Parsha Podcast - By Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

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 Nation was on the precipice of conquering the land, and this report deflated their spirit and condemned an entire generation to perish in the Wilderness […]

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 imminent. Then catastrophe struck. Moshe sent 12 spies to reconnoiter the Land and report the back with their findings. Their report completely deflated the spirit […]

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 gold. Towards the Parsha’s middle, we read about the set of silver trumpets that Moshe made, again hewn out of a single block of silver. The only other item with this […]

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. Destination: Land of Canaan. At least that was the plan. More about that next week. In this week’s podcast we explore the events surrounding the Nation’s journey from Sinai. […]

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 princes of the tribes. These 12 men were the heads of the 12 tribes. When Moshe and Aaron conducted the census in the beginning of last […]

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 Nazir is holy. They are close to God. They are like a high priest. They are likely to reach prophecy. But there are some […]

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 numbers and a series of calculations. To the untrained eye, our Parsha – with its censuses, depiction of encampment layouts, and delineation of Levite responsibilities in the transportation […]

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 first of our double Parsha, the Mitzvah of shemitah, to allow the land to lie fallow each 7th year. When we examine the subject […]

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 Exodus, the nation coalesced around Mount Sinai and experienced theophany – national prophecy, national Revelation – at the mountain. The whole nation heard the word of God and lived. […]

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 Israelite woman and an Egyptian man, blasphemed and was executed. When we ponder the story we discover all sorts of interesting tidbits. The […]

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 is, a sparring mate is helpful tool to improve your craft. The Almighty endowed us with a very helpful sparring mate to help bring the best […]

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 valuable and profound insight that can help us develop and cultivate our potential. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

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 affliction. You must go to the priest and have him evaluate it. You must be quarantined if you are declared impure. You must undergo the long and […]

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 is always something that we can glean from every part of Torah. In […]

Assembling and disassembling the Tabernacle was a difficult task that Moshe repeated for seven days. Each morning he placed the vertical beams into their silver sockets, and affixed the golden rings on the top of the beams. He placed the horizontal bars that went on each side of the vertical beams, including the snaking bar […]

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 Aaron were without peer. Yet they acted in an inexplicable manner: On the […]

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 different than other fires? When we examine the sources, we discovered that there were multiple types of fires, including a special, Divine fire that […]

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 daily meal-offering offered by the High Priest. This offering is classified by the Torah as the offering of Aaron and his sons. When we analyze this unique meal offering, […]

The Book of Leviticus begins with sacrifices. We read about the multiple types of elevation sacrifices, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, etc. None of us would imagine that this Torah section would completely reshape our understanding of Adam and Eve’s Sin in the Garden. But it does. In this Parsha podcast, we discover a […]

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, and copper that was raised for the Tabernacle and identifies where they were used in the temple, its vessels, and it’s vestements. In this final year 9 Parsha podcast on […]