The Parsha Podcast · Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

201

Acharei Mos – A Consequential Life (5782)

May 1, 2024

54:51

The verse in our Parsha makes a big promise: if you adhere to the Mitzvos and statutes and laws of the Torah you will be granted life. Life is what we all so deeply covet. Torah and Mitzvos are the ways to get it. But it doesn’t seem to bear out in the real world. […]

202

Parshas Acharei (Rebroadcast)

Apr 28, 2024

1:03:09

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. – – – – – – – […]

203

Metzora – Barbarians at the Gate

Apr 18, 2024

1:01:20

The Metzora (one stricken with tzaraas) is unwelcome in polite society. Even impolite society doesn’t want anything to do with him. They must leave the camp. They must be alone, in seclusion, in isolation outside of the camp. They may not have close interaction with others. Others don’t even want to have any interaction with […]

204

Metzora – 21st Century Prophecy (5782)

Apr 16, 2024

1:07:26

How involved is God in the day-to-day lives of humanity? What is the nature of divine communication to humanity? The central subject of our Parsha offers a fascinating window into this question. In antiquity – when our people were very close to the Almighty and very elevated spiritually – every sin would register as a […]

205

Parshas Metzora (Rebroadcast)

Apr 14, 2024

51:14

A metzora is someone who is stricken 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 […]

206

Tazria – Temporarily Embarrassed Millionaires

Apr 11, 2024

41:01

Like much of Leviticus hitherto, tzaraas – the skin malady that is a physical manifestation of a spiritual flaw – is a concept distant from our consciousness. The Torah tells us that when a person commits one of several sins, they can be stricken with a wide range of skin afflictions that qualify as tzaraas. […]

207

Tazria – Torah In A Box (5782)

Apr 9, 2024

53:06

The bulk of our Parsha deals with the inapplicable laws of purity and impurity, but we also told about a Mitzvah that is very much applicable today: circumcision. When a baby boy is 8 days old, they are circumcised and thereby entered into the Covenant of Abraham. What is the meaning behind this Mitzvah? Why, […]

208

Parshas Tazria (Rebroadcast)

Apr 7, 2024

50:27

A very large percentage of Torah is dedicated to the laws of purity and impurity. Parshas Tazria deals exclusively with these laws, first with respect to the impurity of a new mother, and second with the impurity of tzaraas a skin disease that comes as a result of sin. What is purity and impurity and […]

209

Shemini – Spiritual Cholesterol

Apr 4, 2024

52:52

Kosher food is good for you. Non-kosher food is bad. That much we learned in our parsha. But why? Why is kosher food good? In this exquisite podcast, we Go deep and deeper in trying to understand. We discover how non kosher food serves as a form of spiritual cholesterol that creates blockages imperiling our […]

210

Shemini – Aaron’s Credentials (5782)

Apr 2, 2024

45:55

In our Parsha Aaron is promoted to become the high priest. Previously, Moshe served as high priest in an interim role, henceforth Aaron and his descendants will serve as the nation’s emissaries before God. Why was Aaron chosen? What were his qualifications? What were the events in his life that rendered him worthy of such […]

211

Parshas Shemini (Rebroadcast)

Mar 31, 2024

53:51

After months of preparation and building, and a week of inauguration, the nation was anticipating the climax of the Tabernacle experience: When God finally rested His Presence upon the people’s handiwork. On the eighth day the Tabernacle was erected for good, and a Heavenly fire consumed the various sacrifices offered upon the Altar and the […]

212

Tzav – Runaway Brain

Mar 28, 2024

54:08

The subject matter of Parshas Tzav is – like Parshas Vayikra – sacrifices. Before today you may have thought that sacrifices are a boring snooze fest. In this Parsha Podcast your perception of Parshas Tzav and sacrifices will be permanently transformed. In the podcast we share three deep and powerful insights: How to sheath the […]

213

Tzav – Ready, Steady, Fire! (5782)

Mar 26, 2024

44:30

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 […]

214

Parshas Tzav (Rebroadcast)

Mar 24, 2024

58:43

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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

215

Vayikra – Cainitis and Abelitis

Mar 21, 2024

42:37

TORCH Fundraiser Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in 2024 We need your […]

216

Vayikra – From Each According to His Ability (5782) + TORCH Campaign

Mar 19, 2024

52:52

TORCH Fundraiser Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in 2024 We need your […]

217

Parshas Vayikra (Rebroadcast) + TORCH Annual Fundraising Drive

Mar 17, 2024

53:05

TORCH Fundraiser Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in 2024 We need your […]

218

Pekudei – Autopilot Disengaged

Mar 14, 2024

54:00

TORCH Fundraiser Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in 2024 We need your […]

219

Pekudei – Bold Initiatives Checklist (5782) + TORCH Fundraiser Appeal

Mar 11, 2024

1:17:16

TORCH Fundraiser Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in […]

220

Parshas Pekudei (Rebroadcast) and annual Fundraiser at giveTORCH.org

Mar 10, 2024

38:34

Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Parsha Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Parsha Podcast in 2024 We […]

