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Lion’s Tail (4:20)

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The author of this Mishnah served as the rabbi of Rome. While all his colleagues were coalesced together in the great Torah centers of Israel, Rabbi Masya Ben Charash led the small community and academy in the epicenter of impurity. How he got there is certainly a tantalizing question. In this teaching he guides us in making career choices, ensuring relationship harmony, and how to be a pleasant amiable person.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jul 6, 2020

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Demystifying Chareidi Opposition to IDF Enlistment

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Perhaps the most controversial and divisive subject that dominates Israeli society today is the question of the blanket army exemption given to Yeshiva students. Someone whose Torah is their profession is entitled to defer and ultimately bypass mandatory constriction to the IDF. What is the rationale for this exemption? Why are the ultra-orthodox (Chareidi) communities so adamantly opposed to serving in the army? Don’t they know the imperative to help contribute towards the safety and protection of the nation? Don’t they know the chastisement that Moshe levied on the tribes of Reuben and Gad when they asked to stay on the East Bank of the Jordan? What are the ways by which these seemingly intractable gaps can be bridged? In this podcast we attempt to demystify the subject of Chareidi refusal to enlist in the IDF.

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This special podcast is dedicated in loving memory of R’ Shlomo Ben Avigdor Moshe and R’ Yitzchak Yaakov ben Eliyahu. And it should be a merit for all their 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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Environment Makes the Man (4:18)

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Rabbi Elazar Ben Aruch was the most promising student of Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Unfortunately, his potential was not actualized, and in fact he forgot his Torah. In this autobiographical Mishnah, he shares with us the reason why his greatness did not pan out.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 24, 2020

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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 Chukas (Rebroadcast)

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In this week’s parsha, we read about a highly unusual mitzvah: The Red Heifer, when an entirely red cow is burned together with a motley concoction of ingredients, and the resultant ashes are used to sprinkle on people that came into contact with dead people in order to purify them from their spiritual contamination. We also learn about the passing of Miriam and Aaron, and the multiple battles that the nation participated in on the Eastern bank of the Jordan, and we puzzle over the sin that condemned Moses and Aaron to die before entering the Land.

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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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Theodicy Today (4:19)

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The blissful existence of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous raise difficult questions for the believer: If God is in total control of all that transpires, why would He cause pain to those who obey His words and reward those who neglect them? In this pithy mishnah we learn that the classical reconciliation of this problem may leave us wanting.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 30, 2020

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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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Korach – On Cloudy

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Of Korach’s 253 collaborators, only three are named, and all three are Reubenites: Dathan, Abiram, and On Ben Peles. Dathan and Abiram remain true to Korach’s cause until the very end when they and their families are swallowed alive by the miraculous sinkhole. On Ben Peles was spared thanks to his wife’s wise intervention. In this very interesting podcast we trace the decision of the Reubenites to join the rebellion back to their progenitor Reuben, and learn the valuable tactic to avoid doom advocated by Jacob in his deathbed blessing to his eldest son. The lessons are valuable and instructive to Reubenintes and non-Reubenites alike.

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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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Korach – Korach’s Insatiability (5783)

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Korach was immensely talented. He was enormously rich, he was clever, and he was devilishly persuasive. His rebellion, however, was doomed from the start. What are the roots of Korach’s rebellion? Why was Jacob dead-set on not having his name associated with Korach? In this Parsha Podcast we engage in a profound study of the episode of Korach and discover where he went wrong. The lessons are powerful.

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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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Crowning Achievements (4:17)

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In our most ideal state, the Jewish Nation is described as “A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.” We are all Kings! The Talmud teaches that in Olam Haba, all the righteous who merit an invitation will be adorned with a resplendent crown atop their heads, and be basking in the pleasure of God. In this Mishnah we discover the nature of those crowns.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 15, 2020

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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 Korach (Rebroadcast)

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In this week’s parsha, Moshe and Aaron’s first cousin, a man named Korach, launches a rebellion claiming that Moshe is guilty of nepotism in appointing his brother as High Priest. What ensued should give one serious pause before engaging in any similar sort of divisive activities.

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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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Precise Teaching (4:16)

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Accidents happen. Generally speaking, the Torah overlooks things that happen unintentionally. If someone accidentally sins, the Almighty forgives him. Yet the Mishnah teaches that an accident in Torah study is tantamount to a willful, negligent blunder. Why are matters of Torah treated so harshly?

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 9, 2020

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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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Shelach – Rogue Ten

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The consequences of sending 12 spies to scout out the Land for 40 days were catastrophic. 10 of the 12 spies returned with a slanderous report about the Land. The Nation was on the precipice of conquering the land, and this report deflated their spirit and condemned an entire generation to perish in the Wilderness over the course of 40 years. How did these spies fail so spectacularly? How did they fail whereas Rachav – a woman of ill repute who was presented with the identical dilemma – succeeded in knowing that with the help of the Almighty the Nation will roll through Canaan as seamlessly and easily as a knife through bread?

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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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