Category Archives: Podcasts

#57: The Afterlife in Torah Literature

A central pillar of our belief is that when we adhere to the word of God, He will reward us in the Afterlife. Conversely, if we disobey God, we will suffer the consequences of our rebellion in the Afterlife as well. In this podcast we ponder an interesting question: the Torah discusses reward and punishment as well, but it omits any overt mention of the Afterlife. The Torah’s foretelling of reward and punishment seems to orient around reward and punishment in this world exclusively. How do we reconcile the principle of reward and punishment in the Afterlife with the apparent dearth of Scriptural evidence to that effect? That is a very good question and one that is addressed by many of our great Sages over the centuries. When we explore their answers we become armed with knowledge and background about the Afterlife that will prove vital for us in our quest to plumb the depths of this great mystery.

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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!

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Parshas Nasso (Rebroadcast)

In the longest parsha in the Torah by verses, we continue to read about the Levite families and their responsibilities, we learn about the three tiers of the Nation’s encampment, the laws of a suspected adulteress, the laws of the Nazir, the Priestly blessings, and we read a very wordy account of the gifts of the tribal leaders during the weeks following the Tabernacle’s inauguration.

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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!

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Six Questions for Shavuos

The Festival of Shavuos marks the anniversary of the greatest event in all of human history: the Revelation at Sinai. This momentous event never happened before history and was never replicated. God spoke to an entire nation. They heard His voice and lived to tell the tale. In our liturgy, this festival is known as the “time of the giving of the Torah.” As is true with all festivals in the Jewish calendar, we don’t merely memorialize the day, we tried to relive it. We tried to reenact it. In anticipation for the reenactment of the receiving of the Torah, there is a ubiquitous custom to study toward the entire night in eager anticipation. In this very special and delightful pre-Festival podcast we ask six fundamental questions on the festival and the events that it marks. If you would like to enhance your experience of Shavuos or if you want to get some really stimulating and intriguing subject matter to discuss at 3:00 a.m. on the night of Shavuos, this podcast is for you.

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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!

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

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Ruth: The Enduring Lesson of Shavuos

The Book of Ruth – and its eponymous heroine – are true enigmas. The Book contains no new laws and its story, while inspirational and poignant, bears no easily discernible connection to the Festival of Shavuos, when it is read. The Book’s protagonist, Ruth, has a decidedly checkered pedigree, yet becomes the matriarch of the Davidic and Messianic dynasty. What is the secret to Ruth’s greatness, what is the Book’s connection to the day that marks the Revelation at Sinai, and what lasting lesson can we take from this story?

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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!

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

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Bamidbar – Autopsy of Giants

Our Parsha recounts – for the third time hitherto in the Torah – the episode of the untimely death of Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadav and Avihu. These two young priests were destined for greatness. Moshe believed that they were in fact greater than him and Aaron. Yet they brought an unauthorized sacrifice and died in a Divine conflagration on the same day that the Tabernacle was inaugurated. What exactly they did wrong and why they deserved such a fiery and premature death is a subject that fascinated our Sages throughout the centuries. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we offer a suggestion to explain what their calculation was and why it was wrong, learning along the way a pivotal lesson needed for anyone striving to actualize their potential.

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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!

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Kindling the Menorah (#98)

The Menorah is the vessel of the Temple that we are most familiar with. The seven-branched candelabra, engraved with intricate embellishments, was lit each night in the Temple.

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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!

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Shavuos: The Time to Become Extraordinary

Shavuos is the day that marks the most significant event in the history of humankind: A nation coalesced around Mount Sinai to temporarily catapult into a state of prophecy, to hear God say the Ten Commandments, and to live to tell the tale. Shavuos is thus aptly named, “the Day of the Giving of the Torah”. In the Talmud we discover that the power of the day is to transform people from being ordinary and generic into being special, great – extraordinary. In this special podcast we examine the connection between Shavuos and becoming extraordinary and learn the secret to elevate ourselves from being ordinary Joes into being truly special.

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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!

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Parshas Bamidbar (Rebroadcast)

We kickstart the Book of Numbers with a census of the twelve tribes of Israel – not including the tribe of Levi who is counted independently – conducted by Moses, Aaron, and the most distinguished leaders of said tribes. Subsequently, we read about the banners of the tribes and their assigned encampments, the transference of the sanctity of the firstborn to the Levites, and the designated role of each of the Levite families.

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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!

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Bechukosai – Self-Assembly Kit

Why was our soul sent to this world? What was lacking for it in Heaven? That is not an easy question to answer. There are other hard questions to ponder: why are we so obsessed with Torah? How is Torah beneficial for mankind? In this superb episode of the Parsha Podcast, we discover a higher level of living and a higher level of Torah study. There is a form of Torah engagement that is fundamentally transformational. It completely changes the essence of a person and it is the goal of creation. If you want to know what the Almighty wants of you, this podcast is for you. If it sounds like I am overselling it, I challenge you to listen and share your feedback with me.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas Pesach Ben Binyomin Moshe, Paul Krasnowsky, a beautiful soul, beloved by all who knew him, who passed away over Shabbos. May his soul be elevated in Heaven

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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!

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48 Ways to Wisdom – #2: Listen (6:6:2)

The second way to wisdom is to listen with your ears. In this podcast you will learn about the power of learning via listening. Audio learning is more impactful than visual learning. The Almighty gave us two ears and only one mouth; we have to listen twice as much as we talk.

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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!

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Agency, Urgency, Insurgency: Six Powerful Pointers on Self-Development

There is a widespread custom to study Pirkei Avos, the Mishnaic Book of the Ethics of our Fathers, between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuot. As we prepare for the reenactment of the Sinai Revelation and the giving of the Torah, we prime ourselves to become worthy vessels for Torah by refining and improving ourselves. The authoritative Jewish book for self-improvement is Pirkei Avos. In this podcast, we share an incredible Mishnah in Pirkei Avos with the exquisite commentary of Rabbeinu Yonah. What he lays out before us is a complete masterclass on how to develop our talents and fulfill the mission that we were entrusted with. We learn about the imperative for agency and urgency in undertaking our spiritual agenda, and we learn about the terrifying formidability of the Yetzer Hara’s insurgency against us.

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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!

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The Showbreads (#97)

Three vessels resided in the Tabernacle’s/Temple’s Sanctuary: The Menorah, the Golden Alter, and the Table. The top of the table were two stacks of showbreads, six breads on either stack for a total of 12. These breads were ever present atop the table.

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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!

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

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DONATE Crypto to TORCH

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SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

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The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101