The Parsha Podcast · Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

51

Ki Savo – Dial of Joy (5783)

Sep 9, 2025

47:56

The Torah has a surprising view on joy and how to attain it. The prevailing attitude in our society is that a person’s state of joy is contingent upon circumstance: In good days, people tend to feel a bit more joyous. On bad days, it’s more difficult to feel joy. Joy, according to society, is […]

52

Ki Seitzei – Yibbum Or Bust

Sep 4, 2025

54:57

The death of one’s spouse is always a tragedy, but there’s something particularly sad about someone who dies without children. Leaving no living progeny behind leaves a person without continuity, without a legacy in this world. When a man dies childless, the Torah instructs his wife to seek to marry her deceased husband’s brother in […]

53

Ki Seitzei – The Upside of Laziness (5783)

Sep 2, 2025

51:24

Our parsha begins with the unusual law of the marriage of a Jewish warrior and an enemy captive woman. When a Jewish warrior spots a prisoner of war that he desires to marry, there is a process and a protocol for how he may marry her. The Talmud (also featured by Rashi) offers a very […]

54

Shoftim – Crown Jewels

Aug 28, 2025

57:10

Many of us secretly harbor the belief the we would make a fine president. Leading a nation sounds like a cushy job: armies of aides at your beck and call, ready to execute your agenda and vision. Kings have truly unlimited power. They don’t have term limits. There are no checks and balances to weaken […]

55

Shoftim – Crisper Genes (5783)

Aug 26, 2025

49:20

The nation is on the doorstep of Canaan. In our Parsha, the people are instructed in how they must treat the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. It’s not pleasant. The people are told that they must engage in total war against these nations. How do we understand the requirement to be so violent and aggressive […]

56

Reeh – Path Independence

Aug 21, 2025

1:00:15

We like to maintain optionality and delay decisions if possible. The idea of being pigeonholed into one path irks us. But Moshe tells the nation that we must make a choice: “Behold I have placed before you today a blessing and curse.” The path of blessing is the total acceptance and adherence to God and […]

57

Reeh – Making Dough (5783)

Aug 19, 2025

43:30

The Parsha ends with a delineation of the festivals. When discussing Passover, the verse notes that for 7 days we eat matzah because we left Egypt within great haste. The Exodus was so rapid and frantic, that the dough that we had been preparing was unable to rise and we did not have fluffy, puffy […]

58

Eikev – Tefillin’ Good

Aug 14, 2025

1:20:20

This is a very special episode of the Parsha podcast. Exactly 5 years ago, the Parsha podcast began a streak of producing a brand new episode each week. With the unending help of the Almighty, we haven’t missed in five years. To celebrate this momentous accomplishment, we tackled a very ambitious project: our Parsha contains […]

59

Eikev – Longevity Pill (5783)

Aug 12, 2025

39:01

A ubiquitous feature in Jewish homes, the Mezuzah contains a scroll with two paragraphs from the Torah, one from this week’s Parsha and one from last week’s. This mitzvah bears a distinction that it shares with no other mitzvah. In this interesting and useful podcast, we explore the secrets represented by the Mezuzah, and learn […]

60

Vaeschanan – Two of Hearts

Aug 7, 2025

1:06:38

Even believers are incapable of understanding God. It’s supremely logical to observe that our wonderful world – our wonderful universe – certainly had a Creator, but how can we connect with God? How can we develop a relationship with Him? In our Parsha, we are commanded to develop emotions of love and fear towards God, […]

61

Vaeschanan – Jordan Rules (5783)

Aug 5, 2025

59:08

As a result of Moshe’s sin of striking the rock, he was barred from crossing over the Jordan River and entering the Land of Canaan. In Moshe’s speech to the nation, he recounts how he petitioned God to have this decree rescinded. When studying Moshe’s prayer to enter the Land, we discover several incredible insights […]

62

Devarim – Wellsprings of Beer

Jul 31, 2025

1:00:16

There are many levels of Torah. There are many ways to acquire Torah, 48 by the calculation of our Sages. The human with the greatest understanding of Torah was obviously Moshe, the one who received Torah directly from God. In our Parsha we get a stunning description of the profound depth of Moshe’s understanding of […]

63

Devarim – Middling East (5783)

