Category Archives: Podcasts

#29: The Comprehensiveness of Torah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 59:24 — 27.2MB)

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Ramban, Nachmanides (1194-1269), arguably the most impactful and significant Jewish personality of the 13th Century, was a towering, titanic figure, who wrote voluminously on all Torah and Talmud subjects. Perhaps his magnum opus is his magisterial commentary on the Torah. This podcast follows his fascinating introduction that he writes to his commentary on the Torah that deals with very fundamental questions relating to the authorship, nature, and dimensions of Torah. Studying this introduction will be a fitting continuation to some of the subjects we touched upon last time, and truly deepen our understanding of what we mean when we say that the Torah is divine.

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This TORAH 101 podcast is dedicated leilui nishmas Zev/Wolf Schiffman by his Jakobovits and Rubenstein grandchildren. May his soul be elevated 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!

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

Honoring Torah (4.8)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 1:04:41 — 29.6MB)

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Please support TORCH and The Eternal Ethics Podcast TODAY during our only annual fundraiser

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Support the Eternal Ethics Podcast – https://www.charidy.com/torch/ethics

EVERY DONATION IS QUADRUPLED

Today, TORCH needs your help!!

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Today YOU can Connect Jews and Judaism!

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Support the Eternal Ethics Podcast – https://www.charidy.com/torch/ethics

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Rabbi Yose was one of the most important and prolific Jewish figures of the 2nd Century. There are literally hundreds of stories and teachings of his in the Talmud and Midrash, but his tenure coincided with one of the most treacherous times in Jewish history: The Hadrianic persecutions

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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. 72: Chazon Ish: Part Three – On Politics and the Conflict of Religion and State

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 44:31 — 20.4MB)

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Please support TORCH and The Jewish History Podcast TODAY during our only annual fundraiser

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Support The Jewish History Podcast – https://www.charidy.com/torch/History

EVERY DONATION IS QUADRUPLED

Today, TORCH needs your help!!

Today the Future of Jewish vibrancy is in YOUR hands!

Today YOU can Connect Jews and Judaism!

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Support The Jewish History Podcast – https://www.charidy.com/torch/History

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The Chazon Ish’s activism once he arrived in British Mandate Palestine were not limited to building up the religious and Torah infrastructure of the Land. His invested great efforts in establishing the political philosophy of the yeshiva community, and like his work in building the Torah infrastructure, his political efforts endure until today. Indeed, for much of the history of the state, the political parties and ideologies that he led were heralded as the kingmakers of Israeli politics. In his day, The Chazon Ish waged campaigns against government policies that he thought were unjust and harmful to the religious community. He also guided and advised religious politicians who heeded his advice. But he wasn’t just an adviser to the politicians, He was viewed by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as the leader of the yeshiva community’s camp and in fact the PM visited and negotiated with him on matters of religion and State. The influence that the yeshiva community has on Israeli politics is stronger than ever, and as I mentioned in episode 70, it is impossible to really understand the dynamics of the Israeli political universe – in general a labyrinthine vortex of complexity – without understanding the positions staked out by the Chazon Ish during the very early days of the State

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This Jewish History Podcast is sponsored by Bill Koen in loving memory of Michael Ben Shmuel and Yehudit. May his Soul be elevated 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!

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!

Age of the Universe: Can Torah and Science be Reconciled?

Podcast: Download (Duration: 42:36 — 19.5MB)

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According to Jewish tradition, 2020 is the year 5780. Science estimates the age of the universe to be somewhere between 13.8-15.4 billion years. In this podcast, we will share a brilliant reconciliation sourced from centuries-old Kabbalistic books.

The Shema Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shema-podcast/id1498489422

Daf Yomi Breakneck Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daf-yomi-breakneck-with-rabbi-elchanan-shoff/id1494823922

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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!

