#91: The Purpose of Torah

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The Fiercest Obstacle to Greatness

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Ambitious people want to accomplish ambitious goals. They want to undertake bold challenges, they want to make an indelible impact upon the world. Every such noble goal will face a fierce obstacle. If you are someone who dreams big, who harbors hope to make a mark, you must be very aware of the most formidable obstacle you must navigate around. In this podcast, we share the pithy statement of the sages regarding the most difficult obstacle of any journey and offer two different approaches as to why that obstacle is so fierce. If you want to accomplish your dreams, if you want to have sweet dreams that see the light of day, you must know what you face and how to go about addressing and tackling this obstacle.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Tetzaveh – The Choshen People (5783)

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The High Priest was bedecked with garments of royalty. Our Parsha details the 8 special garments (vestments) of Splendor and Glory that the Kohen Gadol wore, and the Talmud delineates the various forms of atonement that each garment bestowed upon the nation. In this podcast we focus on the Breastplate, the Choshen, and assembling the various features and aspects of the Choshen, we offer a comprehensive theory of the Choshen and provide essential advice for The Choshen People.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Parshas Tetzaveh (Rebroadcast)

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In a natural continuation to Parshas Terumah, in Parshas Tetzaveh we learn about the instructions to build the Tabernacle. Whereas last week the focus was on the edifice itself and its vessels, this week we will orient primarily on the special garments that the priests wore in the Tabernacle, and of course subsequently in the Temple.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Tempering Temper (2:15)

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In this Mishna, one of the most fascinating characters of the Mishnaic era teaches eternal lessons on how to deploy anger properly and how to ensure that our spiritual affairs are in order before we meet our Creator.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 20, 2018

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Terumah – Ark of History

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The Tabernacle and all its vessels were steeped in miracles. They Ark did not take up any space. The Showbreads upon the Table did not get moldy. The construction of the Menorah was miraculous: Moshe was first shown a fiery image of the Menorah projected upon the mountain and subsequently he was told to throw the hunk of gold into the fire and the Menorah, with all its intricate embellishments, emerged. The Tabernacle was ultimately made permanent in the Temple on Temple Mount, at the touch point of heaven and Earth, where the rules of the Earth don’t necessarily apply. In this sweeping Parsha podcast, we plumb the depths of the meaning and the symbolism of the Tabernacle and its vessels. Along the way we learn crucial and useful insights for how to develop a legacy and a destiny of our own.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmat Javaher bat Rafael, who recently passed away at nearly 100. May her Soul be elevated in Heaven.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Finding Your Magic Bullet (2:13-14)

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Two thousand years ago the great Sage Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai instructed his five prime disciples to undertake a unique mission. This mission and their discoveries can still offer us life-changing wisdom.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 6, 2018

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Terumah – Etched in Stone (5783)

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Of the various materials needed for the construction of the Tabernacle were Shoham and Miluim stones. These stones were inlaid into the brackets in the Kohein Gadol’s Choshen (decorative breastplate containing twelve precious stones) and Ephod (apron-like garment with extending shoulder straps) respectively. What is the symbolism behind these stones and what lessons can we learn from them? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we explore the fascinating subject of the gemstones of the High Priest.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Spiritual Natural Law (2:9-2:12)

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Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai was the pivotal leader of the nation at a most vulnerable juncture of our history. His life story and his timeless lessons continue to inform and inspire nearly two millenia after his passing.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jul 16, 2018

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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#90: Testimony at Sinai

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The Sinai Revelation was a mass testimony of faith. The only event of its kind saw God revealing Himself to a nation comprised of millions, who heard and experienced prophecy and lived to tell their children about it. The founding event of our religion is historically unchallengeable and completely unprecedented: There is no other religion that even claims to have a National Revelation at its founding. In this TORAH 101 podcast, we study the introduction of Sefer HaChinuch to learn about the mechanism of believing history, the primacy of tradition over scientific and empirical analysis, and how we can have confidence that our religion – unlike other religions – is based on an airtight historical – verified and incontrovertible – Nation Revelation.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Parshas Terumah (Rebroadcast)

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One of the fundamental principles of Jewish philosophy is the idea of “Kedushah”, holiness. Holiness, according to the Jewish definition, is when the physical and spiritual worlds meet. In no location in the world is holiness more present than the Temple, and its predecessor, the “Mishkan”, the Tabernacle. In this week’s parsha we read about the instructions to raise the materials and to construct the Tabernacle and most of its vessels.

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Avoiding Deathpangs (2:8)

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What is really yours and what are you merely a steward over for the duration of your life? In this mishnah, Hillel reclassifies ten things by pulling away the curtain and revealing what they truly are.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jul 2, 2018

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DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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