Category Archives: Podcasts

What does Judaism really say about Moshiach (Messiah)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:01:53 — 28.3MB)

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Curious to know when Moshiach is coming? Can we – and should we – calculate his arrival? Think you’ve got what it takes to be Moshiach? Rabbi Wolbe answers these questions and outlines the qualifications needed for one to be crowned Moshiach and the accomplishments that Moshiach will achieve. Additionally, in this class we hear a history of false, failed and unrealized Moshiachs spanning from Bar Kochba in the first century of the Common Era to the ongoing schism tearing apart the Chabad Lubavitch Chassidic dynasty regarding the Messianic status of the previous Rebbe, since deceased. Lastly, tune in and learn what it all means for us and what can we do to expedite Moshiach’s arrival.

What happens after you die?

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:02:18 — 28.5MB)

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Tune in and listen to the definitive Jewish answer to life’s most compelling question: what really happens after you die. One of the few topics where it is hard to speak from experience, Rabbi Wolbe culls from various sources and Jewish traditions to paint a complete picture that clarifies the basis of the discussion: what happens after you die determines what, indeed, is meaningful in life.

Four Misconceptions Jews have about Judaism

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:10:33 — 32.3MB)

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Sheets with holes, shaved heads, arranges marriages and tattooed Jews excluded from Jewish cemeteries are but some of the misconceptions Jews have about Judaism. In this discussion, Rabbi Wolbe outlines and disproves the following four core and central misconceptions:

  1. Judaism is old, ancient, arcane, irrelevant and not contemporary to modern times.
  2. Mitzvas are ritualistic, repetitive and mechanical, and therefore are devoid of meaning, and cannot continually be real spiritual experiences.
  3. Judaism is full of restrictions and obligations that take the fun and pleasure out of life.
  4. Religion is the opiate of the masses. Accepting Judaism is a leap of faith.

Till Death do us part: Can we still have committed relationships

Podcast: Download (Duration: 52:42 — 24.1MB)

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“שמח תשמח רעים האהובים כשמחך יצירך בגן עדן מקדם”

This statement, part of the Sheva Brachos (Seven Blessings), is recited under the Chuppah ( wedding canopy) of traditional Jewish marriages. Translated into English, we pray: “Gladden the loving couple, like you gladdened your creations (Adam and Eve) in the Garden of Eden years ago.” This raises the question: what was so special about the relationship of Adam and Eve that justifies it being presented as the paragon that all young couples should strive to achieve? Moreover, Adam and Eve’s stint in the Garden of Eden was not a rosy subliminal harmonious fantasy, rather a highly contentious period. If so, what is the lesson to be garnered from their relationship that is of such tantamount importance that we highlight it at the onset of every Jewish marriage?

National Revelation: An experience unlike any other

Podcast: Download (Duration: 57:08 — 26.2MB)

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The answer to the most important question of all: How do we know we are right? Religions are mutually exclusive; The Jews, Christians and Moslems cannot all be right. It’s a zero sum game: If we are right, they all must be wrong! As Jews, we have to ask ourselves the question: are we merely basing our faith on what our parents inculcated in us? Are we no different than the 1000s of other religions out there, each touting itself as being the only true doctrine of God? Indeed, there is compelling evidence to distinguish Judaism from the crowd.

Ethics of the Fathers: Spiritual Pipes (1.2)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:15:23 — 34.5MB)

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In this class we learn what distinguishes Man from all other species, about the fascinating Jewish idea of the convergence of the spiritual and the physical and, in a first, Rabbi Wolbe calls out one of the participants as being “flaky”.

Ethics of the Fathers: Introduction (1.1)

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:28:13 — 40.4MB)

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Pirkei Avos, or Ethics of the Fathers is a compilation of Rabbinic ethical teachings spanning 500 years of Jewish vibrancy, circa 300 BCE to 200 CE, that, amazingly, retain their relevance to contemporary times. In this class, Rabbi Wolbe outlines the historical background to this fascinating work, explains the structure of the book, and digs into Chapter One Mishna One.