Category Archives: Holidays

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The Kabbalistic Backstory of Tisha B’av with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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The Ninth Day of the month of Av is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar. On this day, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. On this same day the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. The Bar Kochba rebellion was stamped out with violent finality on this day. This is a day that is designated for tragedy and misfortune. What are the roots of this day? What can we do to help rectify and remedy it? In this exquisite podcast, the great Rabbi Shmuly Botnick weaves a complex, Kabbalistic tapestry on the roots of this sad day.

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Shavuos Special – Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

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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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Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:43 — 29.2MB)

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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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Shavuos Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

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Shavuos is the Festival that marks the day of the giving of the Torah. More than 3300 years ago, our nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and we experienced some thing that no other nation has ever experienced: the Almighty spoke to us as a nation and we lived to tell the tale. We heard the 10 Commandments from God and from Moshe and our nation was forever transformed. Every year we relive the Sinai revelation during the Festival of Shavuos. To help prepare for this momentous day, I gathered together with my TORCH colleagues in the glorious TORCH Centre to chat about the upcoming festival and how to make the most of it.

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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 Haggadah with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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The Pesach Haggadah guides us through the Seder night and the story of the Exodus. But as is always true in our religion, there are secrets and mysteries lurking beneath the surface. To plumb the esoteric depths of the Haggadah we invited back to the podcast the legend himself, Rabbi Shmuly Botnick. In this podcast you will be treated to an ingenious take on the Haggadah that will elevate, enlighten, and enrich your Pesach. This is not one to be missed!

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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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Pesach Roundtable at the TORCH Centre

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The Festival of Pesach is upon us. For seven days we will eat Matzah and avoid any traces of chometz. We will gather together with our families around the Seder table and recount the story of the Exodus, retelling and reliving the founding episode of our Nation. In an effort to get in the mode of Pesach, I got together with some of my TORCH colleagues to conduct a Pesach roundtable, discussing the themes, concepts, and power of the Festival of Redemption.

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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 Month of Adar with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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“When the month of Adar commences, we increase joy.” This oft-recited Talmudic dictum captures the emotion of this month. Adar is a time of joy due to the Purim miracles. It is also associated with, we discover in this belated month-theme podcast with the great Rabbi Shmuly Botnick, fish, the tribe of Naftali, techeiles, the Ark, the letter Nun in its various orientations and connotations, and the Sea of the Galilee. Recorded in the stretch run of the Fast of Esther, this podcast will entertain, educate, and intrigue you, and you will emerge with a greater appreciation for the month of Adar and for the genius of Rabbi Botnick.

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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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Purim Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

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In preparation for the upcoming festival of Purim, my colleagues and I gathered together for a roundtable discussion about the power and meaning of the day. It is a joyous day of celebration and revelry, but when we examine it deeply, we discover it is a day of great, transformative, spiritual power. Elevate your Purim with your friends at TORCH by listening to this Roundtable discussion.

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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 Parshas Shekalim With Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:52 — 27.4MB)

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This week marks the first of the four special Parshiyos, the 4 weeks where we read a special citation from the Torah in addition to the weekly Parsha. After the conclusion of the Torah reading for Parshas Mishpatim, we read six verses from Exodus chapter 30 that discussed the annual fundraising effort for the Temple coffers. In honor of the annual TORCH fundraiser going on right now at giveTORCH.org, we invited the legendary Rabbi Shmuly Botnick to discuss the secrets and mysteries of this Torah reading. He did not disappoint.

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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 Month of Shevat with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:29:20 — 40.9MB)

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The Jewish months are replete with secrets and mysteries. Studying the months and their hidden messages reveal to us the power contained with the days and the spiritual energy of the times. The month of Shevat is known for the minor festival at its midpoint, Tu B’Shvat, which is the Rosh Hashana for fruit trees. In this spectacular podcast, Rabbi Botnick reveals another angle to the month: We learn about the tribe of Asher and its unique characteristic. Along the way, we visit the mitzvah of tithing of animals, Adam and Eve and their multidimensional garments, and Esau’s guzzling of the red lentil soup – which all get tied together in a wonderful, Botnickian, tapestry. If you want to plumb the depths of Shevat, this podcast is for you.

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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 Month of Teves with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04:05 — 29.3MB)

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The Month of Teves doesn’t have many memorable days. The only days of note are the last couple of days of Chanukah, and the fast of the 10th of Teves, which commemorates The siege of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, an event which culminated in the destruction of the First Temple and the end of the First Commonwealth. But as we have come to learn, the Jewish months are laden with secrets and mysteries. To help us decrypt and unravel the mysteries of Teves, we once again invited the legendary Rabbi Shmuly Botnick to make sense of this month and to reveal its mysteries. In keeping with his past performance, he did not disappoint.

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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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