Parsha Podcast - By Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Our Parsha begins in the middle of the dialogue between Moses and God. Moses’ initial foray into saving the nation has gone horribly awry. Instead of alleviating the pain of the Jewish nation; his intervention exacerbated it, and he returned to the Almighty asking for an explanation. In His response, God tells Moses that he […]

We begin the new calendar year with a new book, the book of Exodus. The Jewish nation – still a family – is in Egypt, and things go from bad to worse. Pharaoh torments the people, enslaves them, and embitters their lives with back breaking labor. He then implements a policy of infanticide. But a […]

Our Parsha is a difficult one to read. Our nation was enslaved, tormented, oppressed, and murdered by the Egyptians. Although we don’t see the salvation in our Parsha, the chess pieces of the redemption are set into place. In this edition of the Parsha Podcast, we study several themes of the Parsha that can improve […]

The Book of Exodus begins with the Egyptians cunningly enslaving their Hebrew subjects: mandating that they work in backbreaking labor, killing their male sons, and trying to stamp out their spirit and curb their population. But God heard their cries and saw their suffering and dispatched the greatest of all men, Moses, a reluctant leader, […]

Parshas Vayechi marks the final installment of the book of Genesis. The family of Israel, the sons of Jacob, are all together in Egypt, where they settle and flourish. A lot happened to this family up to this point, and the setting for the next epoch of their story, and of Jewish history, is ready. […]

Family is everything. If you are fortunate enough to have siblings, parents, and children you know that there are bonds of kinship and brotherhood (and sisterhood, of course) between family members are strong and often unbreakable. This is not something new. When Jacob was on his deathbed he shared with his sons his final thoughts […]

Our parsha is one of unexpected reunions. After 20 plus years of separation, Joseph reunited with his brothers and his father. In this Parsha Podcast we focus on two elements of the reunification: firstly, we ponder the interesting question of whether or not Jacob actually bowed down to Joseph as foretold in the dream. Then, […]

Amongst the sons of Jacob were two kings: Judah and Joseph. Joseph was viceroy of Egypt. He was a king in his lifetime. Judah was never crowned as King in his lifetime, but his descendants make up the monarchy of the Jewish people. David, Solomon, all the kings of Judah, and even King Messiah are […]

In our Parsha, Joseph is elevated to become viceroy of Egypt. He begins the day languishing in prison, and ends it be decked in garments of royalty and paraded throughout the city. And this special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we share three ideas – deep ideas – from our Parsha: one about the end […]

Joseph is one of the all-time heroes of Jewish history. His strength of character was legendary, his faith was unflappable, and his storyline remains an inspiration for generations. Yet he was harshly criticized for making a huge blunder. The Midrash at the beginning of this week’s Parsha tells us that he relied to heavily on […]

Our Parsha begins with Joseph’s two dreams of grandeur and supremacy. He dreams that he will rule over his brothers, who will bow before him in submission. Joseph decides to tell them about it. Why does he do that? Why does he tell his father about the second dream, but not the first? Why are […]

A pebble and a diamond are similar in one way: they are both rocks. That’s where the similarities end. A diamond is precious and valuable. Diamonds are things that we recite the poems over, and name, and write Wikipedia pages about, and adorn the crowns of Kings and Queens. Pebbles get stuck in your tires […]

Parshas Vayeishev contains two intersecting, seemingly scandalous, storylines, that after all the dust has settled we can see are harbingers of the Messiah and Redemption: Joseph is hated by his brothers, and is eventually sold by them as a slave after they nearly killed him. By Parsha end, Joseph is languishing in an Egyptian prison […]

Jacob and Esau last saw each other 34 years prior. 34 years ago, Jacob, upon the explicit and prophetically inspired instruction of his mother, usurped the blessings reserved for Esau. Esau was piping mad, and sought vengeance. He wanted to kill his own brother. Jacob fled. After spending 14 years in the academy and 20 […]

Parshas Vayishlach is an action-packed parsha. After a tension-filled 20 years with Laban, Jacob has to dodge bullets for another parsha. Esau wants to kill him. The angel tries to strike at him the entire night. His daughter Dina is kidnapped and raped, and his sons slaughter the perpetrating city in rage. The bulk of […]

Jacob undergoes a meteoric transformation in our Parsha. At the onset, Jacob is a 77-year-old penniless bachelor fleeing from his brother Esau’s wrath. When the Pasha concludes, Jacob is at the helm of a veritable empire. He has 12 children with his four wives, is enormously wealthy, and is heading back to encounter Esau’s rage. […]

Jacob’s accomplishments in our Parsha are remarkable. At the onset of our parsha, Jacob is a 77 year old bachelor without a penny to his name. Having been robbed clean of all his possessions, Jacob undertook the grandest, most ambitious initiative in human history: the founding of the Jewish nation. In our parsha, he pulls […]

Two very different boys are born in this week’s Parsha. Esau, the older one, is ruddy and hairy and looking for trouble. Jacob, the younger one, is wholesome and righteous. The beginning of our Parsha describe the unusual events surrounding the conception and birth of these two boys. When we read it on a superficial […]

Was Abraham the first Jew? Did Abraham observe the laws of the Torah? The Torah dedicates a huge amount of attention to Abraham and his family. The laws of Torah were conveyed at Sinai to Moshe, Abraham’s great-great-great-grandson. How much of that, if any, did Abraham have? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast […]

Sarah died at the age of 127. Abraham negotiated with the Hittites for the purchase of a burial plot, the Cave of Machpelah. The objective of the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah was to bury the dead. These three facts are featured at the beginning of our Parsha. On the surface these facts seem […]