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
Devarim – Moshe’s Speech (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Devarim, and indeed the Book of Devarim, begins with a lengthy speech from Moshe to the nation about a month before his death. In it he subtly…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mattos & Masei – Promised Land Pending (Rebroadcast)
The final two parshiyos of the Book of Numbers (Bamidbar) tell the laws and happenings leading up to the conquest of Canaan (Israel). We are taught the laws of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pinchas – Legacies of Great Leaders (Rebroadcast)
Pinchas was a great hero who acted out of vengeance for God. In this Parsha, we read about the plaudits for his heroism, the Jews are counted again, a knotty…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Balak – Greatness Gone Awry (Rebroadcast)
Bilaam was a gifted prophet on par with Moshe. Sadly, he chose to direct his powers towards a life of evil. In Parshas Balak, Bilaam is hired to curse the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Chukas – Blissful Ignorance
The eponymous mitzvah of this week’s parsha, the Red Heifer, is the archetype of a mitzvah that is beyond human comprehension. What can we learn from a mitzvah…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Chukas -Repentance of the Red Heifer (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Chukas tells of the red heifer as an atonement from contamination of the dead. What is the meaning behind it and how does it relate to the Golden Calf?…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Korach – How to Have Strife-Free Arguments
Korach and his comrades launched an insurrection against Moshe that ended catastrophically for them. Our Sages maintain that his mistake was in the underlying…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Korach – A Cousin’s Rebellion (Rebroadcast)
Korach was Moshe’s envious first cousin who mounted an insurrection against Moshe and Aaron, even questioning their legitimacy. In this story we learn vital…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shelach – The Core of Mussar
Mussar is frequently translated as “ethics” or “character refinement”. In the debacle of the Spies found in this week’s parsha we see a definition of Mussar…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shelach – The Sad Saga of the Spies (Rebroadcast)
In Parshas Shelach we read about the disastrous episode of the Spies. These 12 men were initially great leaders of the people, but their libelous report about…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behaaloscha – Amplified Output
In a series of events at the end of this week’s parsha we gain a glimpse of how God dispensed reward and punishment. Moshe’s older sister Miriam is stricken…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behaaloscha – Trouble in Paradise (Rebroadcast)
After nearly a year encamped at Sinai, the Jews begin their journey to Canaan in Parshas Behaaloscha. With the Tabernacle completed, the Levites consecrated…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nasso – Community and Individuality
When detailing the gifts of the tribe leaders to celebrate the inauguration of the Tabernacle, the Torah contains what seems like a twelvefold repetition…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nasso – Temporary Insanity (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Nasso is the longest parsha in the Torah, 176 verses. It details the final preparations for when the Tabernacle is erected, the laws of Sotah and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shavuos: A Primer
Shavuos marks the time of the giving of the Torah and the climax of the nation building that began with the Exodus. In this podcast we offer a broad overview…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bamidbar – Stature of a Nation (Rebroadcast)
The book of Numbers begins with a national census conducted by Moshe and Aaron and the heads of the tribes, followed by informing of the encampment structure…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behar & Bechukosai – Consequences of Closeness (Rebroadcast)
In the last two parshas of Leviticus we read what a nation subject to God’s dominion looks like. Our life is regulated by God – lending without interest…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Emor – Festivals of Hashem (Rebroadcast)
In Parshas Emor we learn more laws relating to the sanctity of Kohanim; we get a detailed account of the Jewish festivals; and read about the blasphemer and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Acharei & Kedoshim – The Love Formula
In the second of this week’s double parshas we encounter the Torah’s most famous mitzvah, and perhaps the most difficult one to fulfill. We read in Vayikra…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Acharei & Kedoshim – How to be Holy (Rebroadcast)
This week’s double parshas include perhaps the most famous verse in the Torah, “Thou shall love your fellow as yourself”, along with a bevy of mitzvos geared…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tzaria & Metzora – A Diamond’s Blemish
These Torah portions in the middle of Leviticus seem foreign to modern ears and sentiments. In this podcast we offer a common theme for the laws of kosher…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tazria & Metzora – Lessons in Purity and Impurity (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Tazria and Metzora teach about various forms of purity and impurity, how they are contracted, the laws of a person who has them, and how they are…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemini – Aaron’s Stoicism
On the eighth day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, amid the joy and jubilation and ecstasy of having God dwell among the nation, tragedy and disaster…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pesach: A Primer
Pesach marks the foundational event of our nation’s history. The Exodus that happened on the days of Pesach is the rationale of the Jewish holidays nad…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemini – Following Orders (Rebroadcast)
After seven days of consecration, Aaron and his sons are promoted to being Kohanim, and after offering the sacrifices of day eight, the glory of God appears in…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tzav – Scaling the Rungs of Greatness (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Tzav continues the instructions relating to the Tabernacle and its sacrifices. We learn more details regarding some of the sacrifices mentioned earlier…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
How to be a Great Leader (and Spouse) – Recorded Live at the Kotel in Jerusalem
In the last portions of Exodus, the Torah details the incredible fundraising efforts to assemble the materials needed to build the Mishkan. It records that the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayikra – Sacrificial Repentance (Rebroadcast)
The Book of Leviticus begins with Parshas Vayikra. In this section we learn about the processes and procedures of many different varieties of sacrifices. What…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayakhel & Pekudei – Blundering to Greatness
In this week’s double parsha we observe something unusual. Unlike its tendency to be concise and succinct and mince words, the Torah finds it necessary to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayakhel & Pekudei – Rectifying the Golden Calf (Rebroadcast)
Parshiyos Vayakhel and Pekudei retell the implementation of the instructions to build the Tabernacle, its vessels and the vestments of the Kohen Gadol given in…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Purim – A Mitzvah to get Drunk
