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Ki Seitzei – The Upside of Laziness (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 51:24 — 23.5MB)

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Our parsha begins with the unusual law of the marriage of a Jewish warrior and an enemy captive woman. When a Jewish warrior spots a prisoner of war that he desires to marry, there is a process and a protocol for how he may marry her. The Talmud (also featured by Rashi) offers a very unusual classification of why the Torah permits this union. On its surface, this reason compounds the difficulties of this law. In this very special edition of the parsha podcast, we share a novel and instructive approach to this very unusual law.

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High and Mighty (5:23-4)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 38:46 — 17.7MB)

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What forces must we use to try to bring about our life mission? Our mandate is to fulfill the will of the Almighty. He expects great things of us and created us for that purpose. In this thrilling Mishnah, we learned about the various different forces and powers that we must marshal to accomplish our life mission.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Dec 13, 2021

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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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#101: Third Order of Mishnah (Women)

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 1:00:06 — 27.5MB)

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A great corpus of Torah law governs the relationships between men and women. The Second Order of Mishnah contains books on the initiation of marriage, on marital responsibilities, on the annulment of marriage via divorce, on the suspected adulteress, and on levirate marriages. The Order also contains two seemingly unrelated books: a book on vows and oaths and a book on the laws of a Nazir. In this podcast we explore the nature of these books, and earn some basic literacy in this massive portion of Oral Torah.

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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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Parshas Ki Seitzei (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:01:03 — 27.9MB)

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In the parsha that contains the most mitzvos of any of the 54 Torah sections (a staggering 74 mitzvos), we read about the wayward and rebellious son, the requirement to build a fence around your roof to prevent tragedy, two episodes that we are mandated to remember, and many, many more interesting and insightful mitzvos.

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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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Abraham’s Academy (5:22)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 28:58 — 13.3MB)

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The founder of our nation was Abraham our patriarch. He was a paragon of faith and kindness, and also exhibited every positive character trait. By contrast, Bilaam the sorcerer was the anti-Abraham. He harbored every negative trait. In this mission we are told that both of these people are teachers. We must choose if we want to be students of Abraham or students of Bilaam.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Dec 6, 2021

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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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Shoftim – Crown Jewels

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 57:10 — 26.2MB)

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Many of us secretly harbor the belief the we would make a fine president. Leading a nation sounds like a cushy job: armies of aides at your beck and call, ready to execute your agenda and vision. Kings have truly unlimited power. They don’t have term limits. There are no checks and balances to weaken their power. Jewish Kings however are subject to God. The Torah limits their powers and checks their authority. They must be subservient to their Creator and must exemplify humility. In this wonderful and provocative Parsha podcast, we explore the fascinating subject of a Jewish King and share a very controversial and surprising insight on the attribute of humility.

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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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Multi-Level-Marketing of Mitzvos (5:21)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 37:22 — 17.1MB)

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Every mitzvah that we do benefits us for all eternity. Our Sages reveal to us that each Mitzvah creates an advocate who vigorously fights on our behalf and defends us in front of the Heavenly court. Mitzvos are great assets to have. In this podcast, we discover that there is a way to game the system to unlock myriads and boatloads of mitzvos for a relatively inexpensive cost. Listening to this episode will give you an irresistible urge to study, teach, and disseminate Torah. You have been warned.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Nov 9, 2021

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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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Shoftim – Crisper Genes (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 49:20 — 22.6MB)

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The nation is on the doorstep of Canaan. In our Parsha, the people are instructed in how they must treat the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. It’s not pleasant. The people are told that they must engage in total war against these nations. How do we understand the requirement to be so violent and aggressive towards the Canaanite nations? What about the Canaanites who opt to join the nation? What is their status? In this podcast, we first explore the general notion of how to understand the Torah’s instructions regarding the Canaanite policy, and then we explore a very interesting thread about the power of behavior and how it can get embedded in the spiritual DNA that we transmit to our descendants.

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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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How to Have a Good Argument (5:20)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 27:42 — 12.7MB)

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Argumentation has become a lost art. Our society promotes uniformity and consensus, a monochromatic society where divergent ideas are shunned. This approach is antithetical to Torah. Our religion does not believe that your thinking should be outsourced to others. We do not believe that everyone ought to follow others like a flock of sheep. At Sinai, our Sages tell us, every one of the 600,00 souls present had a unique, tailored revelation. When you disagree with someone, you must not keep quiet and accept positions that we do not agree with. But you have to know how to have an argument. In this podcast, we learn the secret.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Nov 2, 2021

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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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Elul Cheat Sheet

Podcast: Download (Duration: 47:48 — 21.9MB)

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Preparing for the High Holidays can be daunting. How can anyone adequately prepare for standing in judgment in front of the Heavenly tribunal? But prepare we must. The month of Elul is designated for preparing for the awesome days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Our Sages took these days very seriously and were completely immersed in preparation. But we are regular people, ordinary, common folk. Is there something that we can do to prepare? Is there a cheat sheet to simplify Elul? Is there a way to distill this month to its essence? In this wonderful podcast we share the three main pillars of this month and learn the ways how even us lay people can have an immensely productive and powerful Elul.

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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 Shoftim (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:20 — 27.6MB)

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This week we learn the laws governing all kinds of leaders: The parsha begins by detailing the laws of judges, the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, and what happens to rebellious judges; we read about the unique laws related to kings; there are more laws pertaining to the Kohanim; and we find the means of vetting professed prophets and what happens to the six kinds of false prophets.

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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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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