Category Archives: Parsha

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Parshas Ki Seitzei (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:01:03 — 27.9MB)

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In the parsha that contains the most mitzvos of any of the 54 Torah sections (a staggering 74 mitzvos), we read about the wayward and rebellious son, the requirement to build a fence around your roof to prevent tragedy, two episodes that we are mandated to remember, and many, many more interesting and insightful mitzvos.

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Shoftim – Government-in-Exile

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 58:41 — 26.9MB)

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We begin the month of Elul on the Parsha Podcast with style, flair, and panache. It starts with some sweet, sweet vindication as we share a citation that legitimizes the philosophy of a brief, truncated, intensive effort to ascend the spiritual ladder, in lieu of a slow and steady and incremental ascent. We then proceed to share two fascinating and deep insights from our Parsha. The first relates to the method by which capital punishment must be meted out. The second is a novel and fascinating spiritual and cosmic perspective on the monarchy as a method of government, both in the era when monarchies were widespread and of the era of its effective dissolution.

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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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Shoftim – Hill To Die On (5782)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 48:09 — 22.0MB)

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Our Parsha contains the instructions for how to conduct war. We are told that we must extend peace overtures before launching an attack, we are told about the special nature of the Canaanite wars, and we are prohibited from felling fruit-bearing trees in order to make siege works. This podcast discusses the very unusual way that soldier conscription is done. Seemingly, there are cavernous loopholes to allow soldiers to desert in mass numbers. We suggest a new homiletic approach to understand the lesson behind the very strange soldier selection process.

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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 Shoftim (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:20 — 27.6MB)

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This week we learn the laws governing all kinds of leaders: The parsha begins by detailing the laws of judges, the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, and what happens to rebellious judges; we read about the unique laws related to kings; there are more laws pertaining to the Kohanim; and we find the means of vetting professed prophets and what happens to the six kinds of false prophets.

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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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Reeh – Idle Tree, Idle Warship, and Falls Profits

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:23 — 27.6MB)

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The Torah spends a lot of time cautioning us against idolatry. As the nation is about to cross over the Jordan and enter Canaan, they are repeatedly warned to not fall prey to the idolatrous practices of the indigenous population. Instead, they must shatter the idolatrous altars, destroy idolatrous infrastructure, obliterate idolatrous paraphernalia , uproot idolatrous trees, and thoroughly dismantled all idolatrous venues. The warnings against idolatry are one of the primary themes of the book of Devarim and of Moshe’s last messages to the nation. What does this mean for us today? We are are quite unfamiliar with the idolatry of yore. It does not resonate with us. We don’t understand why the ancients were so enamored by idolatry. When we read all about idolatry in the Torah we ask the important question: what does this have to do with us? In this very interesting and stimulating podcast, we talk about modern idolatry and how it compares and contrasts with the idolatry of yore. We also share several fascinating observations from our glorious antecedents regarding hints and references to the Christian hero in the Torah and in the Talmud.

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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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Reeh – Steak Your Claim (5782)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 51:58 — 23.8MB)

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The criminal treated most severely under Torah law is the Meisis, a personal tries to entice others to do idolatry. Attempting to persuade people to repudiate God is more severe than any other crime in Torah law. This discovery is the basis of a stunning observation followed by a critical call to action. And this episode we make an argument that the most important element of our agenda ought to be a concerted effort to try to draw our brethren towards God. This week’s exquisite insight deals with steak and why we eat it.

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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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Systematic Studying (6.6.47)

Podcast (pirkeiavos): Download (Duration: 22:31 — 10.3MB)

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The penultimate way to wisdom offered by our sages instructs us to be systematic in our studies. What exactly does this mean? In this very special Ethics Podcast, we offer three different interpretations. Listen carefully if you want to give a boost to your studies and your connection with your Creator.

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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 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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Eikev – Shock and Awe

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:08:18 — 31.3MB)

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Flashy achievements make the news. Great triumphs, awesome deeds, transcendent moments grab our attention and seize our imagination. Humdrum acts fail to stir excitement. But when we are devising a strategy for how to prepare our ladder of ascension, it may be ill-advised to pursue quantum leaps of greatness. In fact the most effective process to transformative greatness is slow and gradual and dotted with seeming unremarkable, bite-sized micro movements up a very tall ladder. This idea is hinted to in Rashi’s first comment to our Parsha. When we analyze other parts of the Parsha, we see a variety of angles as to why the slow and unremarkable path is optimal. In this wonderful Parsha podcast, we also take deep and penetrating dive into the mysterious and esoteric world of the nature first set of tablets that Moshe and brought down from heaven, their shattering, and their pending reclamation.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in honor of a new baby – Mason Robert Seidman, the first grandchild of my dear friend Bruce Licht. May young Mason bring pride and joy to his family, community, and Creator.

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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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Eikev – Well-Heeled (5782)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:02:04 — 28.4MB)

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If the Almighty promises to give you a blessing, your ears should perk up. If God promises to give you abundance, health, prosperity, fertility, security, and all manner of blessing, your question should be – what must I do to be deserving of this? Our Parsha begins with such a promise. In the event that we steadfastly and here to a certain category of mitzvos, the Almighty promises to give us all these blessings. The precise identity of the mitzvos that engender those blessings is somewhat obscure. In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore what our Sages mean when they talk about “mitzvos that people tend to trample upon with their heels.” If we follow their guidance, we will emerge well-heeled in more ways than one.

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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 Eikev (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:14 — 27.1MB)

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We pick up where we left off last week amid Moshe’s speech to the nation before his passing, and as in the previous few weeks, Parshas Eikev is jam packed with insights and timeless lessons. Moshe pivots between looking back on the conduct of the nation in the preceding 40 years and admonishing them for their misdeeds, and gazing forward to the conquest of Canaan and the secrets to making their settlement peaceful, prosperous, and secure.

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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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