Jul 29, 2025

57:25

In his speech to the Nation, Moshe revisits the episode of the Spies that occurred 39 years prior. When the nation was on the verge of entering the Land, Moshe commissioned 12 distinguished men to reconnoiter the Land and to share their findings with the nation. It was a debacle and a fiasco. As a […]

64

Mattos Masei – Greatness and Anti-Greatness

Jul 24, 2025

56:19

Accidents are unfortunate. Accidents that lead to death are a catastrophe. Among the myriad of subjects discussed in this week’s double Parsha is the law of the accidental murderer. When someone kills accidentally, they are punished by being confined to certain cities from which they mustn’t leave. These cities of refuge serve as open-air prisons, […]

65

Mattos & Masei – 49-Step Program (5783)

Jul 22, 2025

57:08

What did the nation do over the course of the 40 years in the wilderness? What was their objective? In our parsha we read that the nation stopped in 42 locations over the course of their 40-year sojourn. The Torah delineates the names of the 42 different venues where the nation encamped. What is the […]

66

Pinchas – Sunday and Moonday

Jul 17, 2025

56:34

Great leaders are often irreplaceable. The greatest leader of them all is certainly irreplaceable. But even Moshe must have a successor. In our Parsha, Moshe asks God designate a successor for him after he passes. Who can possibly fill such large shoes? Who can possibly take upon themselves the mantle of leadership of God’s Nation? […]

67

Pinchas – Sons of Anarchist (5783)

Jul 15, 2025

51:43

Korach’s rebellion claimed many victims: Some of the perpetrators were swallowed up in a miraculous sinkhole; some were consumed by a divine fire; and some were killed in a plague. In our Parsha, we discover that the sons of Korach did not die. Although they were participants in the rebellion initially, at the very last […]

68

Balak – Ruthless and Ruthful Determination

Jul 10, 2025

1:06:16

Balak, King of Moab, and Bilaam, sorcerer extraordinaire, hatched a plot to annihilate the Jewish people. Had their plan been successful, there would not have been even a single survivor. And they almost pulled it off. In fact, absent a Divine intervention, the glorious Jewish Nation would have been toast. What gave them such power? […]

69

Chukas – Bold and Boulder

Jul 3, 2025

1:00:40

When the nation needed water, they found it in a most unexpected place: Moshe struck a rock and it began to spew forth enough water for the entire nation. Why was there water inside the rock? Why when Jacob needed water, he removed the rock blockading it? Why didn’t he find water inside the rock […]

70

Chukas – Methods of Transformation (5783)

Jul 1, 2025

53:05

In the first of this week’s double parsha, we read about the death of two giants: Miriam and Aaron, Moshe’s older sister and brother, pass away. Our sages tell us that the death of the righteous serves as an atonement in a way similar to sacrifices. Just as sacrifices atone, so too does the death […]

71

Korach – On Cloudy

Jun 26, 2025

48:48

Of Korach’s 253 collaborators, only three are named, and all three are Reubenites: Dathan, Abiram, and On Ben Peles. Dathan and Abiram remain true to Korach’s cause until the very end when they and their families are swallowed alive by the miraculous sinkhole. On Ben Peles was spared thanks to his wife’s wise intervention. In […]

72

Korach – Korach’s Insatiability (5783)

Jun 24, 2025

1:03:58

Korach was immensely talented. He was enormously rich, he was clever, and he was devilishly persuasive. His rebellion, however, was doomed from the start. What are the roots of Korach’s rebellion? Why was Jacob dead-set on not having his name associated with Korach? In this Parsha Podcast we engage in a profound study of the […]

73

Shelach – Rogue Ten

Jun 19, 2025

51:16

The consequences of sending 12 spies to scout out the Land for 40 days were catastrophic. 10 of the 12 spies returned with a slanderous report about the Land. The Nation was on the precipice of conquering the land, and this report deflated their spirit and condemned an entire generation to perish in the Wilderness […]

74

Shelach – Despising Limitations (5783)

Jun 17, 2025

52:55

The nation was on the cusp of entering the Land. After about a year at Sinai, the nation was ready to conquer Canaan. The invasion and war of conquest was imminent. Then catastrophe struck. Moshe sent 12 spies to reconnoiter the Land and report the back with their findings. Their report completely deflated the spirit […]

