Category Archives: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Parsha: Tzav – Ready, Steady, Fire!

A lot of things are needed for the Temple and the Tabernacle to function properly. There are all kinds of prerequisites, protocols, procedures, and rituals that must be followed. One of the most surprising ones is the requirement to always have a fire atop the altar. Although the fire is needed for the processing of sacrifices, there is a requirement to continuously have a fire ready even when there are no sacrifices to process. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we explore the question of why? Why is it necessary to always have a fire atop the altar, even when there are no sacrifices to elevate.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

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The Book of Esther on an Allegorical Level (Rebroadcast)

On Purim we read the Book of Esther, which tells the story of the Purim miracle. The Persian king Achashverosh conspires with his Amalekite viceroy Haman to eradicate the entire Jewish nation, but God refused to allow their plans to unfold. Queen Esther, together with her relative Mordechai, spearhead the effort to turn the plan on it’s head: Instead of Haman killing Mordechai and the Jews; the Jews were given free rein to destroy their enemies. Every year we commemorate this miracle on the holiday of Purim. But the story goes deeper. Every part of Torah can be understood on multiple dimensions. The Gaon of Vilna wrote a masterful commentary explaining the Book on an allegorical level, in which the characters and the storylines symbolize the various conflicts of our lives. What emerges is a stunning portrayal of central components of Jewish philosophy that also contains very incisive lessons for Purim itself.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Ethics: Torah and Asceticism (6:4)

Food is delicious and we desire it from the first day that we are alive. How does our pursuit of food – and physical and material indulgences in general – impact our pursuit of our spiritual agenda and Torah? In this Mishnah we discover several approaches to understanding the interrelationship between physical indulgences and pursuit of the most eternally impactful goal: Torah.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

The Kabbalistic Conflict of Purim with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

Purim is a tantalizing festival. We get the dress up in costumes, read about close brush with destruction that our nation endured many centuries ago, and to drink alcohol guiltlessly. It’s a great party (certainly for extroverts). But what’s the deeper secret behind the day? What did Haman actually try to do to our nation? What was the banquet of Achashveirosh – the event that kickstarted the Purim saga – trying to accomplish? In this very special edition of the podcast, I am joined with my esteemed brother-in-law, Rabbi Shmuly Botnick, to learn about the Kabbalistic conflict of the day. Buckle up, sharpen your brain, and listen carefully: you are about to be treated with something very special.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parsha: Parshas Tzav (Rebroadcast)

In continuation of the themes of last week, Parshas Tzav details the procedures of processing many of the sacrifices enumerated in Parshas Vayikra, teaches us about new sacrifices, and we read about the seven days of inauguration of the Tabernacle.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parsha: Vayikra – From Each According to His Ability

Our Parsha deals exclusively with sacrifices. Since the destruction of the Temple nearly 2,000 years ago, our nation has not offered a single sacrifice. In this podcast we show how, notwithstanding the inapplicability of sacrifices today, there are wonderful lessons to learn from every part of the Torah. The one we learn today is both terrifying and reassuring.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Miriam bat Avraham and Yaakov ben Yosef. May their souls be elevated in Heaven.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Purim: A Primer

The festival of Purim commemorates the story of salvation that our nation experienced in Persia more than two thousand years ago. Haman the heir of Amaleik schemed a plot to eradicate the entire Jewish people in one randomly selected day, the 13th day of Adar. But the Almighty would have none of it. In His kindness He orchestrated a series of events, told to us in the Book of Esther, that foiled Haman’s plot and led to our nation’s spiritual renaissance, the effects of which still reverberate today. In this podcast we retell the Purim story and delve into its themes to make our observance of the holiday ever more meaningful.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

TORAH 101: The Anatomy of the Soul

The human Soul is the most ethereal of God’s creations. Our Sages tell us that it is spiritually loftier than Angels. Before we continue our discussions related to what happens to the Soul in the Afterlife, it is important to gain a basic understanding of the nature of the Soul: What is it? Where does it come from? What is the nature of its relationship with life here, when it is temporarily bound to a body by Divine decree? What are the challenges that the Soul must face? These are obviously weighty subjects, and researching them gives all of us the impression that we are way in over our heads, but nevertheless we will give it our best shot. In this first episode on the subject of a Soul, we attempt to construct a picture of what the Soul is. It turns out to be much more complicated than we would expect.

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This TORAH 101 Podcast is dedicated in honor of Baruch Ben Yehuda and Laura Bat Yaakov for all that they have done for us and especially with regards to the amazing sacrifices that they have gone through to give me and my sister a Jewish education. May they get a lot of nachas from us and from this podcast.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parsha: Parshas Vayikra (Rebroadcast)

In Parshas Vayikra, the first Torah section in The Book of Leviticus, we learn about the processes and procedures of many different varieties of sacrifices: There are three different types of elevation offerings; three types of peace-offerings; six types of meal-offerings; and numerous sin and guilt offerings. Our exploration of the parsha begins with a survey of several of the classic explanations for the notion of animal sacrifices in general.

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

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Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover.

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101

Parsha: Pekudei – Bold Initiatives Checklist

The most ambitious initiative ever undertook in the history of mankind was the construction of the Tabernacle. Think about it: humans are getting together with the intent of constructing a residence for God on this Earth. And they pull it off! Our Parsha ends with the Presence of God dwelling in the Tabernacle. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we present three different prerequisites for undertaking and executing such a bold initiative. If you want to change the world – or even change yourself – you need to listen carefully and take careful, copious notes.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Gershon Ben Eliyahu, Dr. Gordon Sack, ob”m, a dear friend and a dear friend of TORCH. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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

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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!

SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s Podcasts

The Parsha Podcast

The Jewish History Podcast

The Mitzvah Podcast 

This Jewish Life

The Ethics Podcast

TORAH 101