Besides the four mitzvos of the day, the Talmud states that a person has to get drunk on Purim “until he does not know the difference between Haman is cursed…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Sisa – Tragedy at Sinai (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Ki Sisa wraps up the instructions regarding the Tabernacle, and then tells the story of perhaps the most shocking and troubling episode in the whole…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Purim – Love-Inducing Miracles
The Talmud (Shabbos 88a) teaches that in the aftermath of the Purim miracles the Jewish people re-accepted the Torah out of love. What was so special about the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tetzaveh – Holy Vestaments (Rebroadcast)
In Parshas Tetzaveh the Torah outlines the various garments needed for the Kohein Gadol, the instruction to raise the funds for the oil for the Menorah, and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Terumah – The Ark of Torah
This parsha kickstart several Torah sections outlining the structure and the vessels of the mishkan, the Tabernacle. The Talmud brings these ideas closer to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Terumah – A Dwelling Place for God (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Terumah records the Almighty’s directive to Moshe to fundraise the raw materials needed to build the Mishkan and its vessels and the instruction to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mishpatim – Preconditions of Prayer
Amid a parsha replete with all kinds of interpersonal mitzvos, we find a transformational insight with respect to prayer. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mishpatim – Jewish Jurisprudence (Rebroadcast)
The Torah is generally perceived as addressing matter of religion and the spiritual. In Parshas Mishpatim we see how it is an exhaustive guide to life in every…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Yisro – The Key to Changing the World
There is a learnable quality the underpins every transformational change and improvement that humanity has achieved. It is what separates the people who are…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Yisro – A Kingdom of Priests and A Holy Nation (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Yisro is a tale of two stories: The first is the episode of Yisro the father in law of Moshe. He abandons his post as the priest of Midian to join the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Beshalach – The Divine Doctor
In this week’s parsha the Torah gives us a general characterization of mitzvos as medicine prescribed by God to heal our soul. What does that mean and how does…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Beshalach – Exhilarating Exodus (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Beshalach begins with the Exodus from Egypt. This begins a spiritual transition for the Jewish people. For the duration of the 40 years in the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bo – Ramban’s Critical Comment
In Parshas Bo the Exodus reaches its climax with the final 3 of the Ten Plagues. The Exodus is much more than being freed from slavery, it is the founding of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bo – Climactic Exodus (Rebroadcast)
The Ten Plagues reach their crescendo in Parshas Bo. After Pharaoh’s repeated intransigence, he undergoes a series of humbling miraculous plagues that prompt…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vaeira – Tangible Fear of God
Before the seventh and final plague of the parsha, Moshe warns the Egyptians about the forthcoming hail of fire-and-ice. Some of the Egyptians prudently move…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vaeira – Educational Plagues (Rebroadcast)
In Parshas Vaeira we see the humbling of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. We learn about the first seven of the Ten Plagues and their purpose and significance. More…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemos – The Iron Crucible (Rebroadcast)
The book of Exodus begins with the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt. Interestingly, when Abraham was selected to be the father of the Chosen People he…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayechi – Spiritual Diagnostician (Recorded Live in Harrisburg, PA)
In his last act, Jacob gathers his sons and offers each of the twelve a blessing. To us, however, it does not seem that the first three received a blessing at…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayechi – Deathbed Priorities (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Vayrchi is oriented around the illness and death of Jacob. The Jewish family is growing and establishing roots in Egypt. Their spiritual leader and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayigash – The Chariot of God
This week’s parsha recounts the tale of how after decades of separation, Jacob is finally reunited with Joseph. But when they finally meet something odd…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayigash – A Family Descends (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Vayigash begins with Joseph’s dramatic revelation to his brothers and ends with the descent of Jacob and his descendents to Egypt, where they will…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Chanukah – Small Miracles
When reading about the story and the miracles of Chanukah, the most prominent and memorable one seems to be the military victory of a small ragtag guerrilla…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mikeitz – From Prisoner to Viceroy (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Mikeitz tells the dramatic transformation of Joseph from lowly prisoner to exalted viceroy of Egypt, his oversight of Egyptian preparation for famine…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeishev – Death by Unnatural Means
In Parshas Vayeishev, the conflict between Joseph and his brothers reaches the tipping point when they plot to kill him. In the end, Reuben saves Joseph by…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeishev – Strange Paths to Redemption (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Vayeishev marks the dramatic descent of Joseph, from Jacob’s favorite son to alleged attempted rapist languishing in an Egyptian prison. In retrospect…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayishlach – Your Money or Your Life
In our parsha, Jacob was stranded alone and partook in a fight to the death with the angel of Esau for an entire night. Quoting the Talmud, Rashi reveals that…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayishlach – Twin Tussles (Rebroadcast)
Telling the story of this week’s parsha while gleaning insights and lessons from it. The topics discussed in this episode: Jacob’s Preparation for the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeitzei – Manipulating Willpower
In our parsha, Jacob and his wives are faced with a very difficult test, and the Torah describes a very unique approach that they used when confronting the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayeitzei – Nation Building (Rebroadcast)
Telling the story of this week’s parsha while gleaning insights and lessons from it. The topics discussed in this episode: Jacob’s Dream – [0:00] Jacob’s…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Toldos – Bad Influences
Rebecca was surrounded by bad influences. Her father, brother and community were all sinners. How did she manage to not learn from their ways and what can we…