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 Korach (Rebroadcast)
In this week’s parsha, Moshe and Aaron’s first cousin, a man named Korach, launches a rebellion claiming that Moshe is guilty of nepotism in appointing his…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shelach – Rogue Ten
The consequences of sending 12 spies to scout out the Land for 40 days were catastrophic. 10 of the 12 spies returned with a slanderous report about the Land…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shelach – Despising Limitations (5783)
The nation was on the cusp of entering the Land. After about a year at Sinai, the nation was ready to conquer Canaan. The invasion and war of conquest was…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Shelach (Rebroadcast)
The Jewish people were on the cusp of entering the Land of Canaan, and made a prudent, but ultimately tragic, decision: To send a contingent of scouts to…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behaaloscha – Chiseled Hunk
Our Parsha begins with the commandment for Aaron to kindle the Menorah, the intricately embellished, seven-branched candelabra hewn out of a single block of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behaaloscha – Bad Old Days (5783)
After a year at Sinai, the nation is finally on the move. Following the precise protocol of disassembly and decampment, the nation marches off from Sinai…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Behaaloscha (Rebroadcast)
The Jewish nation has been encamped at Mount Sinai for nearly a year; in this week’s parsha they finally depart from the Mountain of God, and sadly leave…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nasso – The Elusive Golden Middle
Our nation has been blessed with many great leaders. What is our definition of great leadership? In this interesting Parsha podcast, we go back to the story of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Nasso – Nazirs Anonymous (5783)
The Nazir is someone who accepts a vow, typically for 30 days, to abstain from wine, to not cut their hair, and to not come into contact with the dead. This…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Nasso (Rebroadcast)
In the longest parsha in the Torah by verses, we continue to read about the Levite families and their responsibilities, we learn about the three tiers of the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bamidbar – Letter of the Law
Long strings of numbers don’t typically make for riveting radio or podcasts. Many of us feel our eyes glaze over when we read seemingly meaningless batches of…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bamidbar – Common Census (5783)
The United States Constitution mandates that a nationwide census is conducted every decade. Other nations also conduct censuses. Censuses are common. Our…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Bamidbar (Rebroadcast)
We kickstart the Book of Numbers with a census of the twelve tribes of Israel – not including the tribe of Levi who is counted independently – conducted by…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behar/Bechukosai – Tilling and Toiling
The laws of the Torah – all 613 of them – were conveyed by God to Moshe at Mount Sinai. This is explicitly conveyed regarding the first Mitzvah featured in the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Behar Bechukosai – Hostage Letter (5783)
Our Parsha contains some of the most difficult portions in the Torah, the Admonition. Our nation is told of the consequences of failing to adhere to the rules…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Behar & Bechukosai (Rebroadcast)
This week’s double-Parsha closes out the Book of Leviticus. Parshas Behar begins at Mount Sinai, where the Almighty instructed Moshe to convey a series of laws…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Emor – Lopside Down
Passover marks the Exodus from Egypt. But leaving Egypt was only the beginning of the radical transformation that the Almighty brought about. 50 days after the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Emor – Snowball’s Chance in Heaven (5783)
The story of the first person to ever be executed in a Jewish court of law is featured at the end of this week’s Parsha. An unnamed man, the son of an…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Emor (Rebroadcast)
Parshas Emor contains a staggering 56 mitzvos, nearly all of them relating to either to the Kohanim, the priests, or to the Festivals, and the parsha ends with…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Acharei Mos/Kedoshim – Sparring Mates
If you chanced upon sparring mates going at it, you may come to the mistaken impression that these two are enemies who want each other’s throats. But the truth…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Acharei Mos/Kedoshim – It’s a Small World (5783)
Our double Parsha contains many different mitzvos. In this podcast we study a set of mitzvos and a very interesting dispute about their nature. We discover a…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Acharei & Kedoshim (Rebroadcast)
This week’s double-parsha contains a smorgasbord of mitzvos. The three chapters of Parshas Acharei cover three general categories. First we read about the Yom…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tazria Metzorah – Scalps and Scalpels
The process of diagnosing and purifying a person afflicted with tzaraas is long and arduous. But there was no avoiding it. It is prohibited to excise a tzaraas…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tazria Metzora – Heaven on the Cheap (5783)
This week’s double Parsha contains some of the most intricate and complex laws in the Torah, the laws of purity and impurity. This subject remains an enigmatic…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Tazria & Metzora (Rebroadcast)
A very large percentage of Torah is dedicated to the laws of purity and impurity. This week’s double Parshas of Tazria and Metzora largely deal with these…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemini – Eighth Time’s The Charm
Assembling and disassembling the Tabernacle was a difficult task that Moshe repeated for seven days. Each morning he placed the vertical beams into their…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Shemini – Fires, Foreign and Domestic (5783)
