Shows / The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Parsha Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe was started in 2016 with the goal of making the weekly Parsha accessible and useful. Every Sunday, the Parsha Podcast will feature an hour-long podcast outlining the story, narratives and major themes of that week’s Parsha and offer a selection of valuable and interesting insights from it. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, two more episodes that focuses on one idea, theme, or comment on the Parsha will be released. Please send comments or questions to…
Episodes
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayakhel (Rebroadcast)
After the Torah delineates the instructions to assemble the materials for the construction of the Tabernacle in Parshas Terumah and the creation of the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Special: An Interview About My New Book, Upon A Ten-Stringed Harp
In conjunction with our annual fundraiser this week at giveTORCH.org (every donation is tripled), we are releasing a special interview conducted by the TORCH…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Sisa – Counting and Duking the Nation & Annual Fundraiser (giveTORCH.org)
Please support The Parsha Podcast and the annual TORCH fundraiser at giveTORCH.org Every donation will be TRIPLED Show your support for TORCH and the Parsha…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Ki Sisa (Rebroadcast) & TORCH Fundraiser (giveTORCH.org)
Please support The Parsha Podcast and the annual TORCH fundraiser at giveTORCH.org Every donation will be TRIPLED Show your support for TORCH and the Parsha…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tetzaveh – What’s In A Name
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Tetzaveh (Rebroadcast)
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 Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Terumah – The Mystery of the Menorah
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Terumah (Rebroadcast)
One of the fundamental principles of Jewish philosophy is the idea of “Kedushah”, holiness. Holiness, according to the Jewish definition, is when the physical…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mishpatim – Hearing Sinai
The Sinai Revelation was the most significant event in all of human history, certainly in all of Jewish history. Our nation experienced what no other people…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Mishpatim (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Mishpatim marks a stark change in the rhythm and pace of the Torah narrative. The preceding 17 Parshas contained a total of 41 mitzvos; this week we…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Yisro – Deathrow and Jethro
The eponymous protagonist of our Parsha – Moshe’s father-in-law, Jethro – makes three appearances in the Torah. His story, at first glance, seems wholly…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Yisro (Rebroadcast)
The most significant event in all of human history is the Revelation at Sinai, which occurs in Parshas Yisro. Prior to that monumental experience and the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Beshalach – Songworthy Sequels
The Exodus marked the severing of the Jewish people from their former masters, the Egyptians. With plagues and miracles, the Almighty extracted the Israelites…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Beshalach (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Beshalach may be the most action-packed parsha in the Torah. After the Exodus, God directed the people to not take the shortest route to the Land in…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bo – Climbing Mount Exodus
The Exodus from Egypt was the founding event of our people. Our nation had been in Egypt for more than two centuries and we had become acculturated into the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Bo (Rebroadcast)
After the first seven Plagues of Egypt related in last week’s parsha, Pharaoh and his people were still unwilling to release the Children of Israel. In Parshas…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vaeira – The Endurance Expedition
As the tag team representing God in the Exodus, Moshe and Aaron pull off some incredible miracles and feats in this week’s Parsha. When they are formally…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vaeira (Rebroadcast)
Our Parsha begins in the middle of the dialogue between Moses and God. Moses’ initial foray into saving the nation has gone horribly awry. Instead of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemos – Make Your Move
Our Parsha is a difficult one to read. Our nation was enslaved, tormented, oppressed, and murdered by the Egyptians. Although we don’t see the salvation in our…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Shemos (Rebroadcast)
The Book of Exodus begins with the Egyptians cunningly enslaving their Hebrew subjects: mandating that they work in backbreaking labor, killing their male…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayechi – Brotherly Love: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Family is everything. If you are fortunate enough to have siblings, parents, and children you know that there are bonds of kinship and brotherhood (and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayechi (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayigash – A Clash Of Kings
Amongst the sons of Jacob were two kings: Judah and Joseph. Joseph was viceroy of Egypt. He was a king in his lifetime. Judah was never crowned as King in his…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayigash (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mikeitz – Joseph’s Crime
Joseph is one of the all-time heroes of Jewish history. His strength of character was legendary, his faith was unflappable, and his storyline remains an…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Mikeitz (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeishev – Pebbles and Diamonds
A pebble and a diamond are similar in one way: they are both rocks. That’s where the similarities end. A diamond is precious and valuable. Diamonds are things…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayeishev (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Vayeishev contains two intersecting, seemingly scandalous, storylines, that after all the dust has settled we can see are harbingers of the Messiah and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayishlach – Not Reddy to Change
