This Jewish Life

Shiurim

• The System of Prayer

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  It takes years to develop a taste for prayer. Prayer is described in our sources as “service of the heart.” Service of any sort is difficult for us, and most of us are not attuned enough to our hearts to even understand what service of the

• The Key to Meaningful Prayer

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Prayer is a central tenet of our religion, and comprised a hefty chunk of its rituals. The Mishna (Pirkei Avos 1:2) delineates the three things upon which the world stands – meaning that without it the world would cease existing – and lists

• Special: An Interview About My New Book, Upon A Ten-Stringed Harp

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 Board President, Dan Kullman, about my new book, Upon A Ten-Stringed Harp. Please

• Q&A: Execution for Shabbos Desecration?

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Torah rules that a Jew who desecrates the Shabbat by performing one of the 39 prohibited categories of work is executed. Should we really round up and detain all the Jews driving to shul on Shabbos, try them and execute them? The punish

• The Secret of the Month of Kislev with Rabbi Shmuly Botnick

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The most noteworthy days of Month of Kislev are the days of Chanukah that begin on the 25th of Kislev and stretch into the following month of Teves. Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Jewish people over the Greeks and the restoration an

• The Three Types of Disciples

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Nothing is as critical to one’s spiritual development as to finding our a good teacher.A good teacher can educate, can inform, can direct, can inspire, can place a student on the right path for them. But how does a student integrate the tea

• Does Judaism Really go through the Mother: Demystifying Patrilineal and Matrilineal Descent

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to Does Judaism Really go through the Mother: Demystifying Patrilineal and Matrilineal Descent by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• The Name of Messiah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Seven things were created before the world was created. That much we are told in the Talmud. What is the significance of this collection of things that preceded the world? When we analyze the list, moreover, we read how the name of Messiah

• What are the six Jewish fast days and what do they commemorate?

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Ever wonder why we fast on the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha b’av, and on the happiest – Yom Kippur? Listen and learn all about the four minor and two major Jewish fasts.

• Insights from the Rosh Hashana Torah Reading (2nd day – Genesis Chapter 22: The Binding of Isaac)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 Isaac. Abraham – the same Abraham who railed against the ways of child sacrifice of

• Adam and Eve: A Model Marriage?

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  In several places in Jewish Literature and practice we present Adam and Eve as a prototype of a relationship worth emulating. There is only one slight problem with that – Adam and Eve did not seem to have a stable relationship, much less an

• Tikkun Olam: The Mission Statement of the Jewish People

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Tikkun Olam is Hebrew for fixing the world. Implied is that we live in a broken world. What about our world is broken? How do we go about fixing it? Why are the Jewish people uniquely suited to accomplish this vital task? What tools are we

• Vanquishing the Villain Part 2: Spiritual Antibiotics: How Torah Protects and Saves

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Talmud (Brachos 5a) delineates 4 methods to eliminate the greatest threat to our life, the Yetzer Ra. In this podcast, we examine and explore the second approach, that Torah study protects and shields from sin. Contact: Website: RabbiWo

• Understanding the Suffering of the Righteous

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The question of “why bad things happen to good people” is an exceedingly difficult philosophical dilemma to grapple with. We believe that God is in absolute control of everything that happens in the world. We also believe that He is Just. Y

• Inspiration to Perspiration: How to implement a great idea

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  We all have those moments in life where we are galvanized to change ourselves, our community or the entire world. However, only a select few people actually take the inspiration to the finish line. In this episode, Rabbi Wolbe delineates th

• The Codification of the Oral Torah: The History, Methodology and Philosophy of Canonizing the Mishna, Talmud and Halacha

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Previously (see HERE ) we have elaborated on the 1500 years of uninterrupted conveyance of the Oral Torah in its entirety from one generation to the next. Towards the end of the second century of the common era a fateful decision was made t

• The Ten Commandments in Jewish Thought and Philosophy

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to The Ten Commandments in Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• Bridging the Unbridgeable: How Torah, Mitzvahs and Science bring us to Emunah – Special Guest Lecture by Eric L. Pines

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Eric L. Pines, Esq. is a member of the Maryland, California, and Texas State Bars, and founder of Pines Federal, a law firm specializing in Employment Law for Government and Military Employees. Mr. Pines’ firm represents federal employees f

• Moses: The greatest prophet

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rabbi Wolbe explains the meaning of Moses being the “father of all prophets”, and delineates the profound differences in the veracity of our Revelations vs. all other religions.

