Category Archives: Podcasts

Bo – The Ember of Abraham (5781)

The Jewish nation was in the dumps. They had spent hundreds of years in Egypt, and the possibility of ever leaving and reconstituting as an independent nation, the dream of Abraham, was long abandoned. But something dramatic happened. The Almighty unleashes Ten Plagues on Egypt and with the Death of the Firstborn, the Egyptians usher the nation out. Freedom was achieved at last. How did the Jews get it? In what merit did the nation deserve to be redeemed? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we unveil a new approach to understanding the enslavement, the Exodus, and what it means to be a descendent of Abraham.

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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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#66: The Mechanisms of Messiah

The sources depicting Messiah and the Messianic Era paint a very different picture of the world than the one we are accustomed to. Knowledge of God will be universal, on that day God will be One and His Name will be One. The pursuit of knowledge will dominate. The Jewish Nation will be heralded. King Messiah will be universally renowned. A spiritual Renaissance will sweep over the entire world. That is what will happen. But how will it all happen? What are the mechanisms by which these transformations occur? What are the means through which the entire world changes? In this very special podcast we outline the four major mechanisms of Messiah.

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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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Parshas Bo (Rebroadcast)

After the first seven Plagues of Egypt related in last week’s parsha, Pharaoh and his people were still unwilling to release the Children of Israel. In Parshas Bo, the miracles and wonders of the Almighty intensified, culminating in the Death of the Firstborn and the Exodus from Egypt.

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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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Vaeira – Manufactured Adversity

Prior to Moshe and Aaron making progress in their mission to extract the Jewish people from Egypt – their first efforts yielded no success, at least not in that realm – the Torah once again introduces Moshe and Aaron and delineates their pedigree. It begins with delineating the families of Ruben and Shimon, and then it proceeds to the tribe of Levi and it’s family heads. One of the Levites that are mentioned, aside from Moshe and Aaron, Elazar, Aaron’s son and successor, and his son Phineas. The Torah reveals to us that Elazar married from the daughters of Putiel, a reference to Jethro and Joseph according to Rashi. The attribution of Phineas provides a launchpad for a fascinating exploration of an important subject: how much should parents and educators strive to ease the environment in which their charges operate, and how much adversity should be created for them. Along the way, we discuss the fascinating and frankly puzzling arrangement that Moshe had with his father-in-law, Jethro.

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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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Vaeira – Pharaoh’s Education (5781)

The Jewish people undergo a stunning transformation in our Parsha: It begins with the nation walling in misery; when Moshe offers a plan for salvation, they cannot even hear his comforting message. Yet very quickly they merit a miraculous Exodus, and only fifty days later they experience national prophecy at Sinai. How did this happen? How did the nation learn the lessons and absorb the teachings needed to become the nation of God? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we lay out a framework for understanding the importance and significance of the Ten Plagues.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by my dear friend Jeff Yarus in honor of his wife Beth on the occasion of her birthday

On behalf of the entire Parsha Podcast family, we wish her a hearty happy birthday and wish her many happy returns

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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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#65: The Objective of Messiah

The subject of the Messiah is notoriously confusing. What is Messiah? How will Messiah change our lives?  What will be different in the Messianic era? The answers to these questions are not ubiquitously known. In this podcast we proceed in our studies of the Twelfth Principle of Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith by addressing the core essence of Messiah: What is the goal of Messiah? How does Messiah fit into the context of the objective of Creation? We ground our discussion with two citations: A comment from Rambam’s Treatise on Reward and Punishment, and one from Ramchal’s Maamar HaIkarim. We conclude the podcast with an observation that thoroughly transforms the subject.

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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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Parshas Vaeira (Rebroadcast)

Our Parsha begins in the middle of the dialogue between Moses and God. Moses’ initial foray into saving the nation has gone horribly awry. Instead of alleviating the pain of the Jewish nation; his intervention exacerbated it, and he returned to the Almighty asking for an explanation. In His response, God tells Moses that he will yet see the tremendous miracles and signs of the pending Exodus. In our parsha, that plan begins to unfold, and we read about the first seven of the eventual Ten Plagues.

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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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Shemos – Panache in King

The story of the Jewish people in the book of Exodus gets off to a difficult start. The nation is firmly ensconced in Egypt, but their experience there is decidedly unpleasant. They are enslaved, tormented, and systematically oppressed. Things go from bad to worse when Pharaoh decrees that all Jewish baby boys be killed. When Moshe first petitions Pharaoh to have them released, he intensifies their servitude. The Parsha ends with the nation reeling from the exacerbation of their servitude. When we read the Parsha in the Torah, we can appreciate a different angle of what happened. From the very first chapter, the seeds of redemption are planted. The Parsha mostly follows Moshe as he begins his journey to save the nation. In this podcast we study and explore the concurrent story lines of our Parsha, and discover two interrelated themes that define Moshe as a person and as a leader.

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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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Leaven and Honey in Offerings (#117)

Meal offerings brought in the Temple must not include – with some exceptions – leaven or honey.

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This Mitzvah Podcast is sponsored by my dear friend and study partner Shaya Gamzon in honor of Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

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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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Shemos – Grooming Greatness (5781)

Moses is the greatest leader of our history and the archetype of a great, transformative leader. Why was he chosen for the role? What was his training to become the leader he became? What are the Torah’s guidelines for leaders and people of influence. In this podcast we examine the Torah’s retelling of the protracted dialogue between God and Moses. Moses is resisting accepting the mantle of leadership. He objects for a bevy of different reasons before he ultimately accedes to accepting the role. Each objection posed by Moses and each rebuttal offered by the Almighty contain the keys to becoming a great leader.

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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

48 Ways to Wisdom – #10: Apprenticeship (6:6:10)

Our glorious tradition was perpetuated from generation to generation, from teacher to student, from parent to child, for thousands of years. One of the ways to acquire wisdom is by studying under the tutelage of a great Sage.

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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

Parshas Shemos (Rebroadcast)

The Book of Exodus begins with the Egyptians cunningly enslaving their Hebrew subjects: mandating that they work in backbreaking labor, killing their male sons, and trying to stamp out their spirit and curb their population. But God heard their cries and saw their suffering and dispatched the greatest of all men, Moses, a reluctant leader, to lobby Pharaoh to release the people.

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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 Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

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The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101