75

Behaaloscha – Chiseled Hunk

Jun 12, 2025

53:30

Our Parsha begins with the commandment for Aaron to kindle the Menorah, the intricately embellished, seven-branched candelabra hewn out of a single block of gold. Towards the Parsha’s middle, we read about the set of silver trumpets that Moshe made, again hewn out of a single block of silver. The only other item with this […]

76

Behaaloscha – Bad Old Days (5783)

Jun 10, 2025

1:11:21

After a year at Sinai, the nation is finally on the move. Following the precise protocol of disassembly and decampment, the nation marches off from Sinai. Destination: Land of Canaan. At least that was the plan. More about that next week. In this week’s podcast we explore the events surrounding the Nation’s journey from Sinai. […]

77

Nasso – The Elusive Golden Middle

Jun 5, 2025

48:12

Our nation has been blessed with many great leaders. What is our definition of great leadership? In this interesting Parsha podcast, we go back to the story of the princes of the tribes. These 12 men were the heads of the 12 tribes. When Moshe and Aaron conducted the census in the beginning of last […]

78

Nasso – Nazirs Anonymous (5783)

Jun 4, 2025

1:01:00

The Nazir is someone who accepts a vow, typically for 30 days, to abstain from wine, to not cut their hair, and to not come into contact with the dead. This Nazir is holy. They are close to God. They are like a high priest. They are likely to reach prophecy. But there are some […]

79

Bamidbar – Letter of the Law

May 29, 2025

57:35

Long strings of numbers don’t typically make for riveting radio or podcasts. Many of us feel our eyes glaze over when we read seemingly meaningless batches of numbers and a series of calculations. To the untrained eye, our Parsha – with its censuses, depiction of encampment layouts, and delineation of Levite responsibilities in the transportation […]

80

Bamidbar – Common Census (5783)

May 27, 2025

59:16

The United States Constitution mandates that a nationwide census is conducted every decade. Other nations also conduct censuses. Censuses are common. Our parsha begins with a nation-wide census, the third census since the Exodus. But this census was highly uncommon. It was conducted completely differently than the way that any other census is done. When […]

81

Behar/Bechukosai – Tilling and Toiling

May 22, 2025

54:33

The laws of the Torah – all 613 of them – were conveyed by God to Moshe at Mount Sinai. This is explicitly conveyed regarding the first Mitzvah featured in the first of our double Parsha, the Mitzvah of shemitah, to allow the land to lie fallow each 7th year. When we examine the subject […]

82

Behar Bechukosai – Hostage Letter (5783)

May 20, 2025

1:01:54

Our Parsha contains some of the most difficult portions in the Torah, the Admonition. Our nation is told of the consequences of failing to adhere to the rules of God. The consequences are fierce and harsh. When this section is read in the synagogue, it is done quickly and in an undertone to prevent the […]

83

Emor – Lopside Down

May 15, 2025

1:00:48

Passover marks the Exodus from Egypt. But leaving Egypt was only the beginning of the radical transformation that the Almighty brought about. 50 days after the Exodus, the nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and experienced theophany – national prophecy, national Revelation – at the mountain. The whole nation heard the word of God and lived. […]

84

Emor – Snowball’s Chance in Heaven (5783)

May 13, 2025

56:35

The story of the first person to ever be executed in a Jewish court of law is featured at the end of this week’s Parsha. An unnamed man, the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man, blasphemed and was executed. When we ponder the story we discover all sorts of interesting tidbits. The […]

85

Acharei Mos/Kedoshim – Sparring Mates

May 8, 2025

52:22

If you chanced upon sparring mates going at it, you may come to the mistaken impression that these two are enemies who want each other’s throats. But the truth is, a sparring mate is helpful tool to improve your craft. The Almighty endowed us with a very helpful sparring mate to help bring the best […]

86

Acharei Mos/Kedoshim – It’s a Small World (5783)

May 6, 2025

54:44

Our double Parsha contains many different mitzvos. In this podcast we study a set of mitzvos and a very interesting dispute about their nature. We discover a valuable and profound insight that can help us develop and cultivate our potential. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

87

Tazria Metzorah – Scalps and Scalpels

May 1, 2025

1:03:07

The process of diagnosing and purifying a person afflicted with tzaraas is long and arduous. But there was no avoiding it. It is prohibited to excise a tzaraas affliction. You must go to the priest and have him evaluate it. You must be quarantined if you are declared impure. You must undergo the long and […]

88

Tazria Metzora – Heaven on the Cheap (5783)