• Why we get Drunk on Purim

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  On Purim we are instructed to intoxicate ourselves with wine till we do not know the difference between “Haman is cursed” and “Mordechai is blessed”. What could possibly be the rationale behind such a strange mitzvah?

• Pharaoh and the Haggadah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  On Pesach we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt. Our nation endures hundreds of years of servitude and enslavement and unimaginable suffering and torment under the ruthless rule of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. But God did not forget His covenant

• The Ugliest Guy Ever

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Talmud Taanis 20: A Person should always be soft like a reed and not stiff like a cedar. There was a story with Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Shimon who was coming from Migdal Gedor from the house of his Rabbi, and he was riding on a donke

• Shavuos: A Primer

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 of the meaning of this Festival and its various themes. – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• Ten Plagues: Ten Faith-Building Tools for Molding a Nation

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to Ten Plagues: Ten Faith-Building Tools for Molding a Nation by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• The Pursuit of Faith: 4 Paths to Rudimentary Emunah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The first of the Ten Commandments instructs us to gain basic faith. The last one, “Thou Shall No Covet”, is a reflection of a much more advanced variety of Emunah. In this episode, we stress the importance to not rely solely on emotional or

• Understanding God Through Torah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Jews are required to love God. How can we love an entity that we have a hard time defining? Rambam addresses this question and informs us of a solution that will change our relationship with God and Torah. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• Troubleshooting relationships: What you can do when things go wrong

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to Troubleshooting relationships: What you can do when things go wrong by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• Pesach Pedagogical Pointers: Parenting Lessons from the Haggadah’s Four Sons

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Torah provides four verses that describe the appropriate conversations fathers should have with their sons on Pesach Eve. The Haggadah explains that each conversation refers to a different type of son. There is a distinct dialogue with

• On Death and Dying: Part 2 – How to Prepare

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  How do you prepare for your day of death? Is that an important question? One can argue that living is much more important than dying. Death, this line of reasoning argues, is something that happens on its own and not something that we need

• Food and Eating in Jewish Philosophy: More than Bagels and Deli

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to Food and Eating in Jewish Philosophy: More than Bagels and Deli by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• The Fiercest Obstacle to Greatness

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Ambitious people want to accomplish ambitious goals. They want to undertake bold challenges, they want to make an indelible impact upon the world. Every such noble goal will face a fierce obstacle. If you are someone who dreams big, who har

• The Walled Garden of Torah (Alei Shur Introduction)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  A thick wall separates the world of Torah from the world outside of it. Those who are outside have no concept of the wondrous nature of that world. Even people who are Torah observant – who are Orthodox – can be totally ignorant of this mos

• Elul Cheat Sheet

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Preparing for the High Holidays can be daunting. How can anyone adequately prepare for standing in judgment in front of the Heavenly tribunal? But prepare we must. The month of Elul is designated for preparing for the awesome days of Rosh H

• Mussar Masters During the Holocaust: Portraits of Valor, Faith, and Martyrdom (Recorded Live in Harrisburg, PA)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Mussar is the tool that we can use to integrate Torah into ourselves and change our character. A Mussar master is someone who is spiritually alive. In this special lecture, we try to tell a story of how Mussar masters operated during the in

• Q&A: Evolution and Age of the Universe

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  A simplistic reading of Genesis, interpolated from Adam to present day, results in a universe that is less than 6,000 years old. Scientific methods date the universe as being 13.8 billion years old, a discrepancy that is decidedly beyond th

• Think: How Torah Study Unleashes our most Potent Power

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Core Beliefs of Judaism with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe – Torah Part 4

• Rosh Hashana Opportunities

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rosh Hashana is a day of repentance. But unlike Yom Kippur, there is nary a mention of sin in all the ceremonies, prayers, and liturgies of Rosh Hashanah. What is the nature of repentance decoupled from acknowledgment of sin? When we study

• Midrash: An Introduction

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Students of the Almighty’s holy Torah are familiar with the term midrash. It refers to a series of books that serve as commentaries on the Torah and on other holy writings. But where does the Midrash come from? What authority does it have?

• Three Avenues to Eternity

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Performance of Mitzvahs earns a person a portion in Olam Haba. How does that work? In this podcast we examine various Jewish sources that establish the three distinct ways someone can achieve Olam Haba via mitzvahs.

• The Four Ways that Torah Connects us to our Creator

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Core Beliefs of Judaism with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe – Torah Part 7

• Going Kosher in Three Easy Steps!

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  If you are ready to go kosher you have come to the right place. Rabbi Wolbe outlines the three easy step involved in transforming from a kosher novice to complete kosher observance. Kosher has never been simpler.

• Why didn’t God create the world in one instant?

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rabbi Wolbe addresses this interesting question, and also dabbles with the philosophical problems of an infinite existence and a finite world coexisting, and the paradox of Free Will in the face of an All Knowing God.

• Why, Pray Tell? The Centrality of Prayer in Jewish Practice and Harnessing it’s Unlimited Power

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Moses prayed 515 times to God that He rescind His decree of banning Moses from entering Israel. After this relentless prayer assault Moses ceased praying. Why would Moses stop after 515 and not continue and what does that teach us about the

• Ten Pious Men and One Prostitute

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  When the Torah presents us with parallel stories of people with radically different priorities and spiritual statuses who faced similar challenges with counter-intuitive results, clearly there is an important lesson for us.

• On the Integrity and Accuracy of the Text of the Written Torah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The clear and copious evidence that the Torah is of divine origin ( Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 ) is incontrovertible to all but the most unreasonable of skeptics. In this class we continue the exposition of presenting convincing proo

• The 5 C’s of every happy and harmonious marriage

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  It is well documented that modern humans fail at marriage at alarming rates. In the United States for example, in any given year the amount of divorces are roughly half the amount of marriages pegging the divorce rate around 50%. Shockingly

• The Two Variants of Emunah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Emunah, faith, is a critical mitzvah that headlines the Ten Commandments. But truthfully, Emunah is more than an isolated mitzvah; it is the objective of all the mitzvos. – – – – – – – – – – – – – Contact: Website: RabbiWolbe.com; Twitter:

• Two Anonymous Wives

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  There are two wives – two women whose names we don’t even know – who caused seismic, tectonic shifts in the fates and the fortunes of their husbands, their families, their tribes, and the nation at large. 254 men were part of the Korach reb

• An Epic Story of Survival and Heroism far away from the Terrible Plight that befell the Jews during the Holocaust

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Judaism teaches that God controls, supervises, manipulates and directs Jewish History. While we struggle to understand why the unprecedented genocide of the Holocaust had to happen, we know that God willed it. Of course this raises importan

• Ask the Rabbi: Modest Prayer; Teenage Girl Advice; Youthful Skills; and Religious Difficulties

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Today’s podcast is a wild card. This past Shabbos I was invited to join a panel of rabbis to answer a series of interesting questions submitted by high school students from the all-girls high school in Houston. In this special episode I sha

• How is this Religion different from all other Religions: How Judaism is an Evidence-based Faith

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Talmud declares that someone who rejects the legitimacy of the Written Torah as being written by Moses as per the dictation of the Almighty has no portion in the World to Come. If someone accepts the Torah at large but argues that a sin

• The Five C’s of every Happy Harmonious and Stable Marriage

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  If we are to believe the statistics, the majority of marriages today end up in divorce. The Torah outlines the five components to a Happy, Harmonious and Stable Marriage , each beginning with the letter “C”. In this episode, Rabbi Wolbe del

• What does Judaism say about war and when/how are they supposed to be fought?

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to What does Judaism say about war and when/how are they supposed to be fought? by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• Chanukah and Joseph

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Every year, Chanukah falls out during the weeks in which we read about Joseph and his exploits in Egypt. Our Sages tell us that there is a deep connection between Joseph’s and the Maccabean heroism. Many connections have been proposed, and

• Bo – Climactic Exodus

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Ten Plagues reach their crescendo in Parshas Bo. After Pharaoh’s repeated intransigence, he undergoes a series of humbling miraculous plagues that prompt him to evict the Jews from his land. Contact: Website: RabbiWolbe.com; Twitter: @R

• A Mussar Approach to the #MeToo Revelations

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Over the past several months, there have been revelations, accusations, and allegations of sexual misconduct by celebrities of all types, which spawned movements and hashtags and a national conversation on these issues. In this podcast we o

• Celebrating A New Wolbe Baby Boy

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Our family was blessed with a new baby boy this past Sunday evening. With the help of the almighty, he will be joining the covenant of Abraham and receive his Bris tomorrow morning, Monday the 15th of January, in the Young Israel of Houston

• Sukkah (Life): A Temporary Residence

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to Sukkah (Life): A Temporary Residence by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• How to Conquer the Anger Impulse

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  None of us admire the people who lose it in a fit of rage. We like we look up to the people who are calm, cool and collected. The people who comport themselves with dignity and nobility and are always in control of themselves. Rage is not a

• How to be a Great Leader (and Spouse) – Recorded Live at the Kotel in Jerusalem

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 nesi’im , the presidents of the tribes, donated the stones for the Kohein Gadol’