The Parshah On Fire

101

War Chizzuk for Women (and Men)

Jun 18, 2025

11:07

A little wartime chizzuk

102

Nazis, Cucumbers and the World of Good- Bahalosicha -The Parshah On Fire

Jun 11, 2025

18:59

The Jews strangely complain about cucumbers.

103

Nasso: The Great Gender Debate

Jun 5, 2025

9:51

Why do some things go after the woman in Judaism and some things go after the man? Is it all random or is there a method to the madness?

104

Nasso - The Great Gender Debate

Jun 5, 2025

9:50

Why is it that certain times in Judaism we go after one's mother while other times we go after one's father. One's tribe, one's name, one's inheritance goes after one's father. One's Jewishness and one's firstborn status goes after the mother. Is there a rhyme and reason or is it merely arbitrary? The answer might surpirse you.

105

STOP TRYING TO FIT IN - THE PARSHAH ON FIRE- BAMIDBAR

May 28, 2025

26:35

Why do we seem to divide the Jewish people with 12 tribes? Why can’t we just have one tribe?

106

How are Jews still around?-Bechukosai - The Parshah On Fire

May 21, 2025

20:45

How are Jews still around.

107

VLK - Ahavas Yisrael on Fire - 4 5785

May 16, 2025

4:03

108

Lag Ba'Omer on Fire 5785

May 16, 2025

24:31

109

VLK - Ahavas Yisrael on Fire - Sefira and Jewish History With a Birds Eye View

May 15, 2025

12:27

What was so bad with the behavior of Reb Akiva's Talmidim that warranted the mass death of 24,000 people? The answer might surprise you.

110

Handicap Parking At The Bais Hamikdash- The Parshah On Fire - Emor

May 13, 2025

17:23

The Torah brought the world the kindest book ever written. So why weren’t handicapped people allowed to work in the Bais Hamikdash? What happened to our kindness?

111

VLK - Ahavas Yisrael on Fire - 3

May 7, 2025

5:55

The very first step in V'ahavta L'reacha Kamocha is loving oneself. Proper self-love is the ultimate prerequisite to loving others. What does Jewish self-love look like?

112

VLK 2

May 7, 2025

8:05

V

113

Acharei Mos - The Aharon Effect

May 7, 2025

16:33

All 410 years of the first Bais Hamikdash were credited to Aharon. Why? What was it about him specifically? The answer might surprise you.

114

Tazria Metzorah Gossip and Bars of Soap

May 1, 2025

19:43

No sin in the entire Torah is given as much attention as the sin of Loshon Hara/gossip. It is the Proverbial mother of all sins. The King of Iniquities. The question is why? Why is it so bad? How did it climb the mountain of sin and plant itself on the top? The answer might surprise you.

115

Nadav and Avihu and the Mona Lisa

Apr 25, 2025

13:56

How could the children of the Kohen Gadol act so disobediently on the first day of the Mishkan's installment? The answer might surprise you.

116

Living On Fire

Apr 8, 2025

5:03

I recently narrowly escaped a fire. Here's my takeaway.

117

Tzav - The Bells In Our Heart

Apr 8, 2025

8:10

Is there something magical and mystical about those ancient Karbanos- sacrifices, or is there perhaps something about them far simpler? The answer might make you think.

118

Vayikra - Bangkok , Ben Franklin and the ancient art of catching spiritual lightening bolts.

Apr 1, 2025

25:46

Every single time Hashem spoke to Moshe he would first call out to him with a "Vayikra". Yet the Torah only mentions it in three places. Why? The answer might inspire you.

119

Pekudei : Shipwrecks and Spiritual Suicide

Mar 27, 2025

20:50

Contained in the building of the Mishkan was a remarkable lesson for Jews throughout history. How do I tie in suicide, shipwrecks and Japanese bullet trains? Listen to find out.

120

The Parshah On Fire - Vayakel - The Lion Ability

Mar 18, 2025

11:04

How did these simple Jews in the desert learn the skills required to build the Mishkan; an extremely intricate and sophisticated building? Weren't these Jews mere slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years? From where did they get the architectural know how to build this complicated building? The answer might surprise you!

121

Ki Sisa - Purim - Do You Actually Care That You’re Jewish?

Mar 10, 2025

28:40

How could the Jews, who just prior witnessed God split a Sea and then talk to them from atop a mountain, possibly bow down to a golden calf. What in the world were they thinking? And why did they choose a calf of all animals to serve? Why not something a little more powerful? Like a polar bear or a Komodo dragon? Why a calf? The answer might surprise you.

122

Tetzaveh - The Courtesy Bells

Mar 5, 2025

23:42

What were those shiny little jiggling bells doing on the bottom of the Kohen Gadol's robe? What purpose did they serve? What role did they play? The answer might surprise you.