Apr 29, 2025

57:59

This week’s double Parsha contains some of the most intricate and complex laws in the Torah, the laws of purity and impurity. This subject remains an enigmatic mystery for us, in fact, even in Talmudic times it was arcane. That said, there is always something that we can glean from every part of Torah. In […]

89

Shemini – Eighth Time’s The Charm

Apr 24, 2025

51:53

Assembling and disassembling the Tabernacle was a difficult task that Moshe repeated for seven days. Each morning he placed the vertical beams into their silver sockets, and affixed the golden rings on the top of the beams. He placed the horizontal bars that went on each side of the vertical beams, including the snaking bar […]

90

Shemini – Fires, Foreign and Domestic (5783)

Apr 22, 2025

59:15

Nadav and Avihu were the crown princes of the Jewish nation. These two sons were slated to succeed Moshe and Aaron. Moshe declared, without hyperbole, that his two nephews, Nadav and Avihu, were greater than he and Aaron. These two sons of Aaron were without peer. Yet they acted in an inexplicable manner: On the […]

91

Tzav – Conceal the Deal

Apr 10, 2025

56:15

A top of the altar were fires that were never extinguished for hundreds of years. What was the nature of these fires? What were they made up of? How are they different than other fires? When we examine the sources, we discovered that there were multiple types of fires, including a special, Divine fire that […]

92

Tzav – Pure-Bread (5783)

Apr 8, 2025

1:02:59

On the first day of a Kohein’s tenure doing service in the Temple, they bring a once-in-a-lifetime offering: a meal-offering that is almost identical to the daily meal-offering offered by the High Priest. This offering is classified by the Torah as the offering of Aaron and his sons. When we analyze this unique meal offering, […]

93

Vayikra – Mind of a Thousand Men

Apr 3, 2025

54:30

The Book of Leviticus begins with sacrifices. We read about the multiple types of elevation sacrifices, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, etc. None of us would imagine that this Torah section would completely reshape our understanding of Adam and Eve’s Sin in the Garden. But it does. In this Parsha podcast, we discover a […]

94

Vayikra: Five-Course Meal Offering with Rabbi Dovid Biron (5783)

Apr 1, 2025

47:45

We begin the Book of Leviticus with a Parsha Podcast treat: I invited my friend and study partner Rabbi Dovid Biron to guest host this week’s episode. He did not disappoint. In this podcast we learn about the meal offering, how it differs from ordinary sacrifices, and the powerful and life changing lessons that it […]

95

Pekudei – Zero to Won

Mar 27, 2025

59:06

After four Parshas, the Tabernacle is finally finished this week. Before the Tabernacle is erected though, Moshe provides an audit for all the gold, silver, and copper that was raised for the Tabernacle and identifies where they were used in the temple, its vessels, and it’s vestements. In this final year 9 Parsha podcast on […]

96

Pekudei – Autopilot Disengaged (5784)

Mar 25, 2025

51:17

The narrative of the Tabernacle spans many chapters at the end of the book of Exodus. The nation is told to build a sanctuary for God in which He will dwell. The Torah uncharacteristically repeats many aspects of this narrative. In this very special Parsha podcast, we go deep and deeper to understand the general […]

97

Vayakhel – Ambition Impossible

Mar 20, 2025

52:09

Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support the TORCH Centre and the Parsha Podcast by visiting giveTORCH.org right now and making a generous donation! This is the LINK for the Fundraiser. – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

98

Vayakhel Pekudei – Laver of Love (5783) + TORCH Campaign

Mar 18, 2025

46:30

Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support the TORCH Centre and the Parsha Podcast by visiting giveTORCH.org right now and making a generous donation! This is the LINK for the Fundraiser. – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

99

Parshas Vayakhel & Pekudei (Rebroadcast) + TORCH Fundraiser

Mar 16, 2025

1:12:03

Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support the TORCH Centre and the Parsha Podcast by visiting giveTORCH.org right now and making a generous donation! This is the LINK for the Fundraiser. – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

100

Ki Sisa – Sedimentary, My Dear Watson

Mar 13, 2025

58:27

Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support the TORCH Centre and the Parsha Podcast by visiting giveTORCH.org right now and making a generous donation! This is the LINK for the Fundraiser. – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

The Parsha Podcast · Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

The Parsha Podcast Â - הרב יעקב וולבה

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