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...
Dec 26, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Our Parsha is a difficult one to read. Our nation was enslaved, tormented, oppressed, and murdered by the Egyptians. Although we don’t see the salvation in our Parsha, the chess pieces of the redemption are set into place. In this edition of the Parsha Podcast, we study several themes of the Parsha that can improve our lives. We learn about how it’s often darkest before dawn, and about how that darkness contributes to the blazing light of day. We also learn about what it takes to unlock a bounty...
Dec 22, 2021•55 min
What does it take to live a great life? How would such a life be structured? This Mishnah is a masterclass in unpacking the subject. What you are about to enjoy is an exquisite array of insights and ideas on human development, pedagogy and education, how to utilize your brain, and how to design an exceptional life. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – This Ethics Podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy recovery of Chana Shulamit Bat Rahel. May she merit a complete and total recove...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 15 min
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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TOR...
Dec 19, 2021•1 hr
Family is everything. If you are fortunate enough to have siblings, parents, and children you know that there are bonds of kinship and brotherhood (and sisterhood, of course) between family members are strong and often unbreakable. This is not something new. When Jacob was on his deathbed he shared with his sons his final thoughts and blessings. To Shimon and Levi he said that you two are motivated by brotherhood above all. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we dissect the blessing o...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 2 min
What forces must we use to try to bring about our life mission? Our mandate is to fulfill the will of the Almighty. He expects great things of us and created us for that purpose. In this thrilling Mishnah, we learned about the various different forces and powers that we must marshal to accomplish our life mission. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – This Ethics Podcast is dedicated anonymously in loving memory of Monavar bat Eliyahu who passed away a few weeks ago. May our Torah study re...
Dec 13, 2021•39 min
Parshas Vayechi is the final portion of the Book of Genesis. Jacob is about to die and he tends to his affairs: He assures that he will not be buried in Egypt and will instead be interred in the Cave of Machpelah, he blesses Joseph and his sons, and he blesses/rebukes his twelve sons. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabb...
Dec 12, 2021•53 min
There are many mitzvos in the Torah around idolatry, 51 according to Rambam’s delineation. This mitzvah tells that we may not utter the names of idols, not in an oath and not reverentially, nor may we cause others to do so. Instead, we are encouraged to mock them. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 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 ema...
Dec 09, 2021•21 min
Amongst the sons of Jacob were two kings: Judah and Joseph. Joseph was viceroy of Egypt. He was a king in his lifetime. Judah was never crowned as King in his lifetime, but his descendants make up the monarchy of the Jewish people. David, Solomon, all the kings of Judah, and even King Messiah are direct descendants of Judah. Our Parsha begins with a confrontation of kings. In this special episode we explore the nature of kingship. What it is, what it takes, and why it’s important that we each le...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 3 min
The founder of our nation was Abraham our patriarch. He was a paragon of faith and kindness, and also exhibited every positive character trait. By contrast, Bilaam the sorcerer was the anti-Abraham. He harbored every negative trait. In this mission we are told that both of these people are teachers. We must choose if we want to be students of Abraham or students of Bilaam. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help f...
Dec 06, 2021•29 min
Twenty two years have passed since Jacob and Joseph were separated. Ever since Joseph was torn away from him, Jacob was bereft of prophecy and inconsolable. In Parshas Vayigash this long saga comes to an end and Jacob is finally reunited with his long-lost son. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover. o...
Dec 05, 2021•55 min
Joseph is one of the all-time heroes of Jewish history. His strength of character was legendary, his faith was unflappable, and his storyline remains an inspiration for generations. Yet he was harshly criticized for making a huge blunder. The Midrash at the beginning of this week’s Parsha tells us that he relied to heavily on the butler to help him out of jail, and insufficiently on God, and as a result he was incarcerated for two more years. Had Joseph relied on God exclusively, his incarcerati...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Every year, Chanukah falls out during the weeks in which we read about Joseph and his exploits in Egypt. Our Sages tell us that there is a deep connection between Joseph’s and the Maccabean heroism. Many connections have been proposed, and in this podcast I suggest a new approach to understanding how Joseph precisely embodies the story, the lesson, and the transformation of Chanukah. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donatio...
Dec 02, 2021•29 min
About 2,200 years ago, the Jewish Nation faced an existential threat: The Assyrian Greek Empire led by Antiochus and his Hellenist henchmen undertook a concerted campaign to systematically eradicate the Jewish religion. They sought to make the Jews forget the Torah and depart from the mitzvos; they defiled the Temple; they harassed the Jewish daughters; and they banned the observance of many mitzvos on pain of death. But the Almighty did not forsake His people. He stood up for them in their time...
Nov 28, 2021•48 min
Parshas Mikeitz continues the narrative of Joseph in Egypt. We pick up his story two years after his failed attempt at earning a reprieve via his cellmate, Pharaoh’s butler, who was about to be reinstated to his post as Pharaoh’s side. Joseph is languishing in a dungeon for a crime he did not commit; after being sold to a foreign land as a slave by his own brothers. By the end of the Parsha, Joseph is firmly ensconced as Pharaoh’s viceroy, and is amidst a long back and forth with his brothers wh...
Nov 28, 2021•1 hr 5 min
A pebble and a diamond are similar in one way: they are both rocks. That’s where the similarities end. A diamond is precious and valuable. Diamonds are things that we recite the poems over, and name, and write Wikipedia pages about, and adorn the crowns of Kings and Queens. Pebbles get stuck in your tires when you drive over asphalt roads. These two rocks are very different. Our Parsha is a study of diamonds. What we discover can change our lives forever. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – ...
Nov 24, 2021•59 min
How do you prepare for your day of death? Is that an important question? One can argue that living is much more important than dying. Death, this line of reasoning argues, is something that happens on its own and not something that we need to concern ourselves with. In this podcast, we present a completely different perspective. Calling from many sources in Jewish literature, we present the day of death as the actualization of an entire lifetime. Not only is the day of death an important day, it...
Nov 24, 2021•47 min
Death is the destiny of mankind. Since Adam and Eve made the regrettable decision to consume from the Tree of Knowledge, Good and Evil, man has been condemned to die. But what exactly is death? How does the experience differ from person to person? Why is it a subject worthy of our focus? These should be a simple questions to answer, or so it would seem. In this very special and unique podcast, we will explore the subject of death in a way that will both terrify and inspire you. This subject was ...
Nov 22, 2021•41 min
Parshas Vayeishev contains two intersecting, seemingly scandalous, storylines, that after all the dust has settled we can see are harbingers of the Messiah and Redemption: Joseph is hated by his brothers, and is eventually sold by them as a slave after they nearly killed him. By Parsha end, Joseph is languishing in an Egyptian prison after being falsely accused of attempted rape. Judah is also humbled in this week’s Parsha, after cohabiting with his daughter in law who masqueraded as a prostitut...
Nov 21, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Parshas Vayishlach is an action-packed parsha. After a tension-filled 20 years with Laban, Jacob has to dodge bullets for another parsha. Esau wants to kill him. The angel tries to strike at him the entire night. His daughter Dina is kidnapped and raped, and his sons slaughter the perpetrating city in rage. The bulk of the parsha indeed recounts the travails of Jacob and his family, but the final section deals with his twin, Esau. The last 43 verses of our Parsha detail and enumerate the vast fa...
Nov 17, 2021•45 min
The Torah tells us that the land must lay fallow every 7th year. For an entire year, all the farmers in Israel must cease operations. Moreover, they must relinquish ownership on the land. Just as Shabbos on a weekly schedule, the Shemittah marks a year of rest on a week of years. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 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...
Nov 15, 2021•34 min
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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover. or CLICK this LINK to access the for...
Nov 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Jacob’s accomplishments in our Parsha are remarkable. At the onset of our parsha, Jacob is a 77 year old bachelor without a penny to his name. Having been robbed clean of all his possessions, Jacob undertook the grandest, most ambitious initiative in human history: the founding of the Jewish nation. In our parsha, he pulls it off. By the time the parsha concludes, Jacob has spent more than two decades in the home of Laban, his father-in-law, and has begat 12 children with 4 wives, amassed a grea...
Nov 10, 2021•55 min
Every mitzvah that we do benefits us for all eternity. Our Sages reveal to us that each Mitzvah creates an advocate who vigorously fights on our behalf and defends us in front of the Heavenly court. Mitzvos are great assets to have. In this podcast, we discover that there is a way to game the system to unlock myriads and boatloads of mitzvos for a relatively inexpensive cost. Listening to this episode will give you an irresistible urge to study, teach, and disseminate Torah. You have been warned...
Nov 09, 2021•37 min
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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover. or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly https://...
Nov 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Was Abraham the first Jew? Did Abraham observe the laws of the Torah? The Torah dedicates a huge amount of attention to Abraham and his family. The laws of Torah were conveyed at Sinai to Moshe, Abraham’s great-great-great-grandson. How much of that, if any, did Abraham have? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we survey the evidence that Abraham and his family indeed had, observed, and studied all of Torah, and share three explanations for how Abraham gained access to it. – – – – – – ...
Nov 03, 2021•50 min
Argumentation has become a lost art. Our society promotes uniformity and consensus, a monochromatic society where divergent ideas are shunned. This approach is antithetical to Torah. Our religion does not believe that your thinking should be outsourced to others. We do not believe that everyone ought to follow others like a flock of sheep. At Sinai, our Sages tell us, every one of the 600,00 souls present had a unique, tailored revelation. When you disagree with someone, you must not keep quiet ...
Nov 02, 2021•28 min
How exactly does the Almighty determine what are the circumstances that people are placed in in this world? That is an impossible question for humans to answer with exactitude. Unless the Almighty reveals the answer via one of His prophets, we are in the dark. Nevertheless, our Sages outlines for us a bevy of frameworks for how the Almighty dispenses circumstances. In this very special episode, we follow Ramchal as he surveys a comprehensive list of all the reasons why the Divine treats people t...
Nov 01, 2021•50 min
What do you are about to hear is a vaccine against divorce. This first dose is intended for single people, who have not yet decided who they want to spend the rest of their lives with. If you are already married, you’ve made your choice and this part of the vaccine is not relevant to you. You can still listen to it, but be aware that this aspect of the vaccine is not pertinent to you. In this series, we are working with the assumption that divorce is an epidemic that is solvable with a vaccine. ...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 6 min
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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchw...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 7 min
