Shows / The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Ethics Podcast is dedicated to exploring the authoritative book of Jewish Ethics, the Book of Mishnah titled “Ethics of our Fathers”. This book, called “Pirkei Avos” in Hebrew, is nearly 2,000 years old, and it is a compendium of the ethical aphorisms of the great Sages of Jewish history circa 300 BCE – 200 CE. Each episode begins with a biographical sketch of the Mishnah’s author culled from the Mishnaic, Talmudic, and Midrashic Literature, and shares some of the timeless lessons and…
Episodes
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Loving Humanity (6.6.31)
Why dont humans naturally love each other? Why is there often discord and disunity? Humans are a strange bunch indeed. In this very interesting and stimulating…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Loving God (6.6.30)
The requirement to love God is featured prominently in our religion. The Shema – the pledge of allegiance of our faith – contains the mitzvah to…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Beloved (6.6.30 Intro)
Torah was not given to angels. Torah was given to humans. One way to expand our ability to acquire Torah is by enhancing our humanity. The more human we are…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Sense of Mission (6.6.29)
We love Torah. Torah study is our national pastime and obsession. It is enjoyable; it is fun; it is interesting — but to acquire it – we have to now that…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Making Fences (6.6.28)
Humans are fallible. We are imperfect, yet we are tasked with being the stewards and the guardians of the perfect. We hold the Almighty’s Torah in our…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Joyous With Your Lot (6.6.27)
There is an unequal distribution of talents, gifts, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone is different. Everyone is their own world. This applies both…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Know Your Place (6.6.26)
The greatest pedagogues of history – the Sages of the Mishnah – codified “knowing your place” as a means to acquire Torah, to acquire…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Accepting Affliction (6.6.25)
Life is full of nuisances. For many – maybe all – life inevitably contains some pain, suffering, and affliction. How we approach these situations…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Trust Sages (6.6.24)
Our primary responsibility as humans and as Jews is to develop and deepen our faith in the Creator. Can we have faith in man? Can we have faith in a mortal? In…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Good Heart (6.6.23)
Although the study of Torah is ostensibly a cognitive pursuit, there are many qualities that are not cognitive nature that facilitate and enable the study of…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Anger Suppression (6.6.22)
Anger is part of the human experience. When things agitate us, we get frustrated and have a tendency to lash out, to berate, to say things that we may regret…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Levity (6.6.21)
Life is serious. Pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of truth. Pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of understanding the Divine (to the best of our abilities). To…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Conversation (6:6:20)
We are speaking beings. In fact, the central differentiation between humanity and animals is the capacity of verbal communication. The judgment that we face in…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Sleep (6.6.19)
We all need to sleep. All humans, irrespective of their intelligence, their physical prowess, their wealth, must lay down in a comatose state for several hours…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pleasure (6.6.18)
Pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain are hardwired impulses . We all want to feel good and to avoid feeling bad. Perhaps surprisingly, the Torah fully…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Moderation (6:6:17)
Our resources are finite. We must engage in trade-offs, deciding what pursuits to prioritize over others. This, of course, is all well known. But it’s…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Worldliness (6.6.16)
The central conflict of our lives orients around our relationship with the physical world in which we currently inhabit: the Torah teaches us that the…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom: Mishnah (6:6:15)
The oral Torah is vast, comprehensive, and multi-layered. One of its layers is known as Mishnah. What is Mishnah, how was it organized and codified, and why…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom: Scripture (6:6:14)
Our works of Scripture are all prophetic, each written with varying degrees of prophecy. When we study Scripture we are encountering the word of God. But what…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom #13: Equilibrium (6:6:13)
Humans are not monolithic. Each one of us is unique and have a unique take on every life situation. The truth is even more granular: even within a single…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom #12: Engaging Students (6:6:12)
One of the most rewarding things a person can do is to teach others. But beyond the feeling of gratification that comes with teaching, When you are able to…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #11: Friendly Critique (6:6:11)
Humans are not perfect. Only God is. We are fallible. We are mistake-prone. Yet our mission and mandate is to discover truth. That is achieved, chiefly, via…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #10: Apprenticeship (6:6:10)
Our glorious tradition was perpetuated from generation to generation, from teacher to student, from parent to child, for thousands of years. One of the ways to…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #9: Purity (6:6:9)
Our sages tell us that one of the ways to acquire wisdom is with purity. What exactly is purity and why would it be a means through which we can acquire…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #8: Joy (6:6:8)
Joy is an underappreciated aspect of the life of a Jew. One can imagine that you can fulfill all of your religious and spiritual obligations without living…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #7: Humility (6:6:7)
Humility is one of the attributes most associated with acquisition of wisdom. Moses was the humblest of men. Sinai was an unassuming, lowly mountain. But what…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #6: Fear (6:6:6)
Fear of Heaven is – together with Love of God – one of the two pillars of our spiritual life. Fear of God is one of the central themes of our…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #5: Awe (6:6:5)
The next way to acquire Torah is with awe. Specifically, awe for a great Torah sage. Why would a Sage inspire awe? Why would this be a method to acquire Torah?…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #4: Process (6:6:4)
