Category Archives: Podcasts

Ep. 58: Abraham: The Birth of Monotheism and the Origins of the Jewish Nation

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 46:42 — 26.7MB)

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The story of the Jewish people – and truthfully the story of all monotheists, Christians and Muslims too – begins with Abraham. Abraham is of course the progenitor of the Jewish nation via his son, Isaac and grandson, Jacob, and his other son, Ishmael, is viewed as the forbearer of the Arabs and by extension the Muslims, and his other grandson, Esau, is viewed in Jewish sources as the father of the kingdom of Edom which becomes Rome which eventually merges with Christianity and catapults it into a major world religion. Where does Abraham come from? What did he do to merit direct divine communication? How did he manage to have his theological ideas span the world over?

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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:
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 by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.

Parshas Vayeira

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:08:11 — 31.2MB)

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This week’s parsha features several iconic episodes: Abraham was visited by God as he was recuperating from his circumcision, and concurrently engaged in superlative kindness with three angels masquerading as pagan travelers; Abraham was informed that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed and was unsuccessful in interceding on their behalf; and we also read the two Torah sections that are read on the two days of Rosh Hashana: The episode of the birth of Isaac and the subsequent banishment of Ishmael, and the story of the Binding of Isaac.

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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!

Do Your Job (2:20-21)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 25:26 — 14.4MB)

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There are many excuses to shirk our spiritual responsibilities. In the final two mishnayos of Chapter 2, Rabbi Tarfon rebuts them one by one.

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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 Lech Lecha

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:02:40 — 36.3MB)

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In this week’s parsha Abraham is instructed to move to Israel, is given divine promises that he will be the father of many nations; his children will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the heaven, a son Ishmael is born, and he is commanded to circumcise his foreskin and those of all males in his household.

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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!

Answering the Heretics (2:19)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 21:46 — 12.0MB)

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Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach was the prized student of Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, but he chose to chart his own path in life and not to join the rest of his colleagues in Yavneh.

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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!

Ep. 57: A History of Kabbalah (Part Two: The Arizal and His Era)

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 56:05 — 32.6MB)

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In the 16th century, the city of Safed in Northern Israel became host to one of the greatest collections of Torah Sages ever assembled, none more transformative or influential as Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the Arizal. Though he lived a very short life of 38 years (1534-1572), he revolutionized the study, perception, and understanding of Kabbalah and his influence continues to permeate the Jewish world until today.

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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 Noach

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 57:52 — 33.3MB)

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In this week’s parsha: Noah and his family build an Ark as a refuge from an extinction-level Flood brought by God to destroy the world’s sinners.

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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!

Relationship or Ritual? (2:18)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 18:42 — 10.7MB)

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What is the optimal relationship between man and God? How is man supposed to view himself? These questions and several others are addressed in Chapter 2, Mishna 18 of Pirkei Avos.

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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!

All New Parsha Series – Bereishis

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:19:32 — 46.8MB)

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With praise and appreciation to the Almighty we begin another year of Torah study and another cycle of the Parsha Podcast. This year will revisit the format of year one of the Parsha Podcast where we will try to cover the entire Parsha in each episode each week. Thank you for downloading and please share with a friend.

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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!

Sukkos: A Primer

Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:40 — 23.9MB)

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 42:40 — 23.9MB)

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“’In a Sukkah shall you dwell for seven days’ – The Torah is instructing us to leave our permanent dwelling and move into a temporary dwelling.” (Talmud Sukkah 2a). A mere five days after Yom Kippur, we are instructed to abandon our permanent home and move into a makeshift hut and live there for seven days. In addition we are commanded to shake the Four Species on Sukkos; and there is a fascination with the Seventy Nations of the world and their ultimate downfall. The question can be raised: On Yom Kippur we successfully gained atonement and have been cleansed from all traces of sin and imperfection. What about our character is yet imperfect that we must fix with the mitzvah of the Sukkah?

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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!

The Ultimate Meritocracy (2:17)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 20:22 — 11.7MB)

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In a short, succinct Mishna, Rabbi Yose shares timeless lessons regarding the proper way to treat other people’s money, how Torah greatness is a meritocracy, and perhaps the most central insight of Jewish spirituality.

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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.

Please SUBSCRIBE, RATE and REVIEW all my podcasts on iTunes, Android, and Stitcher:

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 by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.

The Key to Meaningful Prayer

Podcast: Download (Duration: 38:59 — 20.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Prayer is a central tenet of our religion, and comprised a hefty chunk of its rituals. The Mishna (Pirkei Avos 1:2) delineates the three things upon which the world stands – meaning that without it the world would cease existing – and lists prayer together with Torah study and kindness. Yet prayer is a mitzvah that is difficult to fulfill and connect to. It often feels awkward, unnatural, and tedious. In this podcast we offer a perspective that may succeed in transforming our perspective on prayer and thereby accelerating and deepening our relationship with the Almighty.

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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.

Please SUBSCRIBE, RATE and REVIEW all my podcasts on iTunes, Android, and Stitcher:

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 by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.