All Episodes
Displaying 691 - 720 of 838 in total
Parsha: Behar – The Jubilant 50’s
Being a farmer in antiquity was a hard job. Without any mechanized tools and plows, farming demanded a great deal of sweat and toil. But what choice did you have? If y...
Ethics: 48 Ways to Wisdom – #1: Study (6:6:1)
Torah is unlike other intellectual pursuits. Torah is the word of God and it is intended to fundamentally transform a person. It is not just another academic, philosop...
Mitzvah: Poles of the Ark (#96)
The Ark was the most iconic of the vessels of the Temple. Housed in the Holy of Holies, visited only once a year by the High Priest on Yom Kippur, the Ark represents t...
Lag BaOmer and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
Lag BaOmer is the day that marks the Yahrtzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the great Sages of the Mishnaic Era. In celebration and recognition of Rabbi ...
Parsha: Parshas Behar (Rebroadcast)
At Mount Sinai, the Almighty instructed Moshe to convey a series of laws to the Jewish people. The first is the mitzvah of Shemittah, the prohibition of engaging in an...
Parsha: Emor – Spiritual Fingerprint
The Kohanic family is the most prestigious and sanctified family in our nation. Direct descendants of the legendary Aaron, this family was consecrated as the priests o...
Ethics: Pushing the Envelope (6:5)
The Torah scholar plays a significant role in the world. We believe that the reason why the Almighty created the world was for Torah study. We also believe that absent...
Mitzvah: Building a Temple (#95)
The epicenter of Jewish life is the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In the Temple, the presence of God was palpable and undeniable. Ever since the Sinai Revelation, our nati...
Parsha: Parshas Emor (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Emor contains a staggering 56 mitzvos, nearly all of them relating to either to the Kohanim, the priests, or to the Festivals, and the parsha ends with a very ...
Parsha: Kedoshim – The Superhuman Imperative
Our Parsha begins with an unusual ceremony: Moshe gathers the entire Jewish Nation, men, women, and children, to convey to them the mitzvos of our Parsha. Unlike the r...
Omer: Seven Themes for the Seven Weeks of Seven Days
The days spanning the Festivals of Pesach and Shavuos, of Exodus and Sinai, are called the days of the Omer. During these 49 days, during these 7 weeks of 7 days, we a...
Mitzvah: Canaanite Policy (#93-4, 425, 528)
Our nation has some enemies. The arch foe of our people are the Amalekites. That nation is hellbent upon our destruction. The ancient Canaanites were cut from the same...
Parsha: Parshas Kedoshim (Rebroadcast)
This week’s parsha has the highest mitzvah density of any parsha: In its 64 verses we learn 51 separate mitzvos covering many different areas of Jewish practice, inclu...
Parsha: Acharei Mos – A Consequential Life
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 co...
TORAH 101: The Unique Markers of a Jewish Soul
Our nation purports to be the chosen people. What does that mean? Why were we chosen? What were we chosen for? The notion of being a chosen people is a very interestin...
Parsha: Parshas Acharei (Rebroadcast)
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 aga...
When God Positions Man: A Yahrzeit Tribute to Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe
This Pesach marks the 17th yahrzeit of my grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. Because this week is Pesach and does not feature a new Parsha, I recorded a special tribute ...
The Pesach Seder: How to Maximize the Year’s Most Powerful Night
The first night of Pesach – the second night as well is the Diaspora – is arguably the most important nights of the year. On this night we were redeemed from Egypt, th...
Pesach Special with Akiva and Yehoshua Wolbe
This upcoming Shabbos coincides with the first day of Pesach. Consequently, there is no new Parsha this week. But there will still be a new Parsha Podcast. My dear fri...
Pesach: Pharaoh and the Haggadah
On Pesach we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. Our nation endures hundreds of years of servitude and enslavement and unimaginable suffering and torment under the ruthle...
TORAH 101: The Transposition of the Soul
How did the soul end up here? What transpired to the soul before it got here? These are fascinating questions that on the surface seem to be quite theoretical. What di...
Pesach: The Lifeblood of our People
The Exodus from Egypt is the founding episode of our nation. The Almighty plucked us out, a nation from amidst a nation, and chose us to be His people. What were the p...
Parsha: Metzora – 21st Century Prophecy
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...
Parsha: Parshas Metzora (Rebroadcast)
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...
Parsha: Tazria – Torah In A Box
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...
TORAH 101: The Origin of the Soul
The Soul is perhaps the loftiest creation of God. Our Sages tell us that the Soul is even loftier than Angels. What does that mean? What is the nature of the relations...
Parsha: Parshas Tazria (Rebroadcast)
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 ...
Parsha: Shemini – Aaron’s Credentials
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 ...
We Have Been Blessed With a Baby Boy
With deep appreciation to the Almighty for all the goodness that He has bestowed upon us, I’m happy to share that my wife, Chaya, and I were blessed with a beautiful b...
Parsha: Parshas Shemini (Rebroadcast)
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 ...