123

Terumah - The Longevity Trees

Feb 23, 2025

10:23

The Jews were instructed to build a largely wooden Mishkan in the middle of a barren, lifeless desert. Where exactly did they get the wood from? The answer might surprise you.

124

Yisro - The Non Obvious Obvious

Feb 13, 2025

9:50

How is it expected that we believe in God when some of the smartest philosophers ever, didn't?

125

Tu B’Shvat On Fire

Feb 11, 2025

21:41

What exactly are we celebrating on Tu B’Shvat? The answer might surprise you.

126

Team Hashem

Feb 4, 2025

10:19

Everyone knows that 600,000 Jews left Egypt. What is far less known is that 2.4 million Jews did not. What happened to those people? Why didn't they make it out alive? The answer might surprise you.

127

Bo- The Secret of the Jewish Soul

Jan 28, 2025

11:39

Ever wonder what exactly Pharo saw in us that drove him literally to the brink of insanity? What did the villains of history see in the Jews that filled them with such rage? How does one explain the Jew’s unbelievably unparalleled ability to invoke the passionate hatred of virtually every significant country in world history? What is it about the Jew? The answer may surprise you.

128

The Ancient Egyptian Stockholm Syndrome

Jan 21, 2025

7:13

When Moshe approached the Jews in Egypt with the news that Hashem would be taking them out and setting them free his words fell on deaf ears. Why was that? Shouldn't the Jews, who were tortured and abused, have been thrilled to hear Moshe's glimmer of hope? The answer might surprise you.

129

THE JEW'S SECRET WEAPON

Jan 15, 2025

7:50

The names of the books of the Torah all encapsulate all that's contained within them. The odd one out is Sefer Shemos. Names? How does that encapsulate all that transpired within it? The answer might surprise you.

130

A Fish Out of Water

Jan 8, 2025

7:02

Every Friday night for thousands of years we have been blessing our sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe. Why do we choose them as the two figures we hope our children emulate? Why don't we tell our children to become like Yehuda and Levi or Yissachar and Zevulun or Reuvain and Shimon? What's so special about Ephraim and Menashe? The answer might surprise you.

131

The Leading Leaders

Jan 1, 2025

8:44

Ever wonder why Yosef didn't relieve his father of the pain he was in by telling him he was alive? Why did he wait so long? The answer might surprise you.

132

Chanukah: The Secret of Us

Dec 29, 2024

40:19

Mark Twain famously wrote in 1897 "All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret to his immortality?" What is the answer to his question? I believe the answer is embedded in Chanukah.

133

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Dec 23, 2024

5:34

No story in the entire Torah is given more real estate than the story of Yosef. Why is that? The answer might surprise you.

134

Holy Haughtiness

Dec 17, 2024

4:42

Our entire existence in Egypt, the slavery, the miracles, and the exodus can all be traced to one action; Yakov giving Yosef a special coat. This coat caused the brothers to be jealous of Yosef which in turn made them sell him as a slave, which led to Yosef landing in Egypt etc. The obvious question is what was Yakov thinking by giving one son a special coat and not the others. Isn't this violating the most basic rule of child-rearing; Don't show favoritism. Why did Yakov do this? The answer may surprise you.

135

The Blessing of War

Dec 10, 2024

6:26

In the most famous boxing match in the history of the world, Yakov battles the Angel of Eisav. Ever wonder why the Angel started up with Yakov precisely as he was about to make peace with Eisav? Why specifically then? And even stranger, after Yakov finishes the fight and gets severely wounded by the Angel he asks the Angel to bless him. Why would you ask your enemy, who just made you permanently crippled to bless you? The answer might surprise you.

136

The Proud Olive

Dec 3, 2024

3:18

After Yakov's famous dream, he erects a monument memorializing his spiritual experience and he takes out a bottle of olive oil and pours it on top of the monument. Ever wonder why he did that? Why is the Torah filled with stories of us anointing monuments and kings by pouring some extra virgin olive oil on their heads? What are we trying to accomplish? The answer might surprise you.

137

Shabbos On Fire

Nov 28, 2024

58:28

This will absolutely change the way you look at Shabbos. From suicide stats to Beethoven to pirates to Alaska and Bangkok and Japan we cover it all in this Podcast

138

Living on Fire

Nov 27, 2024

4:02

Isn't it bizarre that a lot of the Jewish people's leaders grew up in homes that had horrible influences all around them? Rivka grew up as the sister of one of history's worst con artists Lavan. Yitchok's brother was the adulterous and idolatrous Yishmael. Yakov's brother was the serial murderer Eisav. Yosef spent most of his life alone in Egypt and eventually married an Egyptian woman. Moshe grew up as the adopted son of Pharo and married a local priest's daughter. Why is this? Shouldn't Hashem want the future leaders of the Jewish people to have upbringings within the Jewish community, unexposed to any negative influences? The answer might surprise you.

139

Who Was Sarah?

Nov 19, 2024

10:08

We all know that our Matriarch Sarah was a holy, pure, and loving woman. But why doesn't the Torah mention that explicitly? Why only allude to it? The answer might surprise you.

140

Vayeira - The Human Salt Shaker

Nov 12, 2024

4:14

In one of the strangest moments in the Torah, Lot's wife turns into a pillar of salt after looking back and watching the destruction of the city of Sodom. What in the world is the big deal with watching this sulfur and fire apocalypse? Why did Hashem care that she looked back? The answer might surprise you.

141

Do What's Right No Matter the Cost

Nov 5, 2024

5:59

The giant Og gleefully ran to tell Avraham that his Nephew Lot was captured by the mighty kings hoping that Avraham would go attack them, get killed in the process and Og could then marry Avraham's wife Sara. What was Og thinking? How crazy did he think Avraham, an old sage, was to wage war on a group of mighty and brutal kings? The answer might surprise you.

142

Noach - The Fountain of Love

Oct 30, 2024

4:51

We were all taught as children that Avraham was the first to discover monotheism. But was he? Wasn't it Noach? Wasn't Noach the lone believer in a corrupt world? The answer might surprise you.

143

BEREISHIS - The Power of a Process

Oct 29, 2024

2:47

Why was the world created in seven days? Why didn't the all-powerful Hashem simply create the world in one second?

144

Haazinu - Mozart, Radio Telescopes and the Song of Life

Sep 30, 2024

17:13

Haazinu is the song we were taught moments before our initial entrance into the Holy Land. The Torah tells us that this little song should be sung at any time that life gets difficult. It's the song that should accompany us wherever our travels take us. Why? What is it about this song that makes it so important? Isnt a song just ........ a song? The answer might surprise you.

145

Nitzavim- Vayeilech- The Bulletproof Jew

Sep 27, 2024

15:49

Thousands of years ago we stood atop a mountain and accepted the Torah. This wasn't an intellectual commitment that we could get out of with expensive lawyers. This was a metaphysical transformation that our very bodies underwent that makes us Jews not just think differently but live an entirely different existence. Hitler couldn't have been more right when he said "Judaism isnt a religoun its a race". True, we are a race. The holiest one on the face of the Earth.

146

Ki Savo - The Perpetual Dreamers

Sep 18, 2024

16:41

The Jewish people ascended two mountains, one to receive blessings and one to receive curses. Har Gerizim and Har Eival. There is a geographical phenomenon about these two mountains. Despite being less than two hundred feet from one another and having access to the same nutrients, sunlight and rain one is lush and alive and one is desolate and dead. Why? How did that come to be? And what does that have to do with us? The answer might surprise you.

147

Ki Seitzei - The Great Glacier Chase

Sep 11, 2024

15:46

The Ben Sorer- the Wayward son, is by far one of the most dramatic and puzzling mitzvos in the Torah. We take a thirteen year old who ate a little too much food drag him to court, label him beyond repair and we stone him to death. Why? What did he do wrong? Aren't little thirteen year olds merely immature hungry kids who will one day grow out of their childhood food obsessions? Why are we stoning them to death? The answer might surprise you.

148

Shoftim - The Royal Beginnig

Sep 5, 2024

20:19

When the Jews were about to enter the land of Eretz Yisrael through the Jorden River they were instructed to erect huge stones, plant them in the middle of the river, and then write the Torah on them. Whats strange is that these stones were engulfed by the mighty river mere moments after we walked through it. What was the point of them? What good are monuments that sink to the bottom of a river three minutes after we erect them? The answer might surprise you.

149

Va'eschanan - When Spirituality Gets Physical

Aug 15, 2024

7:48

Jew's fascination with medicine has been true for thousands of years. In the year 1500 half the doctors in the entire continent of Europe were Jewish. Over Ten Popes had Jewish Doctors. Even the notorious and vicious anti-Semites Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain had a Jewish Doctor. Why is this? What led to the Jew's attachment to medicine? The answer might surprise you.

150

Devarim - The Strange Centrality of Leadership

Aug 6, 2024

16:35

One would think that the very first topic Moshe discusses in his historic farewell speech would be a foundational one. One that applies to the entire Jewish people. One that galvanizes every individual to remain spiritually robust while in their new land. Yet Moshe talks about Judges and Leaders being fair and patient. Why did he start with that? Why start with something that applies to less than one percent of the Jewish populace? The answer might surprise you.