Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe Podcast Collection

The Menorah is the vessel of the Temple that we are most familiar with. The seven-branched candelabra, engraved with intricate embellishments, was lit each night in the Temple. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at  https://www.torchweb.org/support.php . Thank y...

Shavuos is the day that marks the most significant event in the history of humankind: A nation coalesced around Mount Sinai to temporarily catapult into a state of prophecy, to hear God say the Ten Commandments, and to live to tell the tale. Shavuos is thus aptly named, “the Day of the Giving of the Torah”. In the Talmud we discover that the power of the day is to transform people from being ordin...

We kickstart the Book of Numbers with a census of the twelve tribes of Israel – not including the tribe of Levi who is counted independently – conducted by Moses, Aaron, and the most distinguished leaders of said tribes. Subsequently, we read about the banners of the tribes and their assigned encampments, the transference of the sanctity of the firstborn to the Levites, and the designated role of...

Why was our soul sent to this world? What was lacking for it in Heaven? That is not an easy question to answer. There are other hard questions to ponder: why are we so obsessed with Torah? How is Torah beneficial for mankind? In this superb episode of the Parsha Podcast, we discover a higher level of living and a higher level of Torah study. There is a form of Torah engagement that is fundamentall...

The second way to wisdom is to listen with your ears. In this podcast you will learn about the power of learning via listening. Audio learning is more impactful than visual learning. The Almighty gave us two ears and only one mouth; we have to listen twice as much as we talk. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help...

There is a widespread custom to study Pirkei Avos, the Mishnaic Book of the Ethics of our Fathers, between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuot. As we prepare for the reenactment of the Sinai Revelation and the giving of the Torah, we prime ourselves to become worthy vessels for Torah by refining and improving ourselves. The authoritative Jewish book for self-improvement is Pirkei Avos. In this pod...

Three vessels resided in the Tabernacle’s/Temple’s Sanctuary: The Menorah, the Golden Alter, and the Table. The top of the table were two stacks of showbreads, six breads on either stack for a total of 12. These breads were ever present atop the table. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreac...

In two chapters in the Torah (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28) we read about the positive consequences of obeying the Torah and heeding its laws; and the terrible, painful consequences of disobeying the Law. Though reading this week’s Torah portion is scary and a tad depressing, the truth is that this framework is the secret to our nation enduring such long and painful exiles. – – – – – – – – – – – –...

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 you want to feed your family, you need to work the land. Then comes the Shemitah. Every 7th year, the farmers in the Land are barred from working the field. For one year, the Land must lay fallow. Adhering to this mitzvah demands a gr...

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, philosophical, or intellectual discipline, it is a way to upgrade man from beast to angel. This very special Mishnah tells us that Torah needs to be acquired, and there are 48 ways to do it. In this special episode, we outlined the concept o...

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 the epicenter of holiness of our people. A series of nested boxes containing the tablets etched by God, covered by cherubs hewn from a single block of gold, the Ark represents Torah and our most intimate connection with our Creator. I...

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 Shimon’s accomplishments and stature, the custom is to make it a mini-holiday. But of course, Rabbi Shimon was not the only transcendental Sage of that time. His teacher was the great Rabbi Akiva, his contemporaries included the gr...

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 any agricultural work every seven years. What is the lesson inherent in this mitzvah and what are the consequences of transgressing it? – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by m...

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 of our nation. They oversee the temple and its operations, they do the service of the Temple, they process the sacrifices – they are the spiritual leaders of our people. Given their stature, they are bound by laws that apply to no oth...

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 Torah study, the world would cease to exist. The Torah scholar is truly indispensable for the world’s continuity. What ought to be the Torah scholar’s attitudes towards the pursuits that the masses covet: money, power, prestige, hon...

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 nation has had a Mitzvah to build a temple to God in our midst. Even today, while politically untenable, this Mitzvah stands. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a dona...

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 unusual episode that happened at Sinai. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at  https://www.torc...

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 rest of the Torah where the nation is conveyed the Law in shifts, in this week’s Parsha everyone has to be together. When we examine the reasons why, things get interesting. In this edition of the podcast, we suggest an approach that...

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 are commanded to count the days by mentioning each day’s number and the corresponding number of weeks and days. In this sweeping podcast episode, we share 7 interconnected themes and concepts to understand these seven weeks and make t...

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 cloth. These barbarous, idolatrous nations spelled an existential threat to our people and our continuity. In this set of mitzvos, we outlined the Canaanite policy. How we are told to deal with our enemies may sound surprising to mo...

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, including arguably the most famous mitzvah in the whole Torah. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at...

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. There seems to be no life expectancy differentiation between those who adhere to the Torah’s laws and those who neglect them. How do we...

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 interesting and mysterious idea. In this special podcast, we focus on an element of the uniqueness of the Jewish nation: the Jewish Soul. Are all Souls the same or is there something special about the Jewish Soul? In this exceptional podcast e...

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. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider spon...

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 to my grandfather of righteous memory. May we all be inspired to emulate his ways and may his Soul be elevated in Heaven. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship:  Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a dona...