Category Archives: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

TORAH 101: The Singularity of God

The Second Principle of Jewish Faith declares that God is One. But not like one of a pair; and not like one of a group; and not like one person that can be divided into many [smaller] units; and not like a thing which is numerically one but can be infinitely divided, rather He – God, may He be blessed – is One that there is no comparable oneness. The Principles is indicated in the most famous verse in the Torah: “Hear O Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One.” This podcast is intended to explain what is meant by the notion that God is One.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Mitzvah: Against Adultery (#35, 188)

Our society has trivialized adultery. In ancient times it was an absolute no-no even in societies that did not abide by other mitzvos; but in modern times it is tolerated and condoned. The Torah has a very strict prohibition against adultery and draconian edicts and safety measures to prevent it.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Parsha: Parshas Acharei

The three chapters of our parsha cover three general categories. First we read about the Yom Kippur sacrifices and procedures; then we learn about the prohibitions against consumption of blood among other ritualistic and sacrificial laws; and the final chapter is oriented around the many prohibited sexual relationships.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Shlomo Ben Chaim Elisha HaLevi. May his soul merit an ascendancy in Heaven

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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Ethics: Greeting Everyone with Joy (3:16)

Rabbi Yishmael was the scion of one of the most prestigious families of our nation and a titanic Sage of the Mishnaic Era. In this podcast we share several of the fascinating stories about his fruitful and sometimes tragic life and explore the connection between those episodes and his teaching in Pirkei Avos.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

TORAH 101: Faith vs. Emunah: Understanding the Difference between Intellectual and Instinctual Belief in God

The Thirteen Principles of Faith are the foundations of our religion. Just as the foundation of a structure is indispensable for ensuring the integrity of the building; these principles are necessary prerequisites for Jewish faith. But just as is the case in a building, the foundations are in the background – no one resides in them – in Judaism these principles are vital but are not the object of our spiritual lives. In this podcast we contrast the differences between the fundamental faith that underpins our religion, and the faith that is the lifeblood – the bread and butter – of the religion itself.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Jewish Life: How we Navigated Having a Child on Shabbos and a Framework for Raising Children Well

This past Shabbos, my wife and I were blessed with a newborn baby girl. As Shabbos-observant Jews, this raised some interesting halachic dilemmas. In the first part of this podcast I tell the story of how we navigated the various problems, and then we pivot to constructing a framework for raising all kinds of children well based upon the Four Sons of the Pesach Haggadah.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Mitzvah: Thou Shall not Murder (#34)

The Torah dedicates a grand total of two words to the prohibition of not murdering. Seems straightforward. Cut and dried. Yet the Talmud contains voluminous content regarding this mitzvah. What are the various types of murder, what are some of the unusual scenarios discussed in the literature, and in what area is this law adjudicated differently than any other?

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Parsha: Parshas Metzora

A metzora is someone who is striken with the tangible illness of tzaraas caused by a variety of sins, most notably the sin of lashon hara, evil talk and slander. Last week we read about two varieties of this illness: when it strikes a person’s garment or body; the bulk of our parsha orients around tzaraas remediation and a third type of tzaraas that afflicts the sinners house.

**Please continue to support TORCH at giveTORCH.com**

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in the merit of the speedy and complete recovery of Meier ben Feitl v’ Shayneh Yente. May he merit a refuah sheleimah

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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Jewish Life: Four Sons, Three Steps: A Template to Wisdom from the Passover Haggadah

One of the highlights of the Haggadah is the four different discussion that parents have with the four different sons, the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son, and the son who does not know how to ask. In this podcast a novel approach is suggested wherein these four sons are not four different children, rather the same child at four different, successive, stages, that collectively construct a template for all kinds of growth and transformation.

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

TORAH 101: Does God’s Creation of the Universe Conflict with the Principle of God’s Perfection?

This podcast attempts to reconcile a knotty philosophical dilemma: The First Principle of the Thirteen Principles of Faith teaches us that God, Creator of heaven and earth, is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Perfect. If God is Perfect and lacks nothing, then why did He create the universe? Intellect only acts when seeking a certain outcome. There was a desired outcome that God did not have; how does that not conflict with this principle of completion, not lacking, sufficing with Himself? Why create angels and galaxies if you don’t need them? Why indeed did God create the world?

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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!

Contact:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.