Category Archives: Parsha

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Toldos – Jacob’s Heist (5785)

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We are told to respect the will of our parents. Certainly, if your parent is righteous, it is severely inappropriate to violate their will. All the more so if your parent is one of the greatest men who have ever lived. But Jacob violates the will of Isaac. Isaac wants to give a prophetic blessing to Esau, and Jacob and Rebecca conspire to usurp the blessing. Jacob impersonates his older brother and under false pretenses presents himself as Esau and steals the blessings. What is the justification of this usurpation? Why are Rebecca and Jacob interfering with the will of Isaac? Why does Isaac favor Esau, the wicked of the twins, to begin with? Why do these indispensable blessings arrive to Jacob – and by extension to us – in this most convoluted, surprising, and circuitous of ways? In this wonderful Parsha podcast, we dive deep into Jacob and his grand heist of the blessing intended for Esau.

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Parshas Toldos (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:06:32 — 30.5MB)

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In Parshas Toldos we meet twin boys that are polar opposites: Esau, beloved by his father Isaac, is a man of the fields; while Jacob is loved by his mother Rebecca and prefers to dwell in the tents of scholarship. These two children will spawn nations and ideals that diverged from each other even before they were born.

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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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Chayei Sarah – Who Was Ishmael?

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:07:13 — 30.8MB)

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Ishmael’s story is told at great length in the Torah. We read about his unusual parentage, the dramatic circumstances of his birth, and how Abraham was 86 when he was born. We read about Abraham training him to be hospitable as a lad, circumcising him as a teen, and banishing him as an adolescent. Ishmael’s life hits a nadir when he and his mother are sent away from Abraham’s home. In the home where everyone – from idolaters worshiping the dust on their feet to the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah – was welcome, Ishmael was unwelcome. He and his mother went back to Egypt, and he married an Egyptian woman and became an archer. But Ishmael underwent a dramatic rebirth. He was restored to Abraham’s good graces. He repented. He became righteous. The story of Ishmael is not merely the analysis of a character in antiquity. Ishmael is still enormously relevant today. The Ishmaelites number in the hundreds of millions. They are indeed innumerable, and our relationship with the Ishmaelites is still riven by conflict. Who was Ishmael? What did he stand for? What lessons can we learn from his dramatic story? He is our personage of the week, and we learn all the answers.

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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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Chayei Sarah – Reverse Repentance (5785)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:05:41 — 30.1MB)

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Sarah was Abraham’s life partner. She was his superior as a prophetess. She accompanied him in all his journeys. In the aftermath of the Binding of Isaac, she died. How did the Binding contribute to her demise? What exactly was Saran’s role in orchestrating her sudden death? In this Parsha Podcast we explore the very interesting phenomenon of “acts of Satan” that threaten to destabilize people after great achievements. We also study Eliezer’s flawed prayer and his urgency in fulfilling his mission.

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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 Chayei Sarah (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 56:23 — 25.8MB)

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Some of the highlights of this week’s parsha: Immediately after the Binding of Isaac, Sarah passed away at the age of 127, and soon afterward Abraham had to procure a burial spot for her. In addition, Abraham sent his trusted confidante, Eliezer, to his hometown to find a spouse for Isaac.

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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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Vayeira – Who was Lot?

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:07:30 — 30.9MB)

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Lot, Abraham’s brother-in-law and nephew, has one of the most interesting and unique story arcs in the Torah. He is the son of Abraham’s brother Haran, who joins Abraham for much of Abraham’s journey: When Abraham travels from Ur to Haran, Lot comes along. When Abraham travels from Haran to Canaan, Lot joins. When Abraham traverses the Holy Land, flees it due to the famine, and returns to it following a brief stay in Egypt – at every stage of Abraham’s journey Lot is at his side. But Lot departs from Abraham’s side and chooses instead to cast his lot with the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah. From there Lot’s journey and Abraham’s journey diverge and very quickly Lot’s story unravels. In this fourth edition of Parsha Personages we explore the fascinating and enigmatic story of Lot.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in loving memory of my grandmother, of blessed memory, Rivka Bas Abraham, Rivka Wolbe. She passed away 8 years ago today, the 16th of Cheshvan. May her soul be elevated in Heaven.

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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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Vayeira – Five Languages of Laughter (5785)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:02:57 — 28.8MB)

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Isaac is the most mysterious of the forefathers. His storyline does not have the same rich and dramatic narrative as Abraham and Jacob. What lessons we are supposed to learn from Isaac is an equally confounding mystery. In this very special podcast, we explore a fascinating motif that recurs throughout the Parsha: laughter, and suggest that there are actually five different types of laughter. We highlight the one that Isaac symbolizes and a cascading series of lessons ensue.

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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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Lech Lecha – Who was Abraham?

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:18:56 — 36.1MB)

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Abraham was the most consequential person of all time. In our classic literature, Abraham is graced with superlatives given to no one else: Abraham was the “beloved one of God.” Abraham was “chosen by God.” Abraham was a “partner with God in Genesis.” Abraham “discovered faith without a teacher, and without a guide.” Abraham became “the father of many nations.” After generations of humanity pushing God’s presence further and further away, Abraham reversed that trend and began to draw the presence of God back to this world. Before the advent of Abraham, God could only be described as the “God of the heavens.” Here in this world, God was unknown to his creations. Abraham, together with his wife Sarah, single-handedly reversed the trajectory of humanity and put humanity on a path to fulfill the objective of Genesis. Following Abraham, God can aptly be described as the “God of the heavens and of the earth.” In this very special Parsha podcast, we learn the story of our forefather, the first of the patriarchs, Abraham.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in honor of a brand-new couple, Gilaad and Esther Levy, Who got married on Sunday in Florida. May they build a beautiful Jewish home together, a home that brings joy and pride to their family, to the Jewish nation, and to our Father in Heaven.

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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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Lech Lecha – Abraham’s Fellow Travelers (5785)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:52 — 29.2MB)

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Abraham seems to always be journeying. In last week’s Parsha he traveled from his birthplace of Ur to Charan. This week the Parsha begins with Abraham’s journey to Canaan. He traveled there with his family, he traversed the land in every direction; and when famine strikes, he went down to Egypt and returns. Abraham’s journey is more than being about sightseeing. This is the saga of the transformation of Abraham and the building of the Jewish Nation. What can we learn from Abraham’s journey? What Abrahamic qualities shine forth in his narrative? In this very special edition of the Parsha podcast, we explore Abraham dramatic transformation and when he departed from his sidekicks and fellow travelers. We also take a very careful look at a remarkable interaction between Abraham’s concubine Hagar and the angel.

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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 Lech Lecha (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:02:06 — 28.4MB)

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In this week’s parsha, Abraham is instructed to move to Israel, is given divine promises that he will be the father of many nations; his children will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the heaven, a son Ishmael is born, and he is commanded to circumcise his foreskin and those of all males in his household.

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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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Noach – Who was Noah?

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 54:01 — 24.7MB)

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Noah was perfectly righteous. He was pristine. He was flawless. In fact, Noach is the only person labeled as a tzaddik in the Torah, and he receives that honorific twice. He lived a very long life (950 years) and had the great distinction of being perfectly righteous when the entire rest of the world seeped into corruption, robbery, thievery, and selfishness. Noach was a truly remarkable person, yet it was not enough. Our sages find all sorts of ways to poke holes in the personage of Noach. He was righteous, all right, but he wasn’t Abraham. He wasn’t Moshe. He was personally righteous, but that did not extend to his children nor to any of his contemporaries. In this very interesting podcast, we answer the question: Who was the great personage of Noach?

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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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