Category Archives: Parsha

Ki Seitzei – Roadmap to Victory

The Yetzer Hara is described in Jewish Literature as a skillful and dangerous enemy that we must make war with. And unless we devise a comprehensive strategy, our enemy will triumph. How does a winning battle plan look like? In this unique Parsha Podcast we lay out the three distinct steps needed to achieve total victory.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Shoftim – Kosher Bribery

A judge must remain impartial to be able to judge correctly. If he receives a bribe, even if it is non-monetary or intangible, he is disqualified from overseeing that case. The Talmud elaborates on this concept and explains the psychology behind how bribes manipulate. In this episode we show how this powerful force can be commandeered for positive, useful ends. How to bribe in a helpful, kosher, and even transformative way.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy and total recovery of Baruch ben Shoshana.

Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Re’eh – Influencing People

A wise woman once said: “Judaism is terrible at marketing.” It seems like we are doing a terrible job at influencing others to adopt Torah. It is not only Gentiles that we are not a great job of attracting – and perhaps that is by design –  it is also our fellow Jews, our brethren, that we are often not reaching. Is there any way to persuade our Jewish brothers and sisters to reexamine Torah on a deep and fundamental level? What is the most persuasive arguments for the power of Torah? Guided by a powerful teaching in the Talmud regarding Onkelus the convert, we discover the answer in the first verses of our parsha.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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This podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Robert Joseph Weinburger, the father in law of a dear friend of mine and of TORCH. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven.

Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Pinchas – Consistency is Key

When the Temple was extant, first thing each morning a Tamid sacrifice was offered, and an afternoon Tamid offering was the last sacrifice of the day. The Midrash reveals to us quite surprisingly that the essence of Torah is encapsulated in the Tamid sacrifices. What is so special about this sacrifice that makes it worthy of that distinction?

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Chukas & Balak – Second Chances

Over the course of the Nation’s 40 year sojourn in the Wilderness they tested God 10 times. But God believes in second chances, and gave them an opportunity to rectify their misdeeds. This principle applies on a national and individual level. We are all given second chances, but we must listen to those messages and seize those opportunities. Seeing them is not enough.

This Parsha podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leiluei nishmas Yisrael Ezra Ben Peretz HaLevi.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Parshas Chukas & Balak (Rebroadcast)

In Parshas Chukas, 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. Parshas Balak begins after the Jewish nation trounced the mighty kingdoms of Sichon and Og, the comparatively smaller and weaker kingdom of Moab resorted to unconventional warfare to attack the nation by hiring the prophet of the nations, a wily and devious character named Bilaam, to curse the Jews. It did not work out as planned.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Korach – The Legendary Malcontents

Dathan and Abiram appear in Scripture for the first time in this week’s parsha as conspirators in Korach’s insurrection, but according to the  Midrash this is not nearly their first rebellion against Moshe and Aaron. In fact, since Moshe was a young lad, Dathan and Abiram were thorns at his side, resisting him at every juncture. Why were these malcontents kept around for so long and what can we learn from them?

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Shelach – Benefiting from Blunders

Mistakes are endemic to the human condition. We all make mistakes. Even the titans of our history like Moshe, Aaron, and Joshua made mistakes. In this hastily prepared podcast we speculate that mistakes are not incidental to greatness but are absolutely pivotal. Without mistakes there can be no greatness.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Behaaloscha – The Eyes of the People

Our parsha contains an unusual sequence: The nation is about to leave Sinai, and Moshe makes a prolonged, and unsuccessful, appeal to his father in law, Jethro, to remain with him. Then there is the strange episode of the backwards-facing NUNs. Then the nation commits two grievous sin back to back. Moshe then tells God that he can bear the nation no longer he needs lieutenants, And finally, God tells him to appoint 70 elders to help him lead the people. In this podcast, we ask a series of questions on this sequence, and share a powerful insight into how people change and the threats they will face.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Nasso – How to Find Your Life-Mission

A central tenet of Jewish philosophy is that every individual is unique – a world onto their own – and is entrusted by God with a unique, tailored mission. That principle is found several times in our parsha. But how do we discover what our mission is? In the past, that question would be addressed to prophets. In our non-prophet world, finding our life-mission is much tougher. But our parsha gives us some pointers in that quest too.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Bamidbar and Shavuos: The Indispensability of each Jew

Parshas Bamidbar is the Torah portion that we read immediately prior to Shavuos, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, each year. In this special episode, we offer a mind-bending idea to ponder the connection between Shavuos and Parshas Bamidbar.

To aid with visualizing the contents of this unique episode, please download the accompanying slideshow and follow along.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Emor – The Addiction Challenge

Among the many laws found in our parsha, are the laws governing the Festivals and holidays. Given that we are currently in middle of the Counting of the Omer period spanning from Pesach to Shavuos, in this special episode we presented various ways to maximize this period. We also made a specific challenge to the audience. Are you in? Shoot me an email at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com and let me know.

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!