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
Chayei Sarah – Portal to Paradise
The Torah dedicates an unusually large amount of verses in the beginning of this week’s parsha to describe a real estate transaction between Abraham and a…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeira – Abraham’s Three Protégés
Abraham was the most influential person in human history. He changed the tides of history, he popularized Monotheism in the world, he is the father of many…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Lech Lecha – Go West, Young Man
Abraham is the Torah’s first protagonist. The entirety of this parsha and the subsequent one are following the forefather of our nation. Why does the Torah…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Noach – Spiritual Adaptation
Noah is arguably the most enigmatic figure in the Torah. The Torah is lavish in his praise: He was a prophet who found favor in Hashem’s eyes and selected to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bereishis – You are Adam (Includes New Segment: A&Q)
Welcome to YEAR FIVE of The Parsha Podcast. It is such a momentous day! It is a total pleasure to begin studying the weekly parsha with the best audience in…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vezos HaBeracha – Betrothed to Torah
What is the most important verse that we need to convey to our children? Perhaps that is a difficult question for us to speculate upon. Thankfully, the Talmud…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ha’azinu – Shattering The 6 Biggest Myths about Yom Kippur
The Shabbos before Yom Kippur, when we read the penultimate parsha, Parshas Ha’azinu, is known as “Shabbos Shuva”, the Shabbos of Repentance. On this day, we…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Rosh Hashana Reading (2nd day – Genesis Chapter 22: The Binding of Isaac)
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
Rosh Hashana Reading (1st day – Genesis Chapter 21)
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
Nitzavim – Spiritual Interdependence
The Jewish nation is unlike every other nation. We are the “Chosen People”. We are “The Nation of God”. What does it mean to be the nation of God? In this…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Thanks a Million!
Of all the episodes that I have recorded over the years, this will be perhaps the most unique one. For one, it will be released simultaneously on all 6…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Savo – Tiers of Paradise
Perhaps the most intriguing question of all is” What actually happens after we die? Everyone is curious to know the answer to that question. In this unique…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Seitzei – Roadmap to Victory
The Yetzer Hara is described in Jewish Literature as a skillful and dangerous enemy that we must make war with. And unless we devise a comprehensive strategy…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shoftim – Kosher Bribery
A judge must remain impartial to be able to judge correctly. If he receives a bribe, even if it is non-monetary or intangible, he is disqualified from…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Re’eh – Influencing People
A wise woman once said: “Judaism is terrible at marketing.” It seems like we are doing a terrible job at influencing others to adopt Torah. It is not only…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
The Essence of Tisha B’Av
Tisha B’Av (The Ninth of Av) is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, the Spies returned from scouting the Land and spooked the Nation with…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pinchas – Consistency is Key
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Chukas & Balak – Second Chances
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Chukas & Balak (Rebroadcast)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Korach – The Legendary Malcontents
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shelach – Benefiting from Blunders
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behaaloscha – The Eyes of the People
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nasso – How to Find Your Life-Mission
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bamidbar and Shavuos: The Indispensability of each Jew
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Emor – The Addiction Challenge
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Spiritual Opportunism: A Special Shiur for Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe’s Yahrtzeit
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Special Pesach Episode – The Seder Night: 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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tzav – Essential Oxygen
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayikra – Infectious Spirituality
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayakhel & Pekudei – Sequestered with God
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Sisa – Coronavirus: Three Lessons from the Torah
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Purim: Toasting your Troubles
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Terumah – Apex Holiness
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Yisro – Spiritual Metamorphosis
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bo – 11 Dimensions of Exile
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vaeira – The Object of Exile
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemos – True Kinship
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayechi – The Unexpected Hero
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 Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Kindling the Jewish Soul: Understanding the Deeper Meaning of the Menorah: (Recorded Live in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada)
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeishev – Earning Your Stripes
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayishlach – Getting A Divine Deposit
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…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeitzei – Cornerstones of the Nation
Throughout the parsha, there are many references to a stone or stones. Jacob surrounds himself with stones for protection; he pours oil on a stones; he…
- 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 – Breaking Barriers
After nearly two decades of infertility, Isaac and Rebecca conceive, but something does not feel right. Whenever Rebecca passes a house of Torah, she feels her…
- 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 Sara – The Four Ways to Die
This podcast contains two ideas on Parshas Chayei Sara. First, we examine the Torah’s unusual description of Sarah’s location of death. Then we probe the…
- 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 – Abraham’s Failures?
A casual reading of our parsha would give the impression that Abraham fails at everything he tries: He tries to feed guests, yet we find out that they are…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Lech Lecha – How Small Steps Yield Huge Results + New TORCH Initiative
This week’s Parsha orients around our patriarch, Abraham, and more specifically his 10 tests that formed his spiritual makeup, and more broadly the spiritual…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Noach – How to Become a Tzadik
Only one man is classified by the Torah as a “Tzadik”, the eponymous hero of our Parsha, Noah. “Tzadik” is generally translated as “righteous” or “upstanding”…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bereishis – Ramban’s Introduction to the Torah
In his introduction to Torah, Ramban discusses some of the most critical questions about the Torah: He discusses the Torah’s authorship and its writing…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas VeZos HaBeracha + Plans for Year 4 of the Parsha Podcast
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
Parshas Ha’Azinu
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
Book of Jonah: Studying the Yom Kippur Reading on a Deeper Level (Chapter 1)
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 Vayeilech
Moshe is 120 years old to the day. He was born on the seventh of Adar and now it is the seven of Adar 120 years later. Today is his last day before his passing…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Insights from the Rosh Hashana Torah Reading (2nd day – Genesis Chapter 22: The Binding of Isaac)
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
Parshas Nitzavim
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
Insights from the Rosh Hashana Torah Reading (1st day – Genesis Chapter 21)
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
Parshas Ki Savo
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
Parshas Ki Seitzei
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…