Nadav and Avihu were the crown princes of the Jewish nation. These two sons were slated to succeed Moshe and Aaron. Moshe declared, without hyperbole, that his…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Shemini (Rebroadcast)
After months of preparation and building, and a week of inauguration, the nation was anticipating the climax of the Tabernacle experience: When God finally…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tzav – Conceal the Deal
A top of the altar were fires that were never extinguished for hundreds of years. What was the nature of these fires? What were they made up of? How are they…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tzav – Pure-Bread (5783)
On the first day of a Kohein’s tenure doing service in the Temple, they bring a once-in-a-lifetime offering: a meal-offering that is almost identical to the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Tzav (Rebroadcast)
In continuation of the themes of last week, Parshas Tzav details the procedures of processing many of the sacrifices enumerated in Parshas Vayikra, teaches us…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayikra – Mind of a Thousand Men
The Book of Leviticus begins with sacrifices. We read about the multiple types of elevation sacrifices, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, etc…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayikra: Five-Course Meal Offering with Rabbi Dovid Biron (5783)
We begin the Book of Leviticus with a Parsha Podcast treat: I invited my friend and study partner Rabbi Dovid Biron to guest host this week’s episode. He did…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayikra (Rebroadcast)
In Parshas Vayikra, the first Torah section in The Book of Leviticus, we learn about the processes and procedures of many different varieties of sacrifices…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pekudei – Zero to Won
After four Parshas, the Tabernacle is finally finished this week. Before the Tabernacle is erected though, Moshe provides an audit for all the gold, silver…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Pekudei – Autopilot Disengaged (5784)
The narrative of the Tabernacle spans many chapters at the end of the book of Exodus. The nation is told to build a sanctuary for God in which He will dwell…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Pekudei (Rebroadcast)
The final parsha in the Book of Exodus wraps up the account of the construction of the Tabernacle, and its vessels and vestments. Again and again we read the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayakhel – Ambition Impossible
Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Vayakhel Pekudei – Laver of Love (5783)
Our double Parsha delineates the implementation phases of the building of the Tabernacle. All the materials are assembled, all the artisans are ready, and the…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Vayakhel & Pekudei (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
Ki Sisa – Sedimentary, My Dear Watson
The most shocking, surprising, baffling, and unexpected event in the Torah – and perhaps in all of human history – happens in this week’s Parsha. A nation…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Ki Sisa – Aaron’s Calculus (5783)
The most calamitous, catastrophic, disastrous event in Jewish history – and arguably the most devastating event in all of human history – happens in our…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Parshas Ki Sisa (Rebroadcast)
This week’s parsha contains several instructions related to the Tabernacle, but the majority of the parsha is dedicated to arguably the most shocking and…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tetzaveh – Careful What You Wish For
Please support the Parsha Podcast by donating to our annual fundraiser at giveTORCH.org This is our only annual fundraiser. Every donation is DOUBLED! Support…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Tetzaveh – The Choshen People (5783)
The High Priest was bedecked with garments of royalty. Our Parsha details the 8 special garments (vestments) of Splendor and Glory that the Kohen Gadol wore…
- 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 – Ark of History
The Tabernacle and all its vessels were steeped in miracles. They Ark did not take up any space. The Showbreads upon the Table did not get moldy. The…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Terumah – Etched in Stone (5783)
Of the various materials needed for the construction of the Tabernacle were Shoham and Miluim stones. These stones were inlaid into the brackets in the Kohein…
- 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 – Angels and Freemans
The first law (of dozens) featured in our Parsha tells of a Jewish bondsman who chooses to voluntarily extend his servitude past the required 6 years. This…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Mishpatim – System of Sinai (5783)
The Parsha that follows the Revelation at Sinai contains an apparently motley potpourri of subjects: it begins with a wide variety of mitzvos of all types…
- 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 – Resetting Expectations
Moshe’s father-in-law Jethro is a fascinating and mysterious figure. He was Egyptian and served as an advisor to Pharaoh, but was ousted and exiled when he…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Yisro – Sinai Sales Pitch (5783)
Our Parsha contains the most significant event in all of human history: the Revelation at Sinai. An entire nation comprised of millions of people heard the…
- 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 – A Sliver of Gold
The Exodus was for good. When the Jewish people left Egypt, they did not return. Pharaoh pursued them (to his detriment) but the nation never turned back. When…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Beshalach – First Mover Advantage (5783)
After the Exodus, the Jewish people left Egypt, with no plans to return. But the Egyptians followed them in hot pursuit, and seven days later the nation was…
- 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 – Timelines of Exile
Our ancestors spent many years in Egypt prior to The Exodus. How many years exactly? That’s a bit complicated. In our Parsha the verse says that after 430…
- The Parsha Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Bo – The Bloods and The Crisp (5783)
The dramatic events of the Exodus reach a crescendo with the nation’s Exodus from Egypt. After 210 years of servitude and subjugation, the Almighty people…