Category Archives: Podcasts

Ends Justifying Means: An Exploration of the Path of Pleasantness of the Torah

The Jewish people were trapped. Only a week after they left Egypt, Pharaoh had chased them in hot pursuit, and now they had no place to go: with their backs up against the sea, and a heavily armed Egyptian army encircling them, the nation complained to Moshe, “are there insufficient graves in Egypt?”. For his part, Moshe was praying. God showed the way forward: into the water. There was one thing that no one proposed: waging war. The nation was armed, but did not turn their weapons against their Egyptian foes. This idea serves as a springboard for a wonderful concept of an elevated life that we find in several places in the Torah. This podcast will help you appreciate the beauty and the greatness of Torah and the type of righteous people that the Torah is trying to mold us into becoming.

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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 Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

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This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parshas Mishpatim (Rebroadcast)

Parshas Mishpatim marks a stark change in the rhythm and pace of the Torah narrative. The preceding 17 Parshas contained a total of 41 mitzvos; this week we begin learning the Torah laws en masse. In this single parsha alone we have 53 mitzvos (only three parshas have more mitzvos). Beyond the varied laws, this parsha contains a prophetic promise and guidance regarding the conquest of Canaan, and the completion of the Sinai narrative that began in last week’s parsha.

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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 Parsha Podcast

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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Yisro – Sinai Sales Pitch

Our Parsha contains the most significant event in all of human history: the Revelation at Sinai. An entire nation comprised of millions of people heard the Almighty directly. The nation heard the Ten Commandments and lived to tell the tale. This momentous event kick started our nation: thenceforth, we are bound by the laws of the Torah. The Almighty will do His part too: He will treasure us and cherish us. Prior to the Revelation, the Nation is pitched on the terms of this Covenant. By analyzing the sales pitch we discover the power and potency of Torah.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of John Magness. May his 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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Yisro – Jethro’s Epiphany (5781)

The protagonist of our parsha, Jethro, underwent a long and fruitful spiritual journey. When the journey began, Jethro was a idolater who worshipped every pagan deity in the world. At its conclusion, Jethro was give great distinction as a believer in God and a purveyor of His Torah. What went into that transformation? What is the anatomy of Jethro’s change? In this special; episode of The Parsha Podcast we demonstrate the three vital components to Jethro’s transformation.

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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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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

#67: The Messianic Revolution

Messiah will be an era of seismic changes for the Jewish people and for the world. Knowledge of God will be ubiquitous. The primacy of the Jewish people as God’s chosen Nation will be universally accepted. The pursuit of wisdom will supersede all other pursuits. The world will begin it’s a rapid progress towards perfection. How does this all happen? How do these changes unfold? In this podcast we explore one angle to this question, namely the eradication of the evil inclination in the Messianic era.

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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 Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Tu B’Shevat: The Secret of the Rosh Hashana for Trees (Rebroadcast)

The fifteenth day of the Jewish month of Shevat – known as Tu B’Shevat – is the New Year for trees and fruits. All the fruits that sprout before this cutoff are associated with the previous year’s yield and the ones that come afterwards are attributed to the new year’s. If that was all that we knew about this day it would be a pretty anemic day. But the Kabbalists revealed that is a very powerful and propitious day with deep, mystical meanings. In this special episode we plumb the depths of this day and discover its power and the potential. I must admit that coming into this project I knew very little about Tu B’Shevat. This was a truly eye-opening subject that I am sure will rivet the audience as it did me.

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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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The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parshas Yisro (Rebroadcast)

The most significant event in all of human history is the Revelation at Sinai, which occurs in Parshas Yisro. Prior to that monumental experience and the conveyance of the Ten Commandments, Moshe’s father in law, Jethro, arrived at the camp and makes an important suggestion for improving the efficiency of the judicial process.

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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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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Beshalach – First Mover Advantage

After the Exodus, the Jewish people left Egypt, with no plans to return. But the Egyptians followed them in hot pursuit, and seven days later the nation was surrounded, encircled by their enemies, with their backs against the sea. God gave the command: Go. The Talmud tells us that there was one man who leapt in before anyone else. When the waters reached his nostrils, the sea split. For this act of bravery, he was awarded with the eternal rights of the monarchy. Who was this man? What is so significant about his leap? Why does leaping into the water qualify a person to be a king? In this very interesting episode of the Parsha Podcast recorded in the TORCH Centre, we learn all about Nachshon Ben Aminadav and the power of his bravery.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmat Shlomo ben Avraham z”L, who passed away this week. He was a remarkably sweet and good man, and he will be missed by his family and all those who knew him. May his 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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Beshalach – Bread of Angels (5781)

Parshas Beshalach is arguable the most action-packed Parsha in the Torah. It starts with the Jews hightailing out of Egypt – only to have Pharaoh follow in hot pursuit, and it ends with the nation’s first war. In between these two bookends, there are all kinds of interesting things that happen. In this special podcast episode, we explore the common denominator of the events in our parsha and demonstrate how they serve as a bridge connecting the Exodus of last week’s Parsha to the Revelation upcoming next week.

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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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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

The Secret of the Month of Shevat with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parshas Beshalach (Rebroadcast)

Parshas Beshalach may be the most action-packed parsha in the Torah. After the Exodus, God directed the people to not take the shortest route to the Land in order to facilitate the great miracle of the Splitting of the Sea and the final destruction of the Egyptians. After those unprecedented miracles, the trouble began: Twice they ran out of water, they ran out of food, and a ferocious enemy launched an unprovoked attack.

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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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This Jewish Life

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TORAH 101

Bo – The Bloods and The Crisp

The dramatic events of the Exodus reach a crescendo with the nation’s Exodus from Egypt. After 210 years of servitude and subjugation, the Almighty people leave Egypt with great miracles and fanfare. A very specific set of things had to happen to enable this redemption. Immediately prior to the Exodus, the nation circumcised en masse and brought the Pascal sacrifice, and our sages tell us that these two mitzvos, the blood of the circumcision and the blood of the Pascal sacrifice, were preconditions to the Exodus. Absent these two mitzvos, the nation would not be able to leave. What is so special about these two bloods? What do they reveal about the nation that was formed with the Exodus? In this delightful podcast we discover some answers.

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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 my Newsletter

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SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101