Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe Podcast Collection

Parsha: Vezos Haberacha - Black on White

The Torah preceded the world. In fact, the Almighty used the Torah as a blueprint for the creation of the world. But the primordial Torah was formatted differently than t

Parsha: Vezos Haberacha - Family Above (Almost) Everything (5784)

The final Parsha of the Torah tells of Moshe's deathbed blessing to the tribes. For the duration of the Torah, Moshe has been constantly criticizing and reprimanding the

Parshas Vezos Haberacha (Rebroadcast)

The final parsha of the Torah details the blessings that Moshe conveyed to the tribes of Israel immediately prior to his passing, and the Torah ends with the description

Joy, Jubilation, and Ecstasy on Sukkos

The festival of Sukkos is called "the time of our joy." The entire festival is associated with joy. Sitting in the Sukkah is joyous, shaking the Lulav is joyous, the trad

The Unparalleled Day of Yom Kippur

The holiest day of the year is upon us. The day of Yom Kippur is unmatched and unrivaled by any other. It is a day of elevation. It is a day of purification. It is a day

Asking Forgiveness Before Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is a day of atonement and expiation. On this auspicious day, the Almighty forgives us for all our transgressions and we become purified before God. But the pur

Parsha: Haazinu - Surprisingly Joyous Song

The last day of Moshe's reign, coincided with the first day of Joshua's reign. For one day, Moshe and Joshua led the nation together as co-heads. On that day, Moshe and J

Parsha: Haazinu - Trees with 70 Branches (5784)

Parshas Hazinu is one of the most fascinating, poetic, and richly profound Parshas in the Torah. It is also arguably the most mysterious one. The majority of the Parsha i

Parshas Haazinu (Rebroadcast)

Still in the final day of Moshe’s life, he conveys to the nation a 43-verse Song predicting the contours of Jewish history, both past, present, and future. The patterns a

The Ten Wonders of Repentance

God showered humanity with endless gifts: the ability to see, to hear, to walk, to taste, to think, to make choices, to become closer to Him. The list is very long. One o

The Binding of Isaac (Second Day of Rosh Hashana Torah Reading)

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 Nuanced Judgment of Rosh Hashana

Rush Hashanah is a day of judgment. On this day, God sits, as it were, on His Throne of Judgment. The intensity and scrutiny of divine judgment is unfathomable. Even the

The Origin of Isaac (First Day of Rosh Hashana Torah Reading)

The Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashana were not arbitrarily chosen. There are very good reasons why on the first day of Rosh Hashana we read Genesis chapter

Parsha: Nitzavim & Vayeilech - Mavericks vs. Heat

The entire book of Devarim occurs over the span of 36 days, the final 36 days of Moshe's life. The final four Parshas are an account of the last day of Moshe's life. As h

Parsha: Nitzavim Vayeilech - Like Clockwork (5784)

We are not machines. We are humans. And that's messy. We have all sorts of struggles doing the right thing. We are influenced by a myriad of impulses, inclinations, and p

The Incalculability of Mitzvos

Mitzvos have infinite value. There is no experience that we can have in this world that matches the reward in the world to come for a single mitzvah. But not all mitzvos

Parshas Nitzavim & Vayeilech (Rebroadcast)

On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathered the entire nation – men, women, children, and according to the Talmud, all souls of future Jews – to pass them through a fin

Parsha: Ki Savo - The Joystick

Sadness and hopelessness are modern societal epidemics. Notwithstanding the fact that our time has seen more material abundance than ever before, the share of Americans,

Parsha: Ki Savo - Gaze from Heaven (5784)

Blessings and curses. That is the dominant theme of our Parsha. We read the admonition of Deuteronomy - 98 bone-chilling curses that will befall our people in the event t

The First Elul

We have a begun hallowed days of Elul. In one month, we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah. We will all be judged. We will blow the shofar. We will pray for a good year. Ten da