The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

When the Temple was extant, first thing each morning a Tamid sacrifice was offered, and an afternoon Tamid offering was the last sacrifice of the day. The Midrash reveals to us quite surprisingly that the essence of Torah is encapsulated in the Tamid sacrifices. What is so special about this sacrifice that makes it worthy of that distinction? Please email […]

Over the course of the Nation’s 40 year sojourn in the Wilderness they tested God 10 times. But God believes in second chances, and gave them an opportunity to rectify their misdeeds. This principle applies on a national and individual level. We are all given second chances, but we must listen to those messages and […]

In Parshas Chukas, we read about a highly unusual mitzvah: The Red Heifer, when an entirely red cow is burned together with a motley concoction of ingredients, and the resultant ashes are used to sprinkle on people that came into contact with dead people in order to purify them from their spiritual contamination. We also […]

Dathan and Abiram appear in Scripture for the first time in this week’s parsha as conspirators in Korach’s insurrection, but according to the  Midrash this is not nearly their first rebellion against Moshe and Aaron. In fact, since Moshe was a young lad, Dathan and Abiram were thorns at his side, resisting him at every […]

Mistakes are endemic to the human condition. We all make mistakes. Even the titans of our history like Moshe, Aaron, and Joshua made mistakes. In this hastily prepared podcast we speculate that mistakes are not incidental to greatness but are absolutely pivotal. Without mistakes there can be no greatness. Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with […]

Our parsha contains an unusual sequence: The nation is about to leave Sinai, and Moshe makes a prolonged, and unsuccessful, appeal to his father in law, Jethro, to remain with him. Then there is the strange episode of the backwards-facing NUNs. Then the nation commits two grievous sin back to back. Moshe then tells God […]

A central tenet of Jewish philosophy is that every individual is unique – a world onto their own – and is entrusted by God with a unique, tailored mission. That principle is found several times in our parsha. But how do we discover what our mission is? In the past, that question would be addressed […]

Parshas Bamidbar is the Torah portion that we read immediately prior to Shavuos, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, each year. In this special episode, we offer a mind-bending idea to ponder the connection between Shavuos and Parshas Bamidbar. To aid with visualizing the contents of this unique episode, please download the accompanying […]

Among the many laws found in our parsha, are the laws governing the Festivals and holidays. Given that we are currently in middle of the Counting of the Omer period spanning from Pesach to Shavuos, in this special episode we presented various ways to maximize this period. We also made a specific challenge to the […]

It has been 15 years since my illustrious grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, passed away, on the first day of Chol HaMoed Pesach 2005. In this special shiur to mark his yahrtzeit, we speculate the ways that he became great and take a very valuable lesson on how to become great ourselves during this coronavirus pandemic. […]

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, this is the night of the Exodus, this is the night of the death of the firstborn; tonight we became a nation. This […]

Among the many sacrifices discussed in the Book of Leviticus, the Korban Todah, the Thanksgiving Sacrifice stands out. The Midrash teaches us that in the future, all sacrifices will cease, with the exception of the Thanksgiving sacrifice. Similarly, all prayers will be discontinued, but the thanksgiving prayer will endure. What is so unique about giving […]

With the help of the Almighty, we begin a new Book, the Book of Leviticus, Sefer Vayikra. In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we read the Ramban’s introduction to the Book, and also analyze a very interesting subject contained within the Book that mirrors the events dominating the world today. This Parsha Podcast […]

This week’s double-Parsha begins with a stern warning against desecrating the Shabbos in order to build the Tabernacle. Absent the verse, I would have thought that you must even work on Shabbos to erect the Tabernacle. Why would I think so? Also, why indeed does it not override the Shabbos? In this special edition of […]

The deadly coronavirus (COVID- 19) is dominating the world’s attention. Our Sages teach us that when danger strikes, we must ponder our behavior and search for lessons. We believe that this virus is a message from God. What is the message? What is He telling us? Of course, only prophets can answer that question definitively, […]

Purim contains arguably Judaism’s strangest custom. On the day that we celebrate our nation’s triumph over Haman and his evil plot, we are required to drink and become so drunk that we forget about Haman’s treachery. What is the meaning behind this unusual custom? TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your […]

Our parsha features the greatest bargain in human history: God instructs us to erect a Mashkan, a Tabernacle, for Him, and provided that we follow the rules to a tee, He will dwell amongst us. At Sinai, the nation became God’s Chosen People. What exactly was missing after Sinai that necessitated building the Tabernacle? TORCH […]

Moshe’s father in law Yisro is arguably the most unusual character in the Torah. His arrival comes at a very crucial time – sandwiched between the major founding events of our nation – and his contribution is somewhat marginal, yet he is given prime real estate in the Torah: In the run-up to the most […]

After centuries of subjugation and servitude, our nation was redeemed from Egypt and taken out by God on the wings of eagles. How long, exactly, were we in Egypt? That is actually quite a tricky question to answer. In this parsha we read how the Egyptian enslavement lasted for 430 years but in Genesis, God […]

In our parsha we read about the first seven of the eventual ten plagues that precipitated the Exodus. But a fundamental question needs to be asked: Why were we enslaved to begin with? What’s the purpose of enslavement and what’s the purpose of the redemption? Why did our people need to undergo this period of torment, […]

In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we read through Ramban’s introduction to the Book of Exodus, and we examine the special fraternal relationship of Moses and Aaron by contrasting it with the relationships of siblings in Genesis and by demonstrating how their close could have imperiled the Exodus from Egypt. TORCH Shabbat Light […]

In this special edition of the Parsha podcast, we share several observations and insights on the parsha relating to pedagogical theory and the lengths to which the righteous conceal the misdeeds of others, we ask an interesting question on the episode of Jacob crossing over his hands when blessing his grandsons, and discuss a theme […]

This unique podcast was recorded live at the Aish Thornhill Community Shul on the third day of Chanukah 5780. In the talk we suggest a cogent and unified explanation of the festival of Chanukah, and specifically, of the menorah candles. We begin by noting the many differences between the Chanukah candles and the other rabbinic mitzvah […]

A reappearing theme of this week’s parsha is garments: Joseph’s brothers envy is engendered by a garment; the brothers deceive Jacob by presenting him with a garment; When mourning, Jacob and Reuben rip their garments; Tamar disguised herself by swapping her garment; Joseph is imprisoned when he loses his garment. In this podcast we suggest […]

This week’s parsha podcast features three powerful ideas: One relating to God giving Jacob a very unusual nickname; one that follows the aftermath of the episode of Dinah; and one relating to the different names assigned to Esav’s wife. TORCH Shabbat Light Switch Cover Please visit our website torchweb.org to get your FREE TORCH Shabbat Light Switch […]