In Parshas Toldos we meet twin boys that are polar opposites: Esau, beloved by his father Isaac, is a man of the fields; while Jacob is loved by his mother Rebecca and prefers to dwell in the tents of scholarship. These two children will spawn nations and ideals that diverged from each other even before they were born. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational...

Sarah was Abraham's life partner. She was his superior as a prophetess. She accompanied him in all his journeys. In the aftermath of the Binding of Isaac, she died. How did the Binding contribute to her demise? What exactly was Saran's role in orchestrating her sudden death? In this Parsha Podcast we explore the very interesting phenomenon of "acts of Satan" that threaten to destabilize people after great achievements. We also study Eliezer's flawed prayer and his urgency in fulfilling his...

Today's podcast is a wild card. This past Shabbos  I was invited to join a panel of rabbis to answer a series of interesting questions submitted by high school students from the all-girls high school in Houston. In this special episode I share some of the fascinating questions and some of what I said - and some of what I I was unable to say - at that panel. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund...

Some of the highlights of this week’s parsha: Immediately after the Binding of Isaac, Sarah passed away at the age of 127, and soon afterward Abraham had to procure a burial spot for her. In addition, Abraham sent his trusted confidante, Eliezer, to his hometown to find a spouse for Isaac. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at...

Isaac is the most mysterious of the forefathers. His storyline does not have the same rich and dramatic narrative as Abraham and Jacob. What lessons we are supposed to learn from Isaac is an equally confounding mystery. In this very special podcast, we explore a fascinating motif that recurs throughout the Parsha: laughter, and suggest that there are actually five different types of laughter. We highlight the one that Isaac symbolizes and a cascading series of lessons ensue.  – – – – – – – –...

How do we respond when we are faced with challenges? What are we supposed to think when the path before us seems unsteady and laden with dangers? Our Parsha contains some of the most memorable and iconic stories of the whole Torah. It begins with the single greatest documented episode of hospitality, and it ends with the greatest test ever foisted upon man, the Binding of Isaac. In this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we draw an insight from each of these stories and develop them...

Abraham's storyline in the Torah is curiously: There are some parts of his life that are told in detail, while other seemingly important events are omitted entirely. What we discover is that the storyline of Abraham serves as a prototype for how to actualize our potential. In this very special podcast, we dissect Abraham's story and discover a comprehensive system for how to unlock our vast potential. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the...

This week’s parsha features several iconic episodes: Abraham was visited by God as he was recuperating from his circumcision, and concurrently engaged in superlative kindness with three angels masquerading as pagan travelers; Abraham was informed that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were about to be destroyed and was unsuccessful in interceding on their behalf; and we also read the two Torah sections that are read on the two days of Rosh Hashana: The episode of the birth of Isaac and the...

Abraham seems to always be journeying. In last week's Parsha he traveled from his birthplace of Ur to Charan. This week the Parsha begins with Abraham's journey to Canaan. He traveled there with his family, he traversed the land in every direction; and when famine strikes, he went down to Egypt and returns. Abraham's journey is more than being about sightseeing. This is the saga of the transformation of Abraham and the building of the Jewish Nation. What can we learn from Abraham's journey?...

Abraham was the most consequential human in all of history. He began the process of fixing the world and humanity. Amid a cesspool of idolatry, Abraham emerged as a beacon of faith. When the entire world had forgotten about its Creator, Abraham restored faith in God to the world. Our Parsha follows Abraham in his journey. How did the son of an idol wholesaler from the city of Ur become the father of many nations? What was the process by which Abraham became the greatest giant among people?...

It's election season in America. Your vote matters. Even if you don't live in the swing state, it is recommended that you vote and exercise your civic right and duty. There is another area where you need to vote. The other area is much more consequential. The effects of how you vote in that area will reverberate the world over. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and...

In this week’s parsha, Abraham is instructed to move to Israel, is given divine promises that he will be the father of many nations; his children will be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the heaven, a son Ishmael is born, and he is commanded to circumcise his foreskin and those of all males in his household. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and...

After spending a year in the ark, Noah and his family exited it to find an empty and desolate world. The sinners who dominated the world before the flood were gone as were basically everything else. The animals, not including token representatives of each species, were gone. The trees, the grass, the plants - everything was gone. Noah and his family began to rebuild the world a new world. In this Parsha podcast we study several events that happened in the aftermath of the flood: We learn...

The Flood was a disaster for all the Earth's inhabitants, humans and animals alike. With the exception of Noah and his family and the animals safely housed in the Ark, all the land-based animals died in the Flood. But not the fish. The fish were completely unaffected by the Flood. The sources maintain that the animals had become corrupted in the run-up to the flood and thus deserved to be destroyed, but the fish did not corrupt their ways and thus were not destroyed. In this very special...

Serious people face a serious problem: once you understand that the Almighty created you for a purpose, and that purpose is completely unique to you - there is no one else who can fulfill whatever it is that you must fulfill-  you recognize the imperative to discover your personal mission. But how do you find your own path in life? How do you discover your purpose, the task, the mission, the job that you were created to fulfill? In this very special podcast we consult the book that has all...

In this week’s parsha: Noah and his family build an Ark as a refuge from an extinction-level Flood brought by God to destroy the world’s sinners. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you! – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: [email protected] – – –...

With gratitude to the Almighty for all the goodness that He has bestowed upon us, we hereby begin again with the book of Genesis with year nine of the Parsha podcast. Who would have believed that we would have been able to study the weekly Parsha together for so long?! In this episode, we study the fascinating story lines and insights of the generations from Adam to Noah. The end of our Parsha delineates the many families and generations spanning from Adam to Noah. There are all sorts of...

Welcome to Year Nine (!) of The Parsha Podcast. Each week will feature, with the help of the Almighty, three episodes, two ones from previous years and a new one: On Sunday, the Parsha Rebroadcast that covers the whole Parsha in about an hour will be released. On Tuesday, we will release the episode from 2 years ago, from the Seventh fifth cycle of the Parsha podcast, in the Jewish year 5783. On Thursday, we will release a brand new episode that will demonstrate that Torah is our ID. In this...

With praise and appreciation to the Almighty, we begin year 9 of the Parsha Podcast (5785). This year, we will re-upload the Parsha Rebroadcast episode which covers the entire Parsha each Sunday, re-release the 7th cycle's episode (5783) for each respective Parsha each Tuesday, and we will, please God, record and release a new weekly episode each Thursday. Thank you for downloading and please share with a friend. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider...

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 nation. Praising the people is something that he does only on his last day. After Moshe blesses the nation, he ascends the mountain and passes away. The Parsha ends with Torah's the stirring and poignant eulogy of Moshe. In this very special edition of the Parsha podcast, recorded during the intermediate days of the festival...

The final Parsha of the Torah contains the blessing of Moshe to the nation, his death, burial, and eulogy. Rashi tells us that his blessing began with a recounting of the offer of the Torah to the Nations and to Israel. Before the Sinai Revelation, God offered the Torah to every other Nation, and they all refused. Only our people accepted. What is the salience of this anecdote? Why must we be told about God's offer of the Torah to the other nations? Why, in fact, was the offer rejected? In...

The Jewish holidays are not evenly spaced out. They appear in bunches. A mere five days after Yom Kippur comes the seven-day (truthfully nine when you tally everything) Festival of Sukkos (appendaged by Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah). The next Festival (excluding the Rabbinic holidays of Chanukah and Purim) does not occur for six months. What is the connection between Sukkos and the days that precede it? What is the profound message at the heart of this Festival? Why is it the only...

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 of the death, burial, and eulogy of Moshe. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you! – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Email me...

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of the protagonist, Jonah, and of the people of Nineveh. But our Sages let us in on a secret that the Book of Jonah contains a  hidden, kabbalistic story embedded beneath the story –...