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Reeh – Path Independence

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:15 — 27.6MB)

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We like to maintain optionality and delay decisions if possible. The idea of being pigeonholed into one path irks us. But Moshe tells the nation that we must make a choice: “Behold I have placed before you today a blessing and curse.” The path of blessing is the total acceptance and adherence to God and His word. The path of curse is the repudiation of God and His Torah. In this very special edition of the Parsha podcast, we argue that the choice of which path to take exists on two fronts. There are two choices of which path to take. There are two forks in the road. Neither choice is easy, but one is decidedly less easy than the other.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of a successful surgery for Moshe Ben Dalya. We hope to hear only good news from him.

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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 Boost Your Intelligence (5:15-8)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 51:17 — 23.5MB)

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There are different types of people in the world. Just as our faces are not identical, our perspectives and abilities and innate qualities differ. Regarding a host of things, our Sages tell us that there are four distinct character types. In this wide-ranging Ethics Podcast we discuss memory tips, how to boost your intelligence, the critical aspects of teaching, a clever tactic of how to handcuff your evil inclination, and much more. This episode will not disappoint!

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Oct 5, 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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Reeh – Making Dough (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 43:30 — 19.9MB)

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The Parsha ends with a delineation of the festivals. When discussing Passover, the verse notes that for 7 days we eat matzah because we left Egypt within great haste. The Exodus was so rapid and frantic, that the dough that we had been preparing was unable to rise and we did not have fluffy, puffy bread. Why is this trivial factoid so central to the Exodus and the festival that commemorates and relives it? What is so noteworthy about the dough having insufficient time to rise? Why did the accident happen during baking time? In this parsha podcast, we explore the Exodus on a deep level, and draw out a foundational lesson about living life alongside our Creator.

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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: Month of Personal Reinvention

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We are on the doorstep of the month of mercy, the month that precedes the high holidays, the month of Elul. The high holidays are very significant and auspicious days, and it is imperative that we prepare for them. How ought we prepare? What are the particular points of emphasis that we should stress during these days? In this podcast we are guided by a chapter in my grandfather Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe’s classic work, Alei Shur. This chapter is titled “month of mercy” and can be found in Volume 2, section 3, chapter 12, page 413.

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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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Realms of Rage (5:14)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 42:39 — 19.5MB)

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Anger is a sentiment that we all feel sometimes. What triggers our rage? What does our anger say about us? What is the connection between anger and faith? Why does the Talmud declare that getting angry is tantamount to idolatry? Why does the Talmud foretell that those who get angry are destined for all manner of Gehennom? In this episode, we explore our Sages’ surprising teachings related to anger.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 17, 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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Parshas Reeh (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:30 — 27.7MB)

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This week’s parsha marks a transition in the Book of Deuteronomy: it is no longer primarily about admonishment and rebuke and warnings, instead we read a bevy of mitzvos – some repetitions and some new ones that have hitherto not been mentioned.

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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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Generosity and Miserliness (5:13)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 26:19 — 12.0MB)

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In the question of generosity and miserliness, our Mishnah tells us that there are four kinds of people. Interestingly, a group that we would view quite innocuously is labeled as Sodom-like.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 11, 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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Eikev – Tefillin’ Good

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:20:20 — 36.8MB)

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This is a very special episode of the Parsha podcast. Exactly 5 years ago, the Parsha podcast began a streak of producing a brand new episode each week. With the unending help of the Almighty, we haven’t missed in five years. To celebrate this momentous accomplishment, we tackled a very ambitious project: our Parsha contains the fourth and final paragraph included in the Tefillin. Both the Head-Tefillin and the Arm-Tefillin contain this paragraph. When we explore the subject of Tefillin, we find that it is unique in several unprecedented ways. In this wonderful podcast, we enumerate some of the very interesting features of this wonderful mitzvah, and suggest an approach to understand it and to make our performance of it more meaningful and productive.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of the complete and total recovery of Toba Rivka bas Chaya Miriam, a recently born baby who is in the NICU with multiple health issues and in need of our prayers. May Toba Rivka bas Chaya Miriam merit a complete and speedy Refuah Sheleima.

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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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Individual Prophecy and Collective Punishment (5:10-12)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 47:00 — 21.5MB)

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In ancient times, our nation benefitted from the service of prophets. The primary responsibility of a prophet was to rebuke and admonish the people when they veered off course from the proper path that the Almighty has planned for them. But what now? Prophecy has been extinct for more than 2300 years. How do we know if the Almighty is displeased with us? In this collection of teachings in the Mishnah we discover the answer. The Almighty still conveys messages to us; not via a prophet but via the things that happen to us and to the people around us.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jul 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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Eikev – Longevity Pill (5783)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 39:01 — 17.9MB)

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A ubiquitous feature in Jewish homes, the Mezuzah contains a scroll with two paragraphs from the Torah, one from this week’s Parsha and one from last week’s. This mitzvah bears a distinction that it shares with no other mitzvah. In this interesting and useful podcast, we explore the secrets represented by the Mezuzah, and learn how it can serve as a panacea – a pill of longevity.

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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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The Seven Keys to Wisdom (5:9)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 33:37 — 15.4MB)

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What separates a wise person from someone who has to potential to be a wise person but has not actualized it? In the words of our Sages, such a person who has not cultivated their wisdom is a “Golem”, and there are seven key differences between a Golem and a wise person. In this very valuable Mishnah, we learn about how to debate productively, how to think productively, how to deconstruct positions, and how to develop and hone our analytical and intellectual capabilities.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 28, 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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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