TORAH 101 - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe
Religion & Spirituality
About
An introduction to Torah by Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe. We will address many of the common questions that people have regarding Torah. We will begin with a traditional response to higher Bible critism and delve into the question of the authorship of the Torah. Next we will deconstruct and demystify the concepts of Oral Torah. Lastly, we will dive into the more than twenty reasons why Jews are obsessed with Torah study.
Episodes
- #109: The Sanctuary of the Heart
TORAH 101, episode #109, "The Sanctuary of the Heart," examines the significant impact individuals can have, comparing it to a general's influence on a campaign. The discussion delves into the vast consequences of Adam's spiritual leverage…
- #108: The Power of Pre-Sin Adam
This TORAH 101 episode, "The Power of Pre-Sin Adam," discusses the mechanism behind Adam's influence over God's creations and explores the spiritual hierarchy and interconnectedness of these creations.
- #107: Created in the Image of God
This TORAH 101 episode, "#107: Created in the Image of God," delves into the Kabbalistic significance of humanity being made in God's image, drawing from the teachings of Nefesh HaChaim. It explores the idea that humans possess a portion o…
- #106: Mishnah Commentary, Heuristics, and Appendices
This episode of TORAH 101 discusses Rambam's early commentary on the Mishnah, including its extensive introduction on Torah transmission and the workings of Mishnah and Talmud.
- #105: Post-Mishnaic Development of Oral Torah
This TORAH 101 episode discusses the post-Mishnaic development of the Oral Torah, covering the Tosefta, Sifra, and Sifri, and the eventual canonization of the Babylonian Talmud 300 years after the Mishnah. It also explores the Talmud's con…
- #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 applicable in Temple times. different sources of impurity although o…
- #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 a central component of our religious life. Our nation, and truly the…
- #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 and judgement and, surprisingly, the authoritative work on ethics: C…
- #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 responsibilities, on the annulment of marriage via divorce, on the suspected…
- #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 of Sukkos and Pesach (Passover). There’s also Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah,…
- #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 study it all would take a very long time. To know it all, takes a lifet…
- #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 to Mishnah offered by Rambam, we learn about the five different comp…
- #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 fraudulent ones? In our second installment on Rambam’s introduction t…
- #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 podcast, we begin the study of Maimonides’ magisterial introduction to…
- #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 connection with your soul, can you begin to taste it. The ultimate venu…
- #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 provide clarity in these lofty matters of eschatology. In part 2, we learn…
- #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 world to come). This is arguably the single greatest essay on these exoti…
- #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 the souls? What is the difference between today and the days of Messia…
- #91: The Purpose of Torah
Why did God give us such a precious and holy and profound Torah? Wouldn’t it be enough to give us some simple rules to live by? Why is our nation chosen above all other nations? Shouldn’t all humans be the same? These are some very advance…
- #90: Testimony at Sinai
The Sinai Revelation was a mass testimony of faith. The only event of its kind saw God revealing Himself to a nation comprised of millions, who heard and experienced prophecy and lived to tell their children about it. The founding event of…
- #89: Where Atheists Go Wrong
Some atheists are quite intelligent. Some atheists score highly on IQ tests. How can they be so wrong on matters of faith? Where exactly do the atheists go wrong? In this interesting TORAH 101 podcast, we pinpoint the precise area that cau…
- #88: Unresolved Mysteries of Resurrection
We have made enormous strides in our pursuit of a deep, and comprehensive study of Rambam’s 13 principles of faith. We have plumbed the depths of these 13 tenets of our religion to the best of our ability. This podcast marks the final inst…
- #87: The Timeline of Resurrection
It is hard enough for us to keep track of what happens to us in our lifetime; what happens after we die is truly a mystery. But there are timelines that are even murkier: what happens after Messiah? How does the Resurrection unfold? Is Res…
- #86: The Nature of the Ultimate Resurrection
In the previous episode, we established that resurrection for the purposes of eternal life in Olam Haba is a process of restoring humanity to the sort of life that matches that of Adam and Eve before their sin. In this podcast episode, we…
- #85: The Point of Resurrection
What is the point of resurrection? This question has dual meanings: what is the goal of resurrection and what is the point from which resurrection begins? In this very important podcast we answer both questions. What we learn greatly enhan…
- #84: Rambam’s Epistle of Resurrection
The great medieval sage my Maimonides – Rambam – has been guiding us throughout our studies of the 13th principles of faith. This transcendental scholar, who’s magisterial writings are authoritatively accepted amongst the entirety of the J…
- #83: The Nature of the Preliminary Resurrection
In our pursuit of understanding of the subject of resurrection, many questions remain. In the previous episode we talked about the two types of resurrection, there is still a lack of clarity in the similarities and the differences between…
- #82: Messianic Resurrection
One of me hallmarks of the Messianic times is the resurrection of the righteous. With Messiah comes the reemergence of the righteous. Those buried in the land will precede those buried outside of it, but all the righteous will come back. T…
- #81: Supernatural Resurrection
The subject of resurrection was hotly debated in times of yore. The Talmud records a series of debates between great rabbis and their Roman contemporaries about the this subject. When we probe the matter more deeply, we discover that the R…
- #80: Resurrection: An Introduction
We stridently disagree with the oft-repeated statement: “You only live once.” #YOLO is a sentiment that violates our beliefs. A central principle of our religion is the concept of resurrection. Death is not permanent. The dead will rise ag…
- #79: Messiah Panoply: Messiah Ben Joseph, Gog and Magog, Elijah, Resurrection, etc.