Parshas Vayishlach is an action-packed parsha. After a tension-filled 20 years with Laban, Jacob has to dodge bullets for another parsha. Esau wants to kill…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayishlach (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeitzei – Fortune Favors the Bold
Jacob’s accomplishments in our Parsha are remarkable. At the onset of our parsha, Jacob is a 77 year old bachelor without a penny to his name. Having been…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayeitzei (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Toldos – Abraham’s Torah
Was Abraham the first Jew? Did Abraham observe the laws of the Torah? The Torah dedicates a huge amount of attention to Abraham and his family. The laws of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Toldos (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Chayei Sarah – The Transformation of Eliezer
Eliezer was Abraham’s right hand man. He was in charge of all of Abraham’s affairs. According to the Talmud, Eliezer was the consummate student of Abraham…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Chayei Sara (Rebroadcast)
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 afterward Abraham had to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeira – Exodus From Sodom
For the third time in the Torah, we read about destruction. Previously, the Flood destroyed the world save Noah and family, and the Dispersal ended the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayeira (Rebroadcast)
This week’s parsha features several iconic episodes: Abraham was visited by God as he was recuperating from his circumcision, and concurrently engaged in…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Lech Lecha – Applying for a Name Change
Abraham and Sarah undergo seismic changes in our Parsha. Their names get changed as does their destiny. Originally, they were barren, but in our Parsha, the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Lech Lecha (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Noach – Company Loves Misery
Our Parsha marks a nadir in the story of mankind. Humanity sunk to such spiritual lows that the Almighty decided to destroy the world and start over with just…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Noach (Rebroadcast)
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. – – – – – – –…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bereishis – Making Partner
What connection do we have with Genesis? In our parsha, God creates the world in six days and ceases to create of day seven, on Shabbos. What exactly does this…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Bereishis (Rebroadcast)
With praise and appreciation to the Almighty, we begin another year of Torah study and a new cycle of the Parsha Podcast. This year, we will reupload the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vezos Habracha – Antidotes to Mediocrity
In the Torah’s final Parsha, and indeed, in its final words, we say goodbye to the greatest human to have ever lived. With the passing of Moshe, the Torah…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vezos HaBeracha (Rebroadcast)
The final parsha of the Torah details the blessings that Moshe conveyed to the tribes of Israel immediately prior to his passing, and the Torah ends with the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Haazinu – Small Step for Eaglet
The Song of Ha’azinu is a richly textured tapestry with layered meaning and subtleties. Our Sages tell us that t incorporates all of Jewish History. In its 613…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Jonah: Studying the Yom Kippur Reading on a Deeper Level (Rebroadcast)
On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Ha’Azinu (Rebroadcast)
Still in the final day of Moshe’s life, he conveys to the nation a 43-verse Song predicting the contours of Jewish history, both past, present, and future. The…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeilech – Man on a Mission
Moshe has been the leader of the Jewish people since before the Exodus. Over the course of these forty years, Moshe has led the people through high times and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day Two (Rebroadcast)
On the second day of Rosh Hashana, we read the Torah section of Genesis chapter 22 that tells the very famous and quite troubling episode of the Binding of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day One (Rebroadcast)
The Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashana were not arbitrarily chosen. There are very good reasons why on the first day of Rosh Hashana we read…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
A Mystical Approach To The Rosh Hashana Readings ft. Rabbi Shmuly Botnick
As is true by Shabbos and all Festivals, on the two days of Rosh Hashana we read sections from the Torah and a supplemental reading from Tanach, the Haftorah…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nitzavim – Drawbridge Of The Soul
With the entire nation gathered on his final day of life, Moshe warns the people against being seduced by idolatry. The nation, Moshe reveals, is particularly…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Nitzavim & Vayeilech (Rebroadcast)
On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathered the entire nation – men, women, children, and according to the Talmud, all souls of future Jews – to pass them…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Savo – Maniacal Determination
Our parsha contains perhaps the most difficult Torah portion to read and digest: The Tochacha (Admonition). In it we are told the consequences of our deeds. If…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Ki Savo (Rebroadcast)
As the Book of Deuteronomy draws to its conclusion, the narrative makes a transition: Moshe finishes conveying the mitzvos to the nation, and sets up his final…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Seitzei – A Lifetime A Day
The Midrash in our parsha calculates that the Torah contains 613 mitzvos, 248 positive mitzvos, where the Torah commands us to do something proactive, and 365…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Ki Seitzei (Rebroadcast)
In the parsha that contains the most mitzvos of any of the 54 Torah sections (a staggering 74 mitzvos), we read about the wayward and rebellious son, the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shoftim – Gateways to Great Pursuits
Justice is a virtue that we must vigorously pursue. Our Parsha begins by instructing us to establish a court system with judges and bailiffs throughout our…