What happens when you absorb information? How do you process it? The fourth way to develop wisdom talks about the intuition of the heart. The heart is the…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #3: Articulate (6:6:3)
The mouth is our superpower. Through it we convey ideas and articulate thoughts. The third way to wisdom is to arrange our lips. This entails using our mouth…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
48 Ways to Wisdom – #2: Listen (6:6:2)
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…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
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…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
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…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Torah and Asceticism (6:4)
Food is delicious and we desire it from the first day that we are alive. How does our pursuit of food – and physical and material indulgences in general…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Honor Thy Spiritual Father and Mother (6:3)
Torah study is the greatest of pursuits. Consequently, you are eternally indebted to anyone who bestows upon you Torah. In this fascinating Mishnah, we learned…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Peasant to Prince (6:2)
Studying Torah is the greatest Mitzvah. That is well-known. In this Mishnah, we learn about the perils of neglecting Torah study. Along the way we discover the…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Super-Fusion (6:1)
What does Torah study do for a person? As an outsider, it looks like a waste of time. What benefit do you gain from studying ancient Jewish wisdom and law? We…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pain and Gain (5:27)
We believe in reward and punishment. We believe that the Almighty will dispense reward for those who do good and punishment for those whose actions thus…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Comprehensive Wisdom (5:26)
The Torah is the Almighty’s wisdom. Just as the Almighty is infinite, His Torah is likewise infinite. In this remarkable Mishnah, we are trained to view…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Designing The Ideal Life (5:25)
What does it take to live a great life? How would such a life be structured? This Mishnah is a masterclass in unpacking the subject. What you are about to…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
High and Mighty (5:23-4)
What forces must we use to try to bring about our life mission? Our mandate is to fulfill the will of the Almighty. He expects great things of us and created…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Abraham’s Academy (5:22)
The founder of our nation was Abraham our patriarch. He was a paragon of faith and kindness, and also exhibited every positive character trait. By contrast…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Multi-Level-Marketing of Mitzvos (5:21)
Every mitzvah that we do benefits us for all eternity. Our Sages reveal to us that each Mitzvah creates an advocate who vigorously fights on our behalf and…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
How to Have a Good Argument (5:20)
Argumentation has become a lost art. Our society promotes uniformity and consensus, a monochromatic society where divergent ideas are shunned. This approach is…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Plummeting in Love (5:19)
Love is a fickle emotion. It is something that changes seemingly randomly. Why is love not fixed in place? What is the secret to enduring love? In this…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
How to Boost Your Intelligence (5:15-8)
There are different types of people in the world. Just as our faces are not identical, our perspectives and abilities and innate qualities differ. Regarding a…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Realms of Rage (5:14)
Anger is a sentiment that we all feel sometimes. What triggers our rage? What does our anger say about us? What is the connection between anger and faith? Why…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Generosity and Miserliness (5:13)
In the question of generosity and miserliness, our Mishnah tells us that there are four kinds of people. Interestingly, a group that we would view quite…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Individual Prophecy and Collective Punishment (5:10-12)
In ancient times, our nation benefitted from the service of prophets. The primary responsibility of a prophet was to rebuke and admonish the people when they…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Seven Keys to Wisdom (5:9)
What separates a wise person from someone who has to potential to be a wise person but has not actualized it? In the words of our Sages, such a person who has…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Defanged Demons (5:8)
In the final installment of the series of Tens, our Mishnah reveals to us the ten things that were created at twilight of Friday during the week of Genesis…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Concentric Realms of Holiness (5:7)
For 800+ years our nation had a Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was a special place. It contained the vessels described in Scripture, it was the site of…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Faith and Fear (5:6)
Fear of God and Faith in God are both laudable qualities worthy of great people. Both, of course, are mitzvos as well. Which one is loftier? At first glance…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Miracles at the Sea (5:5)
Ten is a very significant number in Jewish numerology and philosophy. The previous teachings in this chapter revolve around tens and the present Mishnah…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Spiritual Epigenetics (5:4)
The story of our forefather Abraham is told in great detail in the Torah. We read about his challenges and triumphs, travails, and travels. The Mishnah…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Greedy When Others are Fearful (5:2-3)
Ten generations elapsed both from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham. The trend over those generations was away from God and into idolatry. At the end of…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nuclear Football (5:1)
How important are we? Do we even matter? What difference does it make if I live of die? What difference can one person make in the grand scope of existence?…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Life, Afterlife, and Judgment (4:29)
What happens after we die? That is a question that fascinates and terrifies us. The future is unknown. It is a mystery, shrouded in uncertainty and dread…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Envy, Lust, and Honor (4:28)
This Mishnah is perhaps the most famous one in the entire Book of Pirkei Avos. We are told that there are three characteristics that remove a person from the…
- The Ethics Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Aged Wisdom (4:26-7)
How do children learn? How does intelligence and wisdom develop? How do people undergo intellectual and spiritual maturation? In this very powerful set of…