221

Vayakhel – The Third Path

Mar 7, 2024

56:51

There are three ways to achieve transcendental greatness: There is the path of intense practice and training in your desired field of excellence; there is the path of Bezalel who was endowed with supernatural abilities and preordained to greatness; and there is a third path — the path of the ascension of heart. In our […]

222

Vayakhel – Heart Donor (5782)

Mar 5, 2024

58:02

The Torah’s narrative surrounding the Tabernacle is not one-and-done an cut-and-dried. The Torah does not simply tell us that a Tabernacle was built with the requisite materials. Instead of a succinct detailing of the Tabernacle, the Torah tells the Tabernacle narrative in a sprawling and often repetitive fashion over the course of five Parsha sections. […]

223

Parshas Vayakhel (Rebroadcast)

Mar 3, 2024

1:00:50

After the Torah delineates the instructions to assemble the materials for the construction of the Tabernacle in Parshas Terumah and the creation of the vestments of the high priest in Parshas Tetzaveh, Parshas Vayakhel outlines the implementation those plans: The massive fundraising efforts, and the actual building of the Tabernacle and its vessels under the […]

224

Ki Sisa – Augmenting Shabbos

Feb 29, 2024

51:04

The final instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle are conveyed at the beginning of this week’s parsha. After Moshe is told to appoint Bezalel as the head overseer of this enormous project, the Torah cautions us against constructing the tabernacle on Shabbos. Although we are required to build the Tabernacle, and we are inclined […]

225

Ki Sisa – Counting and Duking the Nation (5782)

Feb 27, 2024

42:24

The golden calf is one of the most inexplicable events in the Torah. What went wrong? Who is to blame? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we propose a novel idea that threads throughout the entire Parsha. We emerge from this episode with a greater appreciation of the indivisibility of our nation. – – […]

226

Parshas Ki Sisa (Rebroadcast)

Feb 25, 2024

1:05:49

This week’s parsha contains several instructions related to the Tabernacle, but the majority of the parsha is dedicated to arguably the most shocking and troubling episode in the whole Torah, the Golden Calf. Forty days after the nation reached the pinnacle of human accomplishment – a national revelation at Sinai – the same nation committed what […]

227

Tetzaveh – The Golden Bovine

Feb 22, 2024

57:20

This week’s Parsha is dedicated to the priestly class: It begins with the oil that the High Priest kindles; it describes in great detail the special vestments that the priests wore; and it proceeds in outlining the process of inauguration of the priests. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we go deep and […]

228

Tetzaveh – What’s In A Name (5782)

Feb 20, 2024

1:02:00

Our Sages tell us that each one of us is unique and has a unique mission to fulfill. Humans are not fungible, moist, robots that can be swapped for each other. Each one of us is our own world. We must each say: “the world was created for me.” But how do we discover our […]

229

Parshas Tetzaveh (Rebroadcast)

Feb 18, 2024

56:25

In a natural continuation to Parshas Terumah, in Parshas Tetzaveh we learn about the instructions to build the Tabernacle. Whereas last week the focus was on the edifice itself and its vessels, this week we will orient primarily on the special garments that the priests wore in the Tabernacle, and of course subsequently in the […]

230

Terumah – Cherub-Picking

Feb 15, 2024

57:42

The Tabernacle was a portable Temple in which the presence of God dwelled. Our Parsha begins with the fundraising effort to be conducted in the Wilderness where the nation was asked to donate the required materials for the construction of the Tabernacle, it’s vessels, and the vestments of the high priest. In this enjoyable Parsha […]

231

Terumah – The Mystery of the Menorah (5782)

Feb 13, 2024

58:33

This week’s Parsha marks the beginning of the Torah’s detailing of the Tabernacle and its vessels and operations. This subject makes up the bulk of the remaining narrative of Exodus, and Leviticus contains much of the laws related to the Tabernacle. We have never witnessed the Tabernacle, nor it’s successor, the Temple in Jerusalem. The […]

232

Parshas Va’eira

Jan 1, 2019

1:01:14

In Parshas Vaeira we see the humbling of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. We learn about the first seven of the Ten Plagues and their purpose and significance. More broadly, we delve into the objective of the Exodus at large. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

233

Parshas Shemos

Dec 25, 2018

60:00

The Book of Exodus begins with the Egyptians cunningly enslaving their Hebrew subjects: mandating that they work in backbreaking labor, killing their male sons, and trying to stamp out their spirit and curb their population. But God heard their cries and saw their suffering and dispatched the greatest of all men, Moses, a reluctant leader, […]

234

Parshas Vayechi

Dec 18, 2018

53:23

Parshas Vayechi is the final portion of the Book of Genesis. Jacob is about to die and he tends to his affairs: He assures that he will not be buried in Egypt and will instead be interred in the Cave of Machpelah, he blesses Joseph and his sons, and he blesses/rebukes his twelve sons. – […]