Torah Misappropriation (4:7)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 48:23 — 22.1MB)

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Our nation is blessed to be privy to the Almighty’s Torah. Those who immerse themselves in the Torah’s vast seas are the choicest and most admirable people of our nation. What benefits do they deserve? Is it OK for them to cash in on their Torah prowess? Should they demand honor for their Torah accomplishments?

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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

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!

Ep. 71: Chazon Ish: The Founding Father of the Modern Yeshiva World (Part Two: Making the Spiritual Desert Bloom)

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 58:23 — 26.7MB)

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In 1933, Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz – the Chazon Ish – moved to British Mandate Palestine. Prior to his departure, the recognized leader of the Torah world, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky of Vilna had sent a letter to the leaders of the Yishuv informing them that a Torah giant was coming. Employing classic Talmudic phraseology, he wrote that “a lion is arising from Babylon”, and a respectable delegation of rabbis and community leaders arrived at the shores to greet him. It is hard to overstate the impact that this lion from Babylon will have over the Yishuv in the Land would have over the next 20 years. From his hometown of Bnei Brak, the Chazon Ish spearheaded the opening of dozens of Torah institutions, rooted in a vision of the Land of Israel, revived and blossoming, with Torah dominating every aspect of the lives and culture of the people.

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This Jewish History Podcast is sponsored in loving memory of Zelda Chaya Nechama Bat Sarah by her loving family who wish to remain anonymous. May her soul merit an elevation 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!

#28: The Divine Torah: An Expanded Definition

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 55:06 — 25.2MB)

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The Eighth Principle, that the Torah is Divine, is the central principle upon which all the Thirteen Principles lean. Our entire religion hinges upon the fact that the Almighty gave us His Torah. But what exactly does that mean? In this podcast we discover that the Eighth Principle is much deeper than a question of authorship; the divinity of the Torah means a great deal more.

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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!

Life-Extending Teaching (4:6)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 29:15 — 13.4MB)

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What does it take to teach Torah effectively? What are the immense benefits of studying Torah with great diligence? What are the different modes of Torah study and what are the different benefits? In this deceptively simple Mishnah we learn about the power of commitment to Torah study, Torah teaching, and allowing Torah to influence you completely.

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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!

Ep. 70: Chazon Ish: The Founding Father of the Modern Yeshiva World (Part One: Torah Renaissance Man)

Podcast (history): Download (Duration: 57:26 — 26.3MB)

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The destruction of European Jewry during the Holocaust decimated more than the thousands of Jewish communities of Europe. Europe had been the epicenter of Ashkenazic Jewish life for 1,000 years, and with the destruction of the 6 million Jews, came everything that generations of Jewish communities had built over the millennium. A world of Jewish infrastructure – shuls, Jewish schools, mikvaos, yeshivos, giant Torah sages and their students – ceased to exist.

If we were around to assess the state of the nation after WW2, it would be very hard to construct an optimistic outlook. But look at where we are now: The Jewish communities reestablished themselves in the USA and in the newly founded State of Israel, and in some ways, certain parts of Jewish life – and particularly Torah life – are stronger than they were before the Holocaust. Prior to the Holocaust, there were maybe a couple of thousand Torah scholars in the yeshiva world of Europe; today, in the largest yeshiva in the world – the Mir yeshiva – a yeshiva that I am a proud graduate of, there are nearly 10,000 full-time Torah scholar students, and that’s only one of hundreds – maybe thousands – of such institutions in the world. Prior to the war, the Torah-centric world within Jewry was in decline, and now it is an ascendant juggernaut. Where did all this come from? Who founded this world? Perhaps there are several answers to that question. But certainly in Israel we can point to one man and declare that he spawned this revolution, and that is Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, universally known as the Chazon Ish after the eponymous title of his works – and he is going to be the subject of this Jewish History podcast and the one that follows

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This Jewish History Podcast is sponsored by my dear friend, Yigal Rifkind, in honor of Caileigh Weiss on the occasion of her birthday. Happy Birthday, Caileigh, and thank you Yigal for your support 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!