Category Archives: Podcasts

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The Rocky Path of Ascent

Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:13 — 18.9MB)

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We all want to ascend to great heights. We all hope that we can accomplish our potential and unlock our opportunities. We all yearn for self-actualization and development. But it seems that the path of ascent is invariably bumpy. It seems that an ascent to great heights must entail numerous falls along the way. The righteous must fall seven times before ceasing to fall. Why must we fall in order to ascend? Why can’t things be more straightforward? This question was posed on a rabbis panel that I participated in. In this podcast, I will share a powerful and provocative idea on the necessity of stumbles along a path of ascent. Plus, this podcast will also feature an interesting perspective on the delicate balancing act of social pressure and individuality.

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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 Vayishlach (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:00:57 — 27.9MB)

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After successfully escaping the clutches of his deceptive father in law, Laban, Jacob heads back west to the Land of Canaan, and back to his family. The journey back home was a lot more tumultuous and chaotic than anticipated.

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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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Vayeitzei – Red and White Blew it

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 51:50 — 23.7MB)

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Jacob was one of the greatest people who have ever lived. He triumphed over angels. He had angels do his bidding. His visage is etched into God’s throne of glory. He is considered the choicest of the forefathers, the one who merited bearing twelve sons who spawned the twelve tribes of Israel. His life was a series of challenges. His twin brother Esau was his polar opposite and, at this point, was out to kill him. His father-in-law was the wily trickster Laban who sought to deceive him at every turn. Jacob had a mesmerizing impact on his surroundings. His departure from a place was palpable. He had the ability to extract sparks of holiness from inanimate objects. But there were two people whom Jacob was unable to influence: the Red Esau, and the White Laban. In this podcast, you find out how and why they blew it.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Will Sukenik, Avraham Ben Velvel who passed away recently. Will was a titan of a man, an exceptionally generous person, and a remarkable leader in the Jewish community. 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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Vayeitzei – Rock and Roll (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 50:04 — 22.9MB)

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Jacob undergoes a meteoric transformation in our Parsha. At the onset, Jacob is a 77-year-old penniless bachelor fleeing from his brother Esau’s wrath. When the Pasha concludes, Jacob is at the helm of a veritable empire. He has 12 children with his four wives, is enormously wealthy, and is heading back to encounter Esau’s rage. How did Jacob manage to accomplish such a magnificent transformation? In this special retro edition of the pasha podcast, we explore the wondrous narrative and storyline of Jacob in our 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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Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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The Three Types of Disciples

Podcast: Download (Duration: 53:19 — 24.4MB)

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Nothing is as critical to one’s spiritual development as to finding our a good teacher.A good teacher can educate, can inform, can direct, can inspire, can place a student on the right path for them. But how does a student integrate the teachings and the guidance of their teacher within themselves? What are the different ways in which a person in which a pupil can process and digest the teachings of their master? Abraham had three primary students: Lot, Eliezer, and Isaac. When we examine how each of these proteges exhibited the teachings of Abraham, we learn of the three different types of students.

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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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Parshas Vayeitzei (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:03:08 — 28.9MB)

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Parshas Vayeitzei follows Jacob as he is fleeing from his murderous brother Esau and travels to Charan to the house of Laban, his wily and deceptive uncle, and marries multiple wives and fathers 12 children.

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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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Toldos – Infertile Crescent

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:09 — 27.1MB)

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Why were the patriarchs and matriarchs infertile? Why did Isaac favor Esau? Why did Isaac require delicacies to bless Esau? Why does the Torah offer an extended narrative of Isaac and wells – digging wells, wrestling with wells that got plugged up, quarreling over wells, naming cities after wells? Why does anti-Semitism exist? These are some of the questions addressed in this very interesting and provocative Parsha podcast. Join us as we go backstage in Parshas Toldos.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmat Yehuda Ben Yehhaskel Tabibian who passed away recently. 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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Toldos – Smoking Camels (5784)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:12 — 27.1MB)

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Two very different boys are born in this week’s Parsha. Esau, the older one, is ruddy and hairy and looking for trouble. Jacob, the younger one, is wholesome and righteous. The beginning of our Parsha describe the unusual events surrounding the conception and birth of these two boys. When we read it on a superficial level, it does not immediately resonate. What is the deeper messages behind the birthing narrative? In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore the prayer of Isaac and Rebecca that led to her conceiving, the two fabrics that Esau is compared to, and the recurring theme of camels in the narrative surrounding this family. This is a podcast that you will enjoy and remember.

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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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Wrestling with Innate, Unchangeable flaws: The Keturah Method

Podcast: Download (Duration: 43:08 — 19.7MB)

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Our character traits fall into three categories:

The ones that are easily changeable with minimal effort.
The ones that can be changed, but it requires much more intense and concerted effort because they are much more deeply rooted.
The character flaws that are not changeable; they are hardwired and fixed in place.

What do we do about those unchangeable flaws? Is there a method to maneuver around them? Are we supposed to come to terms with them? Are we condemned to suffer as a result of them? Our pursuit is perfection. And perfection is even possible notwithstanding very unpleasant and very unchangeable flaws. One method was pioneered by a brilliant and righteous woman named Keturah.

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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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Parshas Toldos (Rebroadcast)

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 1:06:32 — 30.5MB)

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In Parshas Toldos we meet twin boys that are polar opposites: Esau, beloved by his father Isaac, is a man of the fields; while Jacob is loved by his mother Rebecca and prefers to dwell in the tents of scholarship. These two children will spawn nations and ideals that diverged from each other even before they were born.

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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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Chayei Sarah – Age of the Matriarchs

Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 59:47 — 27.4MB)

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Sarah lived a relatively long life. She passed away at the age of 127 after learning about the Binding of Isaac. Our Parsha begins with her passing, eulogy, and burial in the Cave of the Patriarchs. Just as when the sun sets in one area, it automatically rises in some other place, with the passing of Sarah came the rise of a comparably bright light: Rebecca. In this edition of the Parsha podcast, we explore the legacy of Sarah, the age of Rebecca at her marriage, and examine the founding families of our people.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas David Gedaliah ben Efraim, the unforgettable David Genecov, of blessed memory, whose third yartzeit was today. 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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SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts