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Torah Study: Our National Pastime

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For the Jewish people. Torah is not just a corpus of law, of an accounting of our past, or even the ancient heritage of our people. Torah and an obsession with Torah study have been the defining characteristics of our nation since its inception. Torah is what we stand for; it’s what we do; it’s who we are. Torah Study is the bedrock of our culture, it is our national pastime. In this special edition of the TORAH 101 podcast, we document the history of our national love affair with Torah study.

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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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The Parsha Podcast

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Parsha: Parshas Acharei & Kedoshim (Rebroadcast)

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This week’s double-parsha contains a smorgasbord of mitzvos. The three chapters of Parshas Acharei cover three general categories. First we read about the Yom Kippur sacrifices and procedures; then we learn about the prohibitions against the consumption of blood among other ritualistic and sacrificial laws; and the final chapter is oriented around the many prohibited sexual relationships. Parshas Kedoshim has the highest mitzvah density of any parsha: In its 64 verses we learn 51 separate mitzvos covering many different areas of Jewish practice, including arguably the most famous mitzvah in the whole Torah.

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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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TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

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or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

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Mitzvah: Glatt Kosher

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When you compare identical cuts of kosher and non-kosher meat at the supermarket, the only discernable difference is the price. Kosher meat is much pricier, often 5-10 more expensive than it’s non-kosher counterparts. Why is kosher meat so much more expensive? Is it actually worth the premium? What goes into processing kosher meat?

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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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TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

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or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

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Parsha: Tazria/Metzora – Blessings in Disguises

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Tzaraas, the spiritual leprosy whose laws are detailed in our Parsha, appeared in three different areas: the befell sinners’ skin, clothing, and house. How common was Tzaraas of the house? The Talmud reveals that it actually never happened even once and it will never happen in the future. If it never happened, why does the Torah delineate all its laws? When we peel away the layers of this question we discover an amazing insight.

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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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TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover

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or CLICK this LINK to access the form directly

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History: The History and Development of Oral Torah (Part 3: Roman Rule and Rabbinic Reconciliation)

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The final century of the Second Temple and the one that followed its destruction were pivotal ones of Jewish history. It was an era replete with absolute Torah giants – Hillel the Elder, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh and his colleagues, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva and his students, among many other giants – but it was also a time of unprecedented challenges. Several times over these centuries, the Nation was hanging on a thread. The great Rabbis were targeted, the Great Sanhedrin was threatened, the Nation was attacked and dispersed. Over the course of this time, the conditions of the Nation deteriorated to the point that it was clear to our leaders that unless something drastic was done, the Nation as we know it would cease to exist. In this podcast we talk about the conditions that led to the fateful decision to write down the Mishna and to codify the Oral Torah. This podcast was originally recorded for episode 34 of the TORAH 101 podcast and has been re-edited for The Jewish History Podcast.

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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

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

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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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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Ethics: Spiritual Epigenetics (5:4)

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The story of our forefather Abraham is told in great detail in the Torah. We read about his challenges and triumphs, travails, and travels. The Mishnah calculates that Abraham underwent ten distinct divine tests and succeeded in all of them. What are the nature of these ten tests and what do they portend to us? The answers are surprising and enlightening.

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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

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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Parsha: Parshas Tazria & Metzora (Rebroadcast)

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A very large percentage of Torah is dedicated to the laws of purity and impurity. This week’s double Parshas of Tazria and Metzora largely deal with these laws. One variant of impurity that is discussed in both parshas is that of a metzora, A metzora is someone who is stricken with the tangible illness of tzaraas caused by a variety of sins, most notably the sin of lashon hara, evil talk and slander. In Parshas Tazria we read about when it strikes a person’s garment or body; and the bulk of Parshas Metzora orients around tzaraas remediation and a third type of tzaraas that afflicts the sinner’s house.

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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

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

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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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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Parsha: Shemini – Find Your Breach

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The 8th day of the Tabernacle’s Inauguration was supposed to be a day of total, exuberant jubilation. The laborious months of preparation were complete, and now God will dwell in our midst. Moshe washes, clothes, and anoints his brother, Aaron and Aaron’s four sons, and a Heavenly fire descends and consumes Aaron’s sacrifices from atop the altar, and the nation experiences simultaneous joy and awe. The promise of the Tabernacle had been actualized. But the day did not end there. In a shocking and unexpected twist in the Torah’s narrative, Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, enter the Holy of Holies and offer an unrequested offering and ropes of fire entered their nostrils and killed them.

What possessed Nadav and Avihu to offer this sacrifice? Why did they display such eagerness to offer sacrifices when Aaron was so hesitant? When indeed is a fitting time to act recklessly and without consultation? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we explore the very interesting and troubling story of Nadav and Avihu and draw valuable, life-changing lessons along the way.

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This Parsha Podcast is sponsored by my dear friends Shimmy and Joely Bernstein in loving memory and leilui nishmas Shimmy’s unforgettable father Harry, אברהם צבי בן מנחם מענדל. 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!

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

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DONATE Crypto to TORCH

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

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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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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The Rest of the Story with Esther Kaplan (Part 2: March 2021)

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Esther Kaplan (née Wolbe), along with her husband AJ, experienced the worst nightmare parents can undergo when their adorable and perfect son Shlomo passed away only 16 weeks into his life. This intimate and stirring conversation follows up on the one we had in 2018 in which Esther shares the story of Shlomo’s life and opens up about how parents absorb and process such an unthinkable tragedy.

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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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

DONATE Crypto to TORCH

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

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Reflections on Loss, Tragedy, and Bereavement: An Interview with Esther Kaplan (Part 1: March 2018)

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Esther Kaplan (née Wolbe), along with her husband AJ, experienced the worst nightmare parents can undergo when their adorable and perfect son Shlomo passed away only 16 weeks into his life. In this intimate and stirring conversation Esther shares the story of Shlomo’s life and opens up about how parents absorb and process such an unthinkable tragedy.

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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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

DONATE Crypto to TORCH

Click on this link to access the TORCH Coinbase donation site

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6A90DO9YIzUXxlHH3EEy5dz_H5mlch-N3GZdqtG9saMlYsA/viewform

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