235

Parshas Vayigash

Dec 11, 2018

56:16

Twenty two years have passed since Jacob and Joseph were separated. Ever since Joseph was torn away from him, Jacob was bereft of prophecy and inconsolable. In Parshas Vayigash this long saga comes to an end and Jacob is finally reunited with his long-lost son. – – – – – – – – – – […]

236

Parshas Mikeitz

Dec 4, 2018

1:06:41

Parshas Mikeitz continues the narrative of Joseph in Egypt. We pick up his story two years after his failed attempt at earning a reprieve via his cellmate, Pharaoh’s butler, who was about to be reinstated to his post as Pharaoh’s side. Joseph is languishing in a dungeon for a crime he did not commit; after being […]

237

Parshas Vayeishev

Nov 27, 2018

1:06:30

Parshas Vayeishev contains two intersecting, seemingly scandalous, storylines, that after all the dust has settled we can see are harbingers of the Messiah and Redemption: Joseph is hated by his brothers, and is eventually sold by them as a slave after they nearly killed him. By Parsha end, Joseph is languishing in an Egyptian prison […]

238

Parshas Vayishlach

Nov 20, 2018

1:02:41

After successfully escaping the clutches of his deceptive father in law, Laban, Jacob heads back west to the Land of Canaan, and back to his family. The journey back home was a lot more tumultuous and chaotic than anticipated. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

239

Parshas Vayeitzei

Nov 14, 2018

1:04:11

Parshas Vayeitzei follows Jacob as he is fleeing from his murderous brother Esau and travels to Charan to the house of Laban, his wily and deceptive uncle, and marries multiple wives and fathers 12 children. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

240

Parshas Toldos

Nov 7, 2018

1:06:48

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 […]

241

Parshas Chayei Sarah

Oct 30, 2018

56:37

Some of the highlights of this week’s parsha: Immediately after the Binding of Isaac, Sarah passed away at the age of 127, and soon afterwards Abraham had to procure a burial spot for her. In addition, Abraham sent his trusted confidante, Eliezer, to his hometown to find a spouse for Isaac. – – – – […]

242

Parshas Vayeira

Oct 23, 2018

1:08:11

This week’s parsha features several iconic episodes: Abraham was visited by God as he was recuperating from his circumcision, and concurrently engaged in superlative kindness with three angels masquerading as pagan travelers; Abraham was informed that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed and was unsuccessful in interceding on their behalf; […]

243

Parshas Lech Lecha

Oct 16, 2018

1:02:40

In this week’s parsha Abraham is instructed to move to Israel, is given divine promises that he will be the father of many nations; his children will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the heaven, a son Ishmael is born, and he is commanded to circumcise his foreskin […]

244

Parshas Noach

Oct 9, 2018

57:52

In this week’s parsha: Noah and his family build an Ark as a refuge from an extinction-level Flood brought by God to destroy the world’s sinners. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making […]

245

All New Parsha Series – Bereishis

Oct 4, 2018

1:19:32

With praise and appreciation to the Almighty we begin another year of Torah study and another cycle of the Parsha Podcast. This year will revisit the format of year one of the Parsha Podcast where we will try to cover the entire Parsha in each episode each week. Thank you for downloading and please share […]

246

Sukkos: A Primer

Sep 19, 2018

42:40

“’In a Sukkah shall you dwell for seven days’ – The Torah is instructing us to leave our permanent dwelling and move into a temporary dwelling.” (Talmud Sukkah 2a). A mere five days after Yom Kippur, we are instructed to abandon our permanent home and move into a makeshift hut and live there for seven […]

247

Ha’azinu – The Song of History (Rebroadcast)

Sep 16, 2018

1:06:17

On the final day of his life, Moshe gathers the nation and sketches out the cycles of history both past and future in a poetic, song like way, all the while providing indispensable lessons. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

248

Ten Days of Repentance: A Primer

Sep 12, 2018

52:40

Yom Kippur marks the final day of the Ten Days of Repentance. On this day all our efforts are focused on repenting and earning atonement for all our sins and getting sealed into the Book of Life for the upcoming year. In this podcast we analyze the notion of repentance in general, the difference between […]

249

Nitzavim & Vayeilech – Eternal Exhortations (Rebroadcast)

Sep 2, 2018

1:02:15

*Please note that this podcast was recorded last year when the Parshas Nitzavim and Vayeilech were together in a double parsha. This year Nitzavim and Vayeilech are separate and read over two weeks.* In the last few days of Moshe’s life, he gathers the entire nation, men women and children, and presents to them his […]

250

Rosh Hashana: A Primer

Aug 29, 2018

54:56

Rosh Hashana is both the day of judgement on our deeds of the previous year and the day of new hopes and new beginnings for the year to come. The responsibilities – and the opportunities – of the day are so significant that we must be ready and prepared for it. In this podcast we […]

The Parsha Podcast · Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

The Parsha Podcast Â - הרב יעקב וולבה

More by TORCH