We have studied the subject of Messiah in its length and breadth. In the 16th and final installment of our study of the 12th of Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith, we briefly survey a potpourri of subjects that are tangential to the mai…
- #78: Preparing for Messiah
Messiah is something that we anticipate and yearn for and await, but it is also something that we must prepare for. The consequences of being unprepared for Messiah are grave. How can we prepare for Messiah? What, specifically, do the sour…
- #77: False and Unrealized Messiahs
Our Nation has been yearning for Messiah for a very long time. And for good cause: Messiah is associated with wonderful things. Messiah is the state of the world when the mission that Abraham began gets actualized. Messiah is when the know…
- #76: Characteristics of King Messiah
King Messiah will spearhead the spiritual movement that will reverberate the world over. This King will bear a grand and lofty stature exceeding that of the greatest exemplars of our history. In this podcast we explore King Messiah further…
- #75: Indications of the Messianic Era
The world will undergo immense changes in the times of Messiah. Those changes will be so transformative and so comprehensive that our current world and our current values are scarcely similar to those of the world of Messiah. When Messiah…
- #74: Messianic Prognostication
When will Messiah come? We are all curious to know the answer. What if we can find evidence or proof in Scripture to know when the redemption will happen? Isn’t that a tantalizing notion? In this podcast we survey the prohibition, futility…
- #73: The Sequencing of Messiah
What will happen in the times of Messiah? For us, that is an unanswerable question. Our Sages tell us that unless you are a prophet, it is not possible for you to know ahead of time how the Messianic transformation will unfold. That said,…
- #72: The Variability of Messiah
We have been awaiting and anticipating Messiah for millennia. Messianic yearning has been a hallmark of Jewish life ever since we were exiled from our land with the destruction of the Second Temple. Messiah, we have learned, will definitel…
- #71: The Inevitability of Messiah
The sources all agree: Messiah is not a possibility that we can potentially achieve; it is an inevitability. It will definitely happen. Under no circumstances will Messiah and not come before the year 6,000 since Adam. The inevitability of…
- #70: The Messianic Renaissance
The Messianic era will unleash seismic changes to our nation and to all of humanity. In this podcast we talk about the ultimate catalyst of Messiah: Repentance. The sources agree that it is only via repentance that Messiah can arrive. When…
- #69: The Miracles of Messiah
Messiah is not an isolated, discrete, transformation that occurs in a vacuum. Messiah is the ultimate redemption. Our nation has experienced redemption before. The pattern of exile and redemption has been constant feature of our nation’s h…
- #68: The Persona of King Messiah
Messiah will not be an ordinary person. He will be a towering figure who’s impact reverberates the world over. In this podcast we study what our Sages tell us about who Messiah is and what his stature will be, and talk about the wide-rangi…
- #67: The Messianic Revolution
Messiah will be an era of seismic changes for the Jewish people and for the world. Knowledge of God will be ubiquitous. The primacy of the Jewish people as God’s chosen Nation will be universally accepted. The pursuit of wisdom will supers…
- #66: The Mechanisms of Messiah
The sources depicting Messiah and the Messianic Era paint a very different picture of the world than the one we are accustomed to. Knowledge of God will be universal, on that day God will be One and His Name will be One. The pursuit of kno…
- #65: The Objective of Messiah
The subject of the Messiah is notoriously confusing. What is Messiah? How will Messiah change our lives? What will be different in the Messianic era? The answers to these questions are not ubiquitously known. In this podcast we proceed in…
- #64: Messiah: A General Introduction
Our nation has been anticipating and longing for the Messiah, Moshiach (משיח) in Hebrew, for millennia. We are awaiting his arrival, which can come any day. The Messianic era is a utopian world that we yearn for. But what exactly is the Me…
- #63: Admission to the Afterlife
The term “Olam Haba” refers the world after the Resurrection, the world where there’s life with no death, where there is the dispensing of reward for those who adhere to the word of God. If we were to distill our life mission to one senten…
- #62: The Experience of the Afterlife
What is Olam Haba like? Our sages describe this future world as the world of ultimate reward. Paradise in the Afterlife is a very wonderful and pleasurable experience, but even Paradise is not the ultimate reward. That is reserved for Olam…
- #61: Reincarnation
After a person dies, the Heavenly tribunal determines the fate of their Soul. If the Soul is pristinely pure, the person having accomplished everything that was expected of them and they are also lacking any blemishes borne about by sin, t…
- #60: The Mechanics of the Afterlife
What happens after we die is an endlessly fascinating – or terrifying – topic. In our exploration of the Afterlife we have covered vast grounds: We’ve spoken about death and the various types of death; we’ve spoken about the reckoning and…