Category Archives: Parsha

The Mission of Transmission: Why Jews must Believe that the entire Written and Oral Torah is Divine and how that is a Reasonable and Logical

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Maimonides, in including this as the ninth of the thirteen principles of faith, makes it abundantly clear: If you do not believe that every word of the Torah is true you have no place in the Jewish people. The Talmud further clarifies (Sanhedrin 99a) that even if someone acknowledges that all the Torah is divine save for a single kal vachomer (Talmudic syllogism) or gezeira shava (analogy by common term) then he has no portion in the world to come. The seriousness of this requirement demands us to investigate this issue in depth. Here we go!

Lessons in Suffering from Jacob and Joseph

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Jacob’s life was a seemingly endless streak of suffering and challenges. His own brother was hellbent on murdering him; his father in law tricked him into marrying the woman whom he did not desire to marry; his father in law also marginalized him professionally. Joseph’s life path follows a similar line: His brothers conspire to murder him; ultimately settling on selling him as a slave. Joseph is wrongly accused of misdeeds of carnal nature and unjustifiably imprisoned. These two forbears of Judaism can teach us a lot about the Jewish perspective on challenges, pain and suffering.

This Class was delivered at Shalom Cypress in Cypress, TX

Breakneck through the Bible (Genesis Chapter 31)

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Learn about Jacob informing his wives’ about his proposed clandestine flight away from his father in law’s home. What lessons can we deduce from the peculiar methods Jacob employs when trying to convince Leah and Rachel of the merits of leaving?

Breakneck through the Bible – Spouse Selection (Genesis Chapters 24-25)

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Spousal selection is a perplexing and vexing part of life for most people; at least if the rates of failure in marriage are indeed what they are reported to be. The average person does not now where to start, what to do, what to look out for and how not to make a grievous and costly mistake by making a poor selection. The result is a convergence of an enormously important decision and an utter lack of knowledge of how to go about making that decision. For guidance and direction in this area of life we turn to the Almighty’s book of life instructions (a good idea for any difficult situation) and analyze the Torah’s exhaustive description of the vetting and selection of a spouse for Isaac – focusing on the minutiae of all the small details – and attempt to draw insight and instruction that is as relevant today as ever.

There has got to be a reason why Adam was formed on Shabbos, Eve!

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Join Rabbi Wolbe as he explores and examines several peculiar curiosities about the forbearer of mankind, Adam. Why was man the only creature created as a single individual; why didn’t create a flock, tribe, gaggle or pride of humans? Why did Adam not have Torah, and how could he possibly have succeeded in his challenge without it? And lastly, in light of the disastrous repercussions of that grave sin, we have to ask the most troubling question of all: what the heck was Adam thinking when he chose to do what the Almighty explicitly forbade him from doing?