This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

TORCH

This Jewish Life is Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe’s flagship podcast. Since its founding in January of 2013, This Jewish Life has featured a delightful potpourri of podcast episodes on a myriad of Jewish subjects. In its current incarnation, the podcast focuses on exploring the deeper elements of Jewish life and philosophy. In each episode our objective is to go a bit deeper into subjects that we may be familiar with, to plumb the depths and uncover the essence of the beauty and sublimity of Jewish life and customs, and Torah wisdom. Please email any questions, comments, or feedback to rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

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20 episodes
Updated July 13

Episodes20

Newest first

How to Build the Third Temple
The Temple is a central component of our religion. Ever since it was destroyed by the Romans, our nation has been operating in a suboptimal fashion. Certainly, we have prayers to match the sacrifices of God, and our Torah Academy halls,
July 13 · 54 min
The King’s Way
The sorcerer/prophet of the nations, Balaam, sought to curse the Israelites, but his attempts were thwarted. The Talmud reveals some very interesting elements of his botched effort. Had he succeeded in cursing the nation,
June 29 · 48 min
The System of Prayer
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 heart means....
June 22 · 1 hr 25 min
Two Anonymous Wives
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 rebellion again...
June 15 · 40 min
The History and Mystery of the Ancient Blue Dye (Techeiles)
We recite the three paragraphs of the Shema twice a day. The third paragraph contains the mitzvah of placing tzitzis fringes on the corner of our garments, and to wrap the fringes with a cord of blue-dyed wool.
June 8 · 42 min
The Ills of Envy and its Remedy
Envy is a deadly sin, and it’s almost entirely unavoidable. Our Sages that “Envy extracts a person from the world.” It causes a person to be severed from the world. But there is so much cause for envy wherever we turn. In every area of life,
June 1 · 43 min
Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos (Rebroadcast)
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 of Shavuos.
May 19 · 1 hr 3 min
We are Celebrating a Healthy Newborn Baby Boy
With deep appreciation to the Almighty for all that He has bestowed upon us, I am happy to share that Chaya and I we are blessed with a healthy baby boy this past week. Thank God, mom and the baby are doing phenomenal. On Friday night,
May 18 · 48 min
The Superiority of Torah
We are incredibly fortunate to be included amongst the Jewish people. We are incredibly fortunate to be raised with a strong sense of Torah and Torah values, and a deep appreciation for the critical and indispensable mission that our nation was entrust...
May 11 · 53 min
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochi and the Lesson of Lag Ba’Omer
Lag Ba’Omer is a unique day in the Jewish calendar. It’s a minor festival celebrated in surprising ways for surprising reasons: on this day, the plague that was ravaging the the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased. On this day as well,
May 4 · 49 min
Momentum Matters
The hardest part of reaching space is the first moment of liftoff, getting the first inch off the ground. The second inch is still hard, but a little bit easier. The first bit of liftoff serves as momentum for the second inch.
April 27 · 47 min
The Pariah Messiah
The Talmud describes Messiah as a Metzora (one stricken with tzaraas) bandaging his bandages outside of the gates of Rome. Why is the messiah described as an outcast, as a leper, ostracized from society? Why is Messiah hanging out in Rome,
April 13 · 47 min
The Secret Passover Opportunity you Mustn’t Pass-Over
This special pre-Pesach podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Meir Ben Shmuel Chananya. May his soul be elevated in heaven. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – The festival of Passover commemorates a very ancient event that happened more […]
March 30 · 57 min
Shema: Achieving Supremacy Over the Angels
Angels are way loftier than us, right? They’re totally spiritual, they cannot possibly sin, they are messengers of God. We, on the other hand, are mortal, fallible, pitiful humans. That’s not necessarily the case.
March 23 · 49 min
How to Conquer the Anger Impulse
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.
March 16 · 36 min
Laver of Love
The Laver was one of the vessels in the Tabernacle. It was a copper basin that housed water that was emitted from spouts. The priests would wash their hands and feet before entering the Tabernacle and before doing any service in the Tabernacle.
March 15 · 38 min
Three Levels of Eradicating Evil (Purim is the Highest)
Everyone loves the festival of Purim. What’s not to love about it? You get dressed up. You make noise when they say Haman. You give gifts to the poor and foodstuffs to your friends. It’s the one time a year you can drink guiltlessly.
March 1 · 51 min
Moshe’s Surprising Successor
Mistakes are endemic to the human condition. All humans make mistakes. Even the titans of our history like Moshe, Aaron, and Joshua made mistakes. Only God is error-free. In this interesting – and maybe a tad controversial – podcast,
February 2 · 36 min
The Three-Day-Exodus: How a Productive Long Weekend Leads to a Lifetime of Freedom
The Exodus was for keeps. Although Pharaoh regretted his decision to allow the Israelites to leave and chased them down, setting up a stand-off at the Sea of Reeds, once the sea split for the Israelites and crashed down upon the Egyptians,
January 26 · 46 min
Faith Fundamentals
The Exodus was not one-and-done. It remains an ever-present, indispensable part of our religion. We are commanded to recall the Exodus every single day. There are many festivals and days of note dedicated to remembering and reliving the Exodus.
January 19 · 45 min

This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

How to Build the Third Temple

The King’s Way

The System of Prayer

Two Anonymous Wives

The History and Mystery of the Ancient Blue Dye (Techeiles)

The Ills of Envy and its Remedy

Ruth, Sinai, and the Heart of Shavuos (Rebroadcast)

We are Celebrating a Healthy Newborn Baby Boy

The Superiority of Torah

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochi and the Lesson of Lag Ba’Omer

Momentum Matters

The Pariah Messiah

The Secret Passover Opportunity you Mustn’t Pass-Over

Shema: Achieving Supremacy Over the Angels

How to Conquer the Anger Impulse

Laver of Love

Three Levels of Eradicating Evil (Purim is the Highest)

Moshe’s Surprising Successor

The Three-Day-Exodus: How a Productive Long Weekend Leads to a Lifetime of Freedom

Faith Fundamentals