal, yet he is given prime real estate in the Torah: In the run-up to the most significant episode of the Torah, the Revelation at Sinai, we read about Yisro, his sacrifices, his festive banquet, his goosebumps, his declarations, his theological backstory; we discover that he has 7 names. The Torah focuses on his story at length. Why does Yisro matter? What eternal lesson does he impart?

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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!

Bo – 11 Dimensions of Exile

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 39:29 — 18.1MB)

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After centuries of subjugation and servitude, our nation was redeemed from Egypt and taken out by God on the wings of eagles. How long, exactly, were we in Egypt? That is actually quite a tricky question to answer. In this parsha we read how the Egyptian enslavement lasted for 430 years but in Genesis, God promises Abraham that the enslavement will only last 400 years. To make matters more confounding, Rashi gives us three different durations of the enslavement: 210, 193, and 117 years respectively. How long were we there and what is the lesson of all these contradicting figures?

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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!

Contact Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.org
Twitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links:

This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts

Vaeira – The Object of Exile

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 35:55 — 16.4MB)

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In our parsha we read about the first seven of the eventual ten plagues that precipitated the Exodus. But a fundamental question needs to be asked: Why were we enslaved to begin with?
What’s the purpose of enslavement and what’s the purpose of the redemption? Why did our people need to undergo this period of torment, suffering, and enslavement before we could be formed as a nation?

Our nation was founded at the Exodus – why couldn’t there be another way?

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Joseph Hiller in loving memory of his grandparents, Rella bas Tovi and Eliezer ben Avraham. May their souls merit an elevation and an ascension in Heaven

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!

Shemos – True Kinship

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 31:58 — 14.6MB)

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In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we read through Ramban’s introduction to the Book of Exodus, and we examine the special fraternal relationship of Moses and Aaron by contrasting it with the relationships of siblings in Genesis and by demonstrating how their close could have imperiled the Exodus from Egypt.

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This parsha podcast is dedicated in honor of our cousins, Jason and Reesa Friedman. Thank you for your support, friendship, and encouragement!

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!

Vayechi – The Unexpected Hero

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 31:56 — 14.6MB)

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In this special edition of the Parsha podcast, we share several observations and insights on the parsha relating to pedagogical theory and the lengths to which the righteous conceal the misdeeds of others, we ask an interesting question on the episode of Jacob crossing over his hands when blessing his grandsons, and discuss a theme with valuable lessons that appears twice in the Parsha.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated In honor of Yehuda Savitsky’s 90th birthday. Yehuda is a dear personal friend and a longtime friend of TORCH, and we all wish him many happy returns!

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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.org
Twitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links:

This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah: Apple Podcasts

Vayeishev – Earning Your Stripes

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 33:21 — 15.3MB)

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A reappearing theme of this week’s parsha is garments: Joseph’s brothers envy is engendered by a garment; the brothers deceive Jacob by presenting him with a garment; When mourning, Jacob and Reuben rip their garments; Tamar disguised herself by swapping her garment; Joseph is imprisoned when he loses his garment. In this podcast we suggest a way of stringing together these threads into a very useful and powerful insight. Is it true that clothes make the man?

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by Jeremy Love in loving memory of his mother, Myra Rousso, Miriam bat Chaim v’Sarah, whose first yahrzeit is the 21st of Kislev. May her soul merit an ascension in Heaven.

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!

Vayishlach – Getting A Divine Deposit

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 34:10 — 15.6MB)

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This week’s parsha podcast features three powerful ideas: One relating to God giving Jacob a very unusual nickname; one that follows the aftermath of the episode of Dinah; and one relating to the different names assigned to Esav’s wife.

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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!

Vayeitzei – Cornerstones of the Nation

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 33:31 — 15.3MB)

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Throughout the parsha, there are many references to a stone or stones. Jacob surrounds himself with stones for protection; he pours oil on a stones; he consecrates a stone for the Temple; a large stone is covering a well, and Jacob removes the stone; and at the parsha’s end, Jacob and Laban strike a deal and erect a stone monument and a stone mound. In this podcast, we try to decipher the meaning behind all these stone references and draw out the lessons that they contain.

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Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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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!

Parshas Vayeitzei (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:40 — 29.1MB)

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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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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of Alan and Phyllis Kritz. Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and friendship.

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!

Toldos – Breaking Barriers

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 28:12 — 12.9MB)

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After nearly two decades of infertility, Isaac and Rebecca conceive, but something does not feel right. Whenever Rebecca passes a house of Torah, she feels her baby stir and get all excited as if he wants to be born. Seemingly, her child is drawn to holiness. Yet when Rebecca passes a temple of idolatry, the same thing happens. What is going on? To resolve her dilemma Rebecca visits the prophet who tells her that she is pregnant with twins, one who is drawn to Torah and one who is drawn to sin. This podcast discusses a very interesting philosophical problem with this narrative and what it implies.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Reyna Hiller who passed away a few months back at the untimely age of 33, leaving behind her husband and 8 yo son. May she merit an ascension in Heaven and may the Almighty provide comfort to her family

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!