The Life-Giving Property of Torah (6:7)

The thing that we crave more than anything else is life. We all want life. We all flee from curtailing of – or danger to – our life. How do we indeed get life? In this wonderful Mishnah we learn how Torah bestows life – both here and in the afterlife – upon those who do it. What does the Mishnah mean when it says life? How exactly does Torah serve as a life-giving tool here and there? In this fascinating Ethics podcast, we learn the answers.

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*Shavuos Special* Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

The Sinai Revelation is the most significant event in all of human history: God revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people, He spoke to them, He gave them the Torah, and they lived. This day is revisited every single year on the festival of Shavuos. Our objective on this day is to renew our vows with God and to re-accept His holy Torah. But how do you accept the Torah? What are the prerequisites and necessary criteria for accepting the Torah? To answer those questions we have to study the Sinai Revelation and the events that preceded and succeeded it. In this very special podcast we explore many different dimensions and elements of the festival and the days that it commemorates and discover the essential quality that was needed to accept the Torah initially and the primary way for us to tap into the vast, awesome, spiritual power of Shavuos.

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Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos (Rebroadcast)

The Sinai Revelation is the most significant event in all of human history: God revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people, He spoke to them, He gave them the Torah, and they lived. This day is revisited every single year on the festival of Shavuos. Our objective on this day is to renew our vows with God and to re-accept His holy Torah. But how do you accept the Torah? What are the prerequisites and necessary criteria for accepting the Torah? To answer those questions we have to study the Sinai Revelation and the events that preceded and succeeded it. In this very special podcast we explore many different dimensions and elements of the festival and the days that it commemorates and discover the essential quality that was needed to accept the Torah initially and the primary way for us to tap into the vast, awesome, spiritual power of Shavuos.

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We are Celebrating a Healthy Newborn Baby Boy

With deep appreciation to the Almighty for all that He has bestowed upon us, I am happy to share that Chaya and I we are blessed with a healthy baby boy this past week. Thank God, mom and the baby are doing phenomenal. On Friday night, the community was invited to our house for a Shalom Zachor, the traditional Friday night celebration in honor of the new baby. The celebration was laden with food, drinks, and words of Torah. In this podcast, I share the speech that I gave on Friday night, a topical message for us as we prepare for the upcoming festival of Shavuos.

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Proper Attribution (6.6.48)

When we hear something beautiful, something genius, something powerful, we may be tempted to pass it off as our own. In the final installment of the 48 ways to wisdom we learn about the imperative of proper attribution: saying something in the name of its originator.

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Systematic Studying (6.6.47)

The penultimate way to wisdom offered by our sages instructs us to be systematic in our studies. What exactly does this mean? In this very special Ethics Podcast, we offer three different interpretations. Listen carefully if you want to give a boost to your studies and your connection with your Creator.

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Bamidbar – Honorary Levites

Not everyone loves math and numbers. I’ve heard disturbing rumors that there are some people who even claim to hate math and get irritated when they see numbers. The Book of Bamidbar is called the Book of Numbers because there are a lot of numbers, and in no place are there more numbers than in our Parsha. We read about the numbers of each tribe individually, and then we read about the numbers of each trio of tribes in the four quadrants surrounding the Tabernacle. The number of Levites, the number of firstborn. The truth is, it’s not a numbers game. There’s something absolutely profound found in the censuses in our Parsha. In this transformative podcast, we learn how the census, the orientation of the nation around the Tabernacle, the flags, and the segregation of the Levites from the Israelites reveal the two different modes of Divine Service: the Israelite mode and the Levite mode. And we discover that even non-Levites can become honorary members of that most elevated tribe.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by Doron Levin in loving memory and leilui nishmas his beloved teacher and Torah study partner, Rabbi Avi Cohen, Avraham Shalom Ben Shlomo David. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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Sharpening Teachers (6.6.46)

Teachers are usually pretty talented. They’re usually gifted, knowledgeable, intelligent, and well-studied. In way to wisdom # 46 we learn how a student should strive to make their teacher even sharper and wiser. By upgrading our teachers, we ourselves become wiser along the way.

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Bamidbar – Legion of God (5784)

At first glance, the subject matter of Parshas Bamidbar is quite bland and technical. It talks of a census, and the orientation of the tribes in the camp, and the various responsibilities of the different levite families. These are not typically subjects that grab our attention. But we are trained to go deeper and deeper beneath the surface and to try to discover insights and lessons that are powerful and impactful. In this very special Parsha Podcast, we explore three different angles of this fascinating Parsha. We emerge enlightened and inspired.

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The Superiority of Torah

We are incredibly fortunate to be included amongst the Jewish people. We are incredibly fortunate to be raised with a strong sense of Torah and Torah values, and a deep appreciation for the critical and indispensable mission that our nation was entrusted with at Sinai. We are fortunate to be descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are fortunate to be God’s chosen people. There are other religions out there. Many like to study the field of “comparative religion.” Is it appropriate to explore those religions? Are there any dangers of doing that? In this interesting and informative podcast, we learn about some of the differences between our people, our religion, our Torah, and the pretenders. We emerge with an enormously deepened appreciation for how special it is to be part of the Almighty’s nation.

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DONATE: 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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Studying with Intentionality (6.6.44-45)

What are our intentions when we study? What are we trying to achieve? If we are studying the Almighty’s Torah simply as an exercise in theoretical, abstract learning, we are missing the essence of Torah. In these two ways to wisdom, we learned about the imperative to study with intentionality and the different types of motivation for Torah study. We can upgrade our wisdom simply by tweaking the goal of our studies.

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Parshas Bamidbar (Rebroadcast)

We kickstart the Book of Numbers with a census of the twelve tribes of Israel – not including the tribe of Levi who is counted independently – conducted by Moses, Aaron, and the most distinguished leaders of said tribes. Subsequently, we read about the banners of the tribes and their assigned encampments, the transference of the sanctity of the firstborn to the Levites, and the designated role of each of the Levite families.

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