Eternal Ethics - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

Torah was not given to angels. Torah was given to humans. One way to expand our ability to acquire Torah is by enhancing our humanity. The more human we are, the more we are a worthy receptacle of Torah. But what does it mean to be a human? This Ethics Podcast was originally released on […]

We love Torah. Torah study is our national pastime and obsession. It is enjoyable; it is fun; it is interesting — but to acquire it – we have to now that it is imperative: It is as indispensable as water, oxygen and bread. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb […]

Humans are fallible. We are imperfect, yet we are tasked with being the stewards and the guardians of the perfect. We hold the Almighty's Torah in our hands. We are tasked with perpetuating it from generation to generation and with rendering rulings in line with the will of God. The only way that we can […]

There is an unequal distribution of talents, gifts, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everyone is different. Everyone is their own world. This applies both in the spiritual domain and in the material/physical domain. A believer who understands that the Almighty gives everyone exactly what they need must be joyous with their lot. Your lot is exactly […]

The greatest pedagogues of history – the Sages of the Mishnah – codified “knowing your place” as a means to acquire Torah, to acquire wisdom. What exactly is intended with knowing your place? In this Ethics Podcast we share three life-changing approaches. – – – – – – – – – – – – – […]

Life is full of nuisances. For many – maybe all – life inevitably contains some pain, suffering, and affliction. How we approach these situations is a central element of our religion and theology. Our Sages revealed to us that accepting affliction is a means to achieve wisdom. It is one of the 48 ways to […]

Our primary responsibility as humans and as Jews is to develop and deepen our faith in the Creator. Can we have faith in man? Can we have faith in a mortal? In the 24th way to achieve and acquire wisdom, we learn about the concept of having faith in our Sages. What does it mean […]

Although the study of Torah is ostensibly a cognitive pursuit, there are many qualities that are not cognitive nature that facilitate and enable the study of Torah. In this way to acquire wisdom, way #23, we learn about what it means to have a good heart , and how that serves as a means to […]

Anger is part of the human experience. When things agitate us, we get frustrated and have a tendency to lash out, to berate, to say things that we may regret. In this ethics podcast, we learn about the virtue of being slow to anger and how it can help supercharge our pursuit of wisdom. – […]

Life is serious. Pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of truth. Pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of understanding the Divine (to the best of our abilities). To access wisdom, we have to be very serious. But a little bit of levity – when done properly and in the right context – can be helpful. […]

We are speaking beings. In fact, the central differentiation between humanity and animals is the capacity of verbal communication. The judgment that we face in Heaven is largely about how we deployed our superpower, our speech. The greatest mitzvos are performed with speech and some of the most grievous transgressions are also a product of […]

We all need to sleep. All humans, irrespective of their intelligence, their physical prowess, their wealth, must lay down in a comatose state for several hours a day and sleep. Sleep is also enjoyable. There's something seductively delicious about sleep. What is the Torah's attitude on sleep? Why did the Almighty design us that we […]

Pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain are hardwired impulses . We all want to feel good and to avoid feeling bad. Perhaps surprisingly, the Torah fully embraces this principle. The reason why we were created, we are told, is so that we can become receptacles of pleasure. Our only disagreement with other philosophies is […]

Our resources are finite. We must engage in trade-offs, deciding what pursuits to prioritize over others. This, of course, is all well known. But it's more complicated: by design, we feel drawn to seek out and pursue goals that are potentially harmful and that can overtake your life. Balance is key. This Ethics Podcast was […]

The central conflict of our lives orients around our relationship with the physical world in which we currently inhabit: the Torah teaches us that the objective of life is to optimize for the benefit and betterment of the soul, and to prepare for Olam Haba. The Yetzer Hara is engineered to make us believe that […]

The oral Torah is vast, comprehensive, and multi-layered. One of its layers is known as Mishnah. What is Mishnah, how was it organized and codified, and why does it prepare us for wisdom? In this Ethics Podcast we learn all about Mishnah and it's indispensability and power. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the […]

Our works of Scripture are all prophetic, each written with varying degrees of prophecy. When we study Scripture we are encountering the word of God. But what is the objective of the study of Scripture? Why does Scripture pave the way to wisdom? In this Ethics Podcast we discover what Scripture is, how it ought […]

Humans are not monolithic. Each one of us is unique and have a unique take on every life situation. The truth is even more granular: even within a single person, there is not uniformity. We are all internally conflicted, sometimes thinking like this and sometimes like that, sometimes feeling like this and sometimes feeling like […]

One of the most rewarding things a person can do is to teach others. But beyond the feeling of gratification that comes with teaching, When you are able to educate and enlighten other people with your knowledge, you learn a lot from the process. Teaching others is a fantastic way to study yourself. This Ethics […]

Humans are not perfect. Only God is. We are fallible. We are mistake-prone. Yet our mission and mandate is to discover truth. That is achieved, chiefly, via the study of Torah. The Almighty embedded truth and understanding of God in the Torah that He gave to us. But even our pursuit of Torah must be […]

Our glorious tradition was perpetuated from generation to generation, from teacher to student, from parent to child, for thousands of years. One of the ways to acquire wisdom is by studying under the tutelage of a great Sage. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jan 8, 2023 – – – […]

Our sages tell us that one of the ways to acquire wisdom is with purity. What exactly is purity and why would it be a means through which we can acquire wisdom? In this Ethics Podcast we explore the subject of purity with profound depth. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast […]

Joy is an underappreciated aspect of the life of a Jew. One can imagine that you can fulfill all of your religious and spiritual obligations without living joyously. Upon examination of the sources we discover that Jewish life is inextricably linked with joy. It is critical and indispensable. In our Mishnah we also learned that […]

Humility is one of the attributes most associated with acquisition of wisdom. Moses was the humblest of men. Sinai was an unassuming, lowly mountain. But what exactly is humility and why does it correlate with wisdom? In this Ethics podcast we plumb the depths of humility and its association with wisdom. This Ethics Podcast was […]

Fear of Heaven is – together with Love of God – one of the two pillars of our spiritual life. Fear of God is one of the central themes of our spiritual and religious life. We are also told that it is a necessary precondition for Torah mastery. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on […]

The next way to acquire Torah is with awe. Specifically, awe for a great Torah sage. Why would a Sage inspire awe? Why would this be a method to acquire Torah? In this fascinating episode we explore the wonderful world of awe-inspiring Torah Sages. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on […]

What happens when you absorb information? How do you process it? The fourth way to develop wisdom talks about the intuition of the heart. The heart is the venue in which we take what we learn, absorb, and encounter and add it to our understanding of the world. Information must not be relegated to the […]

The mouth is our superpower. Through it we convey ideas and articulate thoughts. The third way to wisdom is to arrange our lips. This entails using our mouth in a powerful and strategic fashion. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Jun 13, 2022 – – – – – – – […]

The second way to wisdom is to listen with your ears. In this podcast you will learn about the power of learning via listening. Audio learning is more impactful than visual learning. The Almighty gave us two ears and only one mouth; we have to listen twice as much as we talk. This Ethics Podcast […]

Torah is unlike other intellectual pursuits. Torah is the word of God and it is intended to fundamentally transform a person. It is not just another academic, philosophical, or intellectual discipline, it is a way to upgrade man from beast to angel. This very special Mishnah tells us that Torah needs to be acquired, and […]

The Torah scholar plays a significant role in the world. We believe that the reason why the Almighty created the world was for Torah study. We also believe that absent Torah study, the world would cease to exist. The Torah scholar is truly indispensable for the world's continuity. What ought to be the Torah scholar's […]

Food is delicious and we desire it from the first day that we are alive. How does our pursuit of food – and physical and material indulgences in general – impact our pursuit of our spiritual agenda and Torah? In this Mishnah we discover several approaches to understanding the interrelationship between physical indulgences and pursuit […]

Torah study is the greatest of pursuits. Consequently, you are eternally indebted to anyone who bestows upon you Torah. In this fascinating Mishnah, we learned about the supreme holiness of Torah and how is forever alters the one who studies it. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Feb 28, 2022 […]

Studying Torah is the greatest Mitzvah. That is well-known. In this Mishnah, we learn about the perils of neglecting Torah study. Along the way we discover the polarity Jews since Sinai, we discover the secret of Jewish continuity, and we learn all about what Torah is supposed to do to us. This Ethics Podcast was […]

What does Torah study do for a person? As an outsider, it looks like a waste of time. What benefit do you gain from studying ancient Jewish wisdom and law? We know, however, the Torah is Godly wisdom. Absorbing Torah upgrades your intellect from human intellect to divine intellect. In this very special Mishnah we […]

We believe in reward and punishment. We believe that the Almighty will dispense reward for those who do good and punishment for those whose actions thus warrant. How does the dispensement of reward and punishment work? That, of course, is something that only God knows precisely, and only God can make those evaluations. That said, […]

The Torah is the Almighty's wisdom. Just as the Almighty is infinite, His Torah is likewise infinite. In this remarkable Mishnah, we are trained to view Torah in its proper light. We learn about the multidimensional nature of Torah, how to find answers to all of our questions in the Torah, the secrets and the […]

What does it take to live a great life? How would such a life be structured? This Mishnah is a masterclass in unpacking the subject. What you are about to enjoy is an exquisite array of insights and ideas on human development, pedagogy and education, how to utilize your brain, and how to design an […]

What forces must we use to try to bring about our life mission? Our mandate is to fulfill the will of the Almighty. He expects great things of us and created us for that purpose. In this thrilling Mishnah, we learned about the various different forces and powers that we must marshal to accomplish our […]

The founder of our nation was Abraham our patriarch. He was a paragon of faith and kindness, and also exhibited every positive character trait. By contrast, Bilaam the sorcerer was the anti-Abraham. He harbored every negative trait. In this mission we are told that both of these people are teachers. We must choose if we […]

Every mitzvah that we do benefits us for all eternity. Our Sages reveal to us that each Mitzvah creates an advocate who vigorously fights on our behalf and defends us in front of the Heavenly court. Mitzvos are great assets to have. In this podcast, we discover that there is a way to game the […]

Argumentation has become a lost art. Our society promotes uniformity and consensus, a monochromatic society where divergent ideas are shunned. This approach is antithetical to Torah. Our religion does not believe that your thinking should be outsourced to others. We do not believe that everyone ought to follow others like a flock of sheep. At […]

Love is a fickle emotion. It is something that changes seemingly randomly. Why is love not fