Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Shiurim

• The Dangers of Discord, Division and Disunity

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Disagreements and arguments are a fixture of human interactions; but they needn’t result in division and strife. In this podcast we learn the secret of how to engage in argumentation the right way. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• #23: The Parameters of Divine Providence

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  A central tenet of Jewish theology is that the same Creator who created the Heavens and the Earth also supervises His creation on an ongoing basis. Moreover, that supervision, that oversight is personal and down to the most minute detail. A

• Re’eh – An Attitudinal Shift

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Parshas Re’eh marks a transition in Devarim. After four sections of Moshe inspiring the nation ahead of his death and their entrance to Israel, the nation is instructed with mitzvos related to their upcoming new world. – – – – – – – – – – –

• Constructive Criticism: How to Effectuate Change with Rebuke (A Tisha B’Av Lesson)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Besides being a critical mitzvah, to rebuke or criticize someone who is acting improperly is a vital skill that every leader (boss, parent) needs to know how to wield effectively. Our sages tell us that there are two ways to criticize, one

• The Shabbat Gift

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The laws of Shabbat are vast and seemingly draconian. A study of its laws reveal a comprehensive governance of every aspect of our lives on Shabbat. The Talmud even declares that greetings one’s fellow on Shabbat is “barely permitted.” To a

• Mussar and the anatomy of change

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Human all have a collection of positive and negative character traits. Judaism teaches us that we must perfect our character and acquire all the good characteristics and rid ourselves of our negative character maladies. But religiosity is n

• Ungracious Hosts: The Story of Greek and Roman Oppression of Jews (323 BCE – 66 CE)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  At the beginning of the Second Commonwealth Era the Jews were introduced to a reality that they were previously unexposed to; namely living in Israel under foreign rule. With relatively minor exceptions such as the successful Macabbean revo

• 48 Ways to Wisdom – #11: Friendly Critique (6:6:11)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Humans are not perfect. Only God is. We are fallible. We are mistake-prone. Yet our mission and mandate is to discover truth. That is achieved, chiefly, via the study of Torah. The Almighty embedded truth and understanding of God in the Tor

• Noach – Cured Ham

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  After spending a year in the ark, Noah and his family exited it to find an empty and desolate world. The sinners who dominated the world before the flood were gone as were basically everything else. The animals, not including token represen

• Truth and Peace (6.6.40)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Truth and peace are often incompatible. A peaceful solution to a problem is often not truthful; unvarnished truth is rarely diplomatic. In way number 40 to acquire wisdom we learn how we must deploy truth and peace in the right manner, in t

• Ep. 55: Techeiles: The History of the Mysterious Blue Dye and its Fringe Benefits

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The word “Techeiles” is mentioned dozens of times in the Torah, and is a subject that appears in many places in the Talmud and associated literature. Techeiles is both a color and a material , namely wool dyed with this color, but to fulfil

• The Themes, Meanings, Liturgies and Rituals of Yom Kippur

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Listen to The Themes, Meanings, Liturgies and Rituals of Yom Kippur by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, from This Jewish Life.

• Special Pesach Episode – The Seder Night: How to Maximize the Year’s Most Powerful Night

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 Egypt, this is the night of the Exodus, this is the night of the death of the firs

• Finding Your Magic Bullet (2:13-14)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Two thousand years ago the great Sage Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai instructed his five prime disciples to undertake a unique mission. This mission and their discoveries can still offer us life-changing wisdom. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• Beshalach – The Divine Doctor

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 it coexist with other characterizations of mitzvos? – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

• Accepting Affliction (6.6.25)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Life is full of nuisances. For many – maybe all – life inevitably contains some pain, suffering, and affliction. How we approach these situations is a central element of our religion and theology. Our Sages revealed to us that accepting aff

• Shavuos Snippets

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rabbi Wolbe explains why Jews have traditionally stayed up the entire night of Shavuos studying.

