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Making Fences (6.6.28)

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Humans are fallible. We are imperfect, yet we are tasked with being the stewards and the guardians of the perfect. We hold the Almighty’s Torah in our hands. We are tasked with perpetuating it from generation to generation and with rendering rulings in line with the will of God. The only way that we can stand up to the sacred task is if we make fences.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Nov 14, 2023

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Kingmakers: How Judah and Joseph Earned the Throne

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Our nation has two houses of monarchy: Joseph and Judah. Joseph was, of course, king of Egypt. David, king of Israel, descended from the tribe of Judah. Following David, all legitimate kings of our people descended from the Davidic line from the tribe of Judah. Our nation is yearning for Messiah. Our sages tell us the Messiah comes in two flavors: Messiah Ben-Joseph from the tribe of Joseph and Messiah Ben-David from the tribe of Judah. Where did these two tribes earn the throne? In this interesting and sharp podcast, we explore a fascinating set of verses in the Psalms that we recite during the Hallel, and learn a fantastic secret about what it takes to be a king and the power that comes with the monarchy.

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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 Vayigash (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:25 — 25.4MB)

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Twenty two years have passed since Jacob and Joseph were separated. Ever since Joseph was torn away from him, Jacob was bereft of prophecy and inconsolable. In Parshas Vayigash this long saga comes to an end and Jacob is finally reunited with his long-lost son.

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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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Joyous With Your Lot (6.6.27)

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There is an unequal distribution of talents, gifts, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone is different. Everyone is their own world. This applies both in the spiritual domain and in the material/physical domain. A believer who understands that the Almighty gives everyone exactly what they need must be joyous with their lot. Your lot is exactly what the Almighty apportioned to you to fulfill your mission in life. It is also way number 27 to wisdom.

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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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Mikeitz – Pit Master King

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:04:22 — 29.5MB)

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Pharaoh, like Joseph, had clairvoyant dreams foretelling his future. Joseph dreamed of his ascent to kingship and his brother’s subjugation before him. Pharaoh dreamed of Egypt experiencing 7 years of unprecedented plenty and abundance to be followed by 7 years of grinding famine. There’s a major difference though in the timeline of the of the implementation of these dreams though. Pharaoh’s dreams occurred right before the 7 years of plenty began. With regards to Joseph’s dreams, 13 years elapsed between the dreams and their implementation. In this very interesting Parsha podcast, we share a very profound and transformative idea regarding those 13 years that separated the prophecy from its actualization. We also learn a penetrating insight into the imperative to make the most of the various years of plenty in our lives. It’s important to not forget about the impending years of famine when you are awash in an ocean of grain, of all types.

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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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Know Your Place (6.6.26)

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The greatest pedagogues of history – the Sages of the Mishnah – codified “knowing your place” as a means to acquire Torah, to acquire wisdom. What exactly is intended with knowing your place? In this Ethics Podcast we share three life-changing approaches.

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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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Mikeitz – The End of Days (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:57 — 23.3MB)

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In our Parsha, Joseph is elevated to become viceroy of Egypt. He begins the day languishing in prison, and ends it be decked in garments of royalty and paraded throughout the city. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we share three ideas – deep ideas – from our Parsha: one about the end of days, one about Pharaoh’s recurring dreams, and the fascinating backstory of Joseph’s wife, Osnas.

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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 Secret of the Chanukah Menorah

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The Chanukah story is quite dramatic. The world-dominating Greeks were militarily defeated by a prickly pack of Maccabees. Our sages point the focus of the festival to the miracle of the oil when the priests rededicated the temple and cleansed it from all the Greek defilements. They found only a solitary flask of oil. This oil was designed to last only one day, but miraculously it lasted eight. To relive and commemorate this miracle, the Rabbinic Festival of Chanukah was instituted. On each of the eight nights of Chanukah we light a candle to remember the miracle of lights. What really lies behind this mitzvah? What is the actual secret of the Chanukah Menorah? What does our kindling of the Menorah have to do with the miracle that happened 2300 years ago? In this fascinating Chanukah podcast episode, we share a very profound insight that will totally reshape our understanding of the festival and this mitzvah.

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This special Chanukah podcast is dedicated by my dear friend Alex Tannenbaum in loving memory and leilui nishmas his mother, Yocheved Leora bas Menachem, whose birthday fell out on the last day of Chanukah. May her soul be elevated in heaven.

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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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NEW TORCH Mailing Address POBox:

TORCH
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Accepting Affliction (6.6.25)

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Life is full of nuisances. For many – maybe all – life inevitably contains some pain, suffering, and affliction. How we approach these situations is a central element of our religion and theology. Our Sages revealed to us that accepting affliction is a means to achieve wisdom. It is one of the 48 ways to acquire Torah. In this Ethics Podcast we explore this weighty subject and propose an approach to rationalize how this can contribute towards the acquisition of Torah.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 21, 2023

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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 Mikeitz (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:03 — 29.8MB)

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Parshas Mikeitz continues the narrative of Joseph in Egypt. We pick up his story two years after his failed attempt at earning a reprieve via his cellmate, Pharaoh’s butler, who was about to be reinstated to his post as Pharaoh’s side. Joseph is languishing in a dungeon for a crime he did not commit; after being sold to a foreign land as a slave by his own brothers. By the end of the Parsha, Joseph is firmly ensconced as Pharaoh’s viceroy, and is amidst a long back and forth with his brothers who are in town to procure provisions during a fierce famine.

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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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Trust Sages (6.6.24)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 44:03 — 20.2MB)

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Our primary responsibility as humans and as Jews is to develop and deepen our faith in the Creator. Can we have faith in man? Can we have faith in a mortal? In the 24th way to achieve and acquire wisdom, we learn about the concept of having faith in our Sages. What does it mean to have faith in Sages? How does this contribute towards our acquisition of Torah? In this interesting Ethics Podcast, we discover the answers.

This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 6, 2023

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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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SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts