Category Archives: Q&A and Contemporary Issues

Know Your Enemy: Learning the Modi Operandi of the Yetzer Ra

Podcast: Download (Duration: 32:44 — 17.0MB)

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Jewish sources focus extensive energies on the battle man must undertake with their Yetzer Ra (evil inclination). In several sources we learn that this battle is the crucial determinant of success or failure in this world. In this podcast we explore the various sources depicting the nature of the Yetzer ra and the manners by which it compels man to sin.
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Contact:

Website: RabbiWolbe.com;
Twitter: @RabbiWolbe;
Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe;
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links iOS:

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

Podcast Links Android:

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

Two Worlds and the Tension Between them

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:23 — 25.5MB)

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In Mesilat Yesharim Chapter 1, Ramchal outlines a general principle that humanity is created for their state in Olam Haba (the next world) and not for their state here. We analyze, clarify and try to make sense of this idea in this podcast.

Note: The class participants were particularly engaged in asking questions and in contributing to the discussion. As such, the talk is a bit less disciplined and rigid than most and I edited out some of their questions and comments in order to improve the experience of the listeners, but kept some in. Please forgive the choppy nature of some of the segues herein.
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Contact:

Website: RabbiWolbe.com;
Twitter: @RabbiWolbe;
Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe;
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links iOS:

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

Podcast Links Android:

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

#8: Why Moses Didn’t Simply Write Down the Oral Torah?

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 52:12 — 26.2MB)

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For nearly a millennia and a half, the entire corpus of Oral Torah was transmitted orally from generation to generation; parents to their children and teachers to their students. Moreover, a fierce prohibition was established to prevent its writing and codification in a finalized canonized format. What are the benefits for maintaining it in that fashion? In this podcast we enumerate nine distinct reasons to keep Oral Torah oral. We also present a vivid demonstration on the interrelationship of Oral and Written Torah.

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Contact:

Website: RabbiWolbe.com
Twitter: @RabbiWolbe
Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

Podcasts Links iOS

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

Podcast Links Android

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

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Gateway to Eternity: Resurrection of the Dead as Reunification of Body and Soul, and as Reinvention of the Body/Soul Paradigm

Podcast: Download (Duration: 54:58 — 28.8MB)

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A central tenet of Jewish philosophy is the belief in the resurrection of the dead. Death is not final; the dead will yet walk the land. The details of resurrection are a bit trickier. What is the nature of this life? Is it merely an undoing of death and a resumption of life as we know it? Or is it something else entirely? We explore some of the fascinating Talmudic sources and develop an understanding of resurrection that illuminates our religious life with new insight and meaning.
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Contact

Website: RabbiWolbe.com
Twitter: @RabbiWolbe
Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

Podcasts Links iOS

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

Podcast Links Android

This Jewish Life – In-Depth Analysis into Critical Torah Topics;
The Jewish History Podcast – Telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish People;
The Parsha Podcast – A Weekly Analysis and Exploration of the Parsha;
TORAH 101 – An Intellectual’s Introduction to Torah

#7: Introduction to Oral Torah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 48:16 — 24.9MB)

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What are the four components of Oral Torah? What are the four elements of the Oral Torah that are not sourced in the Written Torah? What are some of the classical pieces of evidence proving the existence of the Oral Torah? This is the place to begin if you want to understand Oral Torah.
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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torchweb.org for program details and to make a donation.

If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics; The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People; and The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

Conflicted Man: How Esau Sought Sin in Utero and what it means for our Pursuit of Righteousness

Podcast: Download (Duration: 35:13 — 18.4MB)

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We attempt to unravel a famous philosophical paradox: The Talmud teaches that a child only receives a yetzer ra at birth, yet Esav was pining for idolatry while in utero. How does that work and what does it mean for our pursuit of righteousness?

If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe to The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

#6: Incontrovertible Evidence to the Divinity of the Torah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 38:36 — 20.2MB)

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We explore the intricate interrelationship between written and oral Torah and determine that the creation of such a labyrinthine tapestry is beyond the capacity to man.
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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torchweb.org for program details and to make a donation.
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics; The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People; and The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

Why God Told Abraham to Slaughter Isaac

Podcast: Download (Duration: 35:54 — 19.4MB)

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Abraham is presented in different lights throughout Jewish literature. Traditionally, he is the founder of monotheism and the father of the religions that espouse it. The Torah presents him not as a figure of faith but as a paragon of kindness. Paradoxically, Abraham acts in a supremely unkind fashion by banishing Ishmael and attempting filicide in the binding of Isaac episode. To complicate matters further, the Talmud makes several seemingly incomprehensible statements regarding Abraham’s scholarship. In this podcast we enumerate six core questions about Abraham and build a character profile of his greatness that answers all the questions.

If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe to The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

#5: An Unprecedented Eternal Nation

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 45:10 — 23.6MB)

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We explore some predictions in the Torah that have come true and ponder how a human author could have known the future.
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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torchweb.org for program details and to make a donation.
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics; The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People; and The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

#4: The Cognitive Dissonance to the Veracity of the Torah and why Sinai Denial is on Shakier Intellectual Grounds than Holocaust Denial

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 44:15 — 22.9MB)

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We face internal resistance to the notion of a God-given Torah because that can create a divide between our beliefs and behaviors. How do we respond to the tumult caused by this revelation?

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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torcweb.org for program details and to make a donation.
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics; The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People; and The Parsha Podcast – a weekly analysis and exploration of the parsha.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

#3: Implications of the Authorship of the Torah

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 46:28 — 23.9MB)

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Why it matters who wrote the Torah.
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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torcweb.org for program details and to make a donation.
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics and The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

#2: The Fallacy of the Bible Critics

Podcast (torah101): Download (Duration: 45:12 — 23.5MB)

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We continue our dissection of the various options regarding the authorship of the Torah.
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This podcast was recorded live at the TORCH Centre in Houston, TX. Please visit torcweb.org for program details and to make a donation.
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe and check out my other podcasts: This Jewish Life – long form deep dives into critical Torah topics and The Jewish History Podcast – telling the remarkable story of the Jewish People.

Website: RabbiWolbe.com

Twitter: @RabbiWolbe

Facebook: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com