TORAH 101 - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

#111: Reflecting Cherubs

Cherubs made many appearances in the Tabernacle and the Temple. Hewn onto the Cover of the Ark off the Covenant were two golden cherubs facing each other. But there were

#110: Man As Microcosm

How exactly can man influence all the worlds, all the spheres, all the dimensions, and all the realms? Our Sages compare the human to the soul of the world. We have the l

#109: The Sanctuary of the Heart

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 th

#108: The Power of Pre-Sin Adam

Adam was created in the image of God. He was given vast influence over God’s creations. What is the mechanism of this power? What is the mechanism of Adam’s ability to in

#107: Created in the Image of God

“And God made man in His image. In the image of God (Elokim) He made him.” The majority of the secrets of the Kabbalistic esoterica are hidden in these cryptic words, but

#106: Mishnah Commentary, Heuristics, and Appendices

As a very young man, Rambam wrote a commentary on the entire Mishnah. He prefaces his commentary with a sprawling and magisterial introduction which covers vast subjects

#105: Post-Mishnaic Development of Oral Torah

The Mishnah was at the end of the canonization of the Oral Torah. The Tosefta, the Sifra and Sifri soon followed. 300 years after Rabbi Judah the Prince canonized the Mis

#104: Sixth Order of Mishnah (Purity)

The Order of Purity is the longest of the Six Orders of Mishnah and by far the most foreign to us. The overwhelming majority of the laws of this order of Mishnah are only

#103: Fifth Order of Mishnah (Sacrifices)

Unfortunately, none of us have ever witnessed or participated in a sacrifice. Ever since the Temple was destroyed more than 1,950 years ago, our nation has been bereft of

#102: Fourth Order of Mishnah (Damages)

Human interactions can often times get messy. There are myriads of circumstances that require courts and judgements. The Fourth Order of Mishnah contains the books of law

#101: Third Order of Mishnah (Women)

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 responsi

#100: Second Order of Mishnah (Festivals)

The Jewish calendar is studded with days of great importance. Each week we relive Genesis by celebrating the holy Shabbos. At half-year intervals are the mega festivals o

#99: First Order of Mishnah (Planting)

The Mishnah is a massive, sprawling, and utterly comprehensive canon of Torah law. Spanning 60+ books over 6 Orders, the Mishnah includes all the laws of the Torah. To st

#98: Components of Oral Torah

What makes up Oral Torah? What are the different types of information included in the Mishnah? In part 3 of the authoritative, magisterial, and comprehensive introduction

#97: Real and Fraudulent Prophecy

The veracity of prophecy is a critical component of our philosophy. But how do we know if a prophecy claimant is legit? How do we differentiate between real prophets and

#96: Origins of Oral Torah

The Torah was given to us by God with absolute perfection. A unique feature of that is the dual formats of Torah: written and oral. In this interesting and informative po

#95: Venues of Reward and Punishment

Spiritual pleasure is vastly, infinitely greater than physical pleasures, and are completely imperceivable by bodies. Only if you work assiduously to develop a sensory co

#94: The (Near Total) Inaccessibility of Spiritual Pleasure

There is great confusion about what the ultimate reward for righteousness and the ultimate punishment for wickedness are. Rambam’s magisterial essay is designed to provid

#93: Ultimate Reward and Punishment: Rambam’s Magisterial Essay Part 1

In his commentary to Mishnah, Rambam (Maimonides) offers a fascinating overview of the subjects of the Afterlife, Resurrection, Messiah, Paradise, and Olam Haba (the worl

#92: World of Souls

Why do bad things happen to good people? What role does Oral Torah play in Jewish life? Why did the Almighty create two worlds, the world of the bodies and the world of t