• Greedy When Others are Fearful (5:2-3)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Ten generations elapsed both from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham. The trend over those generations was away from God and into idolatry. At the end of each of these groups of ten generations came a great Tzadik. But Noah and Abraham w

• 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

• Understanding the Jewish Calendar

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Learn about the Jewish perspective in time, and how we can tap into the same spiritual entities that existed in yesteryear. This fascinating idea joins another: the coexistence of a Lunar month and a solar year in the Jewish calendar. Lastl

• Sleep (6.6.19)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  We all need to sleep. All humans, irrespective of their intelligence, their physical prowess, their wealth, must lay down in a comatose state for several hours a day and sleep. Sleep is also enjoyable. There’s something seductively deliciou

• Vayeishev – Reuben’s Special Message (5783)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  One of the most shocking events in the whole Torah occurs in our Parsha: Joseph’s brothers sell him as a slave to a caravan of traveling Ishmaelites. Two of his brothers helped ensure that he wasn’t killed. Reuben argued that he should be c

• #101: Third Order of Mishnah (Women)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  A great corpus of Torah law governs the relationships between men and women. The Second Order of Mishnah contains books on the initiation of marriage, on marital responsibilities, on the annulment of marriage via divorce, on the suspected a

• The Seven Wonders of Repentance

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rosh Hashana kickstarts the Ten Days of Repentance which culminates in Yom Kippur. This is the time to repent. But repentance is a daunting and terrifying concept. All change is frightening. In this very special edition of the podcast, we s

• #109: The Sanctuary of the Heart

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The more important someone is the greater the impact of their actions. The maneuver of a general changes the course of a campaign; a mistake of the general can imperil the entire army; a brilliant stroke of the general can achieve unexpecte

• Esther on an Allegorical Level

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  On Purim we read the Book of Esther, which tells the story of the Purim miracle. The Persian king Achashverosh conspires with his Amalekite viceroy Haman to eradicate the entire Jewish nation, but God refused to allow their plans to unfold.

• On Love and Relationships: Lessons from the Torah

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  What does the Torah have to say about love? How can we be required to love God? Why is there an additional mitzvah to love a convert? This class was given in Cypress, TX at Shalom Cypress.

• Generosity and Miserliness (5:13)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  In the question of generosity and miserliness, our Mishnah tells us that there are four kinds of people. Interestingly, a group that we would view quite innocuously is labeled as Sodom-like. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Spons

• Chukas – Mourning Clouds

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Two giants passed away in this week’s Parsha: Moshe two elder siblings, his sister Miriam and his brother Aaron – two of the great leaders and benefactors of the nation – both die in Parshas Chukas. In this special Parsha podcast we share t

• The Four Kinds

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  In 8 (!) instances in the Torah we are commanded with a seemingly unachievable task of “Thou shall walk in the ways of God”. The Talmud explains that this commandment instructs us to emulate God in our own behavior and activities – “Just as

• *Shavuos Special* – Accepting the Torah: Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Sinai Revelation is the most significant event in all of human history: God revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people, He spoke to them, He gave them the Torah, and they lived. This day is revisited every single year on the festival

• The Meaning and Mystery of the Rosh Hashana Foods and Fruits

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  On the night of Rosh Hashana in Jewish homes the world over, a strange set of customs are observed. We take an apple, dip it into honey, and declare that we should have a sweet new year. We take a pomegranate, disgorge it’s seeds, consume t

• Parshas Korach

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 brother as High Priest. What ensued should give one serious pause before engaging in

• Ep. 73: Rabbi Avraham Grodzinsky: The Exemplar of Slabodka

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rabbi Avraham Grodzinski was the last head of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania. He was primary disciple of the Alter of Slabodka, and his successor after the Alter moved to Chevron, heading the yeshiva until WW2 broke out, and even leading

• Bo – The Ember of Abraham

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Jewish nation was in the dumps. They had spent hundreds of years in Egypt, and the possibility of ever leaving and reconstituting as an independent nation, the dream of Abraham, was long abandoned. But something dramatic happened. The A

• Shoftim – Gateways to Great Pursuits (5781)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 gates and tribes. The judge is tasked with determining the merits of every case and

• Vayechi – Spiritual Diagnostician (Recorded Live in Harrisburg, PA)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 all. Reuben was castigated for being impetuous and consequently he was stripped o

• Beshalach – Bones to Pick

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The Exodus is finally here. After 210 years in Egypt – enslaved, tormented, and oppressed – the nation is leaving with great pomp and ceremony. There is an apparently curious factoid about the Exodus: in the third verse of our Parsha, the T

• A Fiery Poolside BBQ-Talk Pre-Rosh Hashana 2015

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Wake Up From Your Slumber!!!

• Fringe Benefits

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Regarding seven mitzvos our Sages declare that each is equal to all the other mitzvos. They are: Rejecting idolatry; Shabbos; living in Israel; charity; circumcision; Torah study; and tzitzis. In this podcast we first address the question o

• How to Boost Your Intelligence (5:15-8)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  There are different types of people in the world. Just as our faces are not identical, our perspectives and abilities and innate qualities differ. Regarding a host of things, our Sages tell us that there are four distinct character types. I

• On the Spiritual Awakening in Israel with Rabbi Eliezer and Malky Wolbe

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  When our nation experiences tragedy, we gravitate back to God. That is how we process pain and suffering. The Jewish people – especially our brothers and sisters in Israel – are exhibiting this response with resplendent nobility and strengt

• Chayei Sarah – Portal to Paradise

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 gentleman named Ephron. Sarah has passed and Abraham seeks to buy Ephron’s cave to in

• Tzav – Scaling the Rungs of Greatness (Rebroadcast)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Parshas Tzav continues the instructions relating to the Tabernacle and its sacrifices. We learn more details regarding some of the sacrifices mentioned earlier and also we are taught about some new sacrifices and procedures. – – – – – – – –

• Tazria Metzora – Better Animals of our Nature

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  The subject of purity and impurity is not the most exciting one. The hallmark of these subjects is their intricacies and complexities, but our parsha has nothing but the laws of purity and impurity. It talks about impurity spawned by childb

• Critic’s Choice: How to Rebuke Effectively

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Besides being a critical mitzvah, to rebuke or criticize someone who is acting improperly is a vital skill that every leader (boss, parent) needs to know how to wield effectively. Our sages tell us that there are two ways to criticize, one

• Parshas Balak

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  After the Jewish nation trounced the mighty kingdoms of Sichon and Og in last week’s parsha, the comparatively smaller and weaker kingdom of Moab resorted to unconventional warfare to attack the nation by hiring the prophet of the nations,

• Shemini – Fires, Foreign and Domestic (5783)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 two nephews, Nadav and Avihu, were greater than he and Aaron. These two sons of

• Shavuos: The Time to Become Extraordinary

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Shavuos is the day that marks the most significant event in the history of humankind: A nation coalesced around Mount Sinai to temporarily catapult into a state of prophecy, to hear God say the Ten Commandments, and to live to tell the tale

• Behar Bechukosai – Hostage Letter

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 of God. The consequences are fierce and harsh. When this section is read in the s

• A Grandson Remembers: Reflections, Stories, and Lessons of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  My grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, was one of the 20th Century’s most important rabbis. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he had a very unusual path to becoming the transformative Torah Sage that he became. In this very special and pe

• Parshas Vayakhel & Pekudei (Rebroadcast)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  After the Torah delineates the instructions to assemble the materials for the construction of the Tabernacle in Parshas Terumah and the creation of the vestments of the high priest in Parshas Tetzaveh, Parshas Vayakhel outlines the implemen

• Tazria Metzora – Heaven on the Cheap

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 mystery for us, in fact, even in Talmudic times it was arcane. That said, there

• Ki Savo – Maniacal Determination (5781)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 obey the Almighty and hearken to His commandments, He will reward us with bounti

• Devarim – Citizen of Heaven (5784)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  A year after the Exodus Moshe dispatched a contingency of dignified men to scout the land of Canaan prior to the Nation’s invasion. It was a catastrophic debacle. The scouts returned with a devastating, slanderous report about the Land, pro

• Ep. 33: Great Jewish Personalities: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) was a transformative paragon of Kabbalah, Mussar and Jewish theology. Despite living a short and tumultuous life, Ramchal’s writings and teachings were astonishingly prolific, and many of his books bec

• Shavuos Roundtable with the TORCH Podcasters

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Shavuos is the Festival that marks the day of the giving of the Torah. More than 3300 years ago, our nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and we experienced some thing that no other nation has ever experienced: the Almighty spoke to us as a

• Living on a Supernatural Plane (3:6)

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  What rules govern what happens in our lives? In this mishna we find that there are really three different realms, and that it is possible to upgrade the plane on which we operate. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Sponsorship: Ple

• Rosh Hashana: A Primer

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  Rosh Hashana is both the day of judgement on our deeds of the previous year and the day of new hopes and new beginnings for the year to come. The responsibilities – and the opportunities – of the day are so significant that we must be ready

• Thanks a Million!

  Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

  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 channels that I am fortunate enough to host: The Parsha Podcast, The Jewish History Podc