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Parsha: Toldos – Twin Powers

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Our Parsha features two very different twins. After decades of infertility, Isaac and Rebecca are blessed with twins, identical twins the Sages emphasize, who could not be more different: Jacob dwelled in the tents of Torah, eventually becoming the third and final Patriarch of our nation, and Esav was a man of the field, a trapper, a hunter, a blood shedder who stands in the way of Jacob, impeding him at every turn. Why did Esav go awry? Why did the son of Isaac and Rebecca end up as he did? In this episode of the Parsha Podcast we explore some threads and angles to this question and emerge with a foundational principle that can help us design a life to perfection.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Mitzvah: Olah Sacrifice (#115)

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Sacrifices constitute and important part of Jewish life and practice. Absent the Temple, we cannot offer sacrifices, but we can study them. In this episode we look at the Olah (Elevation) sacrifice.

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Rectifying the Erev Rav in Klal Yisrael with Rabbi Cohen

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When B’nai Yisrael left Egypt, they were not alone. Pharoah had also sent out his people, the Erev Rav, the Mixed Multitude. Moshe Rabbeinu converts them to be part of the Jewish people and they became the instigators of the sin of the golden calf, complaining about lack of meat, water and more. The Erev Rav has since been interwoven into the fabric of Klal Yisrael in every generation since. In this episode we are joined by Rabbi Cohen to answer questions like who were these people that Pharoah sent out with us, what was their mission, who is their reincarnation in our current generation and how can we remedy the situation. Rabbi Cohen, drawing from sources in Tanach, Midrash and Zohar, shares amazing insights with powerful lessons and how we serve the Almighty in our current era and bring about the final redemption.

Parsha: Toldos – Esav’s Fatal Flaw (5781)

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Jacob’s twin brother Esav is one of the worst villains in Jewish history. He seems to be an unending litany of bad character. Our parsha ends with Esav dead set on committing fratricide by actually murdering his own brother. Esav is just one bad apple. But is it possible that things could have ended up differently for him? Is it possible that Esav could have become a great hero of Jewish history? In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast we suggest a counterfactual way that Esav could have become someone very great, and we isolate the reason why he failed.

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Parshas Toldos (Rebroadcast)

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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.

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Mitzvah: Idolatrous Wine (#111)

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Of the many laws related to idolatry is a law governing wine and other items used for idolatrous practices. Said items to not be consumed. The Sages extend this prohibition in manifold ways.

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This Mitzvah Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas Dina bat Esther, as we commemorate her 5th yartzeit. May her soul be more elevated in Shamayim and may she always experience lots of Nachas from her children and grandchildren.

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Parsha: Chayei Sarah – Eulogizing A Giant

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leilui nishmas my dear friend and study partner David Gedaliah ben Efraim, Dr. David Genecov obm.

Dr. Genecov was a dear personal friend, a weekly study partner of mine, a stalwart supporter of TORCH, and a dedicated listener of the Parsha Podcast and all the other podcasts that we do, who sadly passed away – tragically and shockingly – in a car accident a few days ago.

Our Parsha begins with the death, eulogy, and burial of Sarah – Our parsha contains the first eulogy in the Torah – and I want to dedicate this Parsha Podcast episode to a Eulogy for David Genecov. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven.

David and I in Dallas a few weeks before his untimely passing

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Parsha: Chayei Sarah – Portal to Paradise (5781)

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The Torah dedicates an unusually large amount of verses in the beginning of this week’s parsha to describe a real estate transaction between Abraham and a gentleman named Ephron. Sarah has passed and Abraham seeks to buy Ephron’s cave to inter her in. Initially, Ephron acts with supposed generosity and offers it to Abraham for free. But Abraham insists on paying for it, and ultimately pays an exorbitant fee for the cave. Why does the Torah spend so much time on this transaction? In this special episode we probe the meaning and mystery of the Cave of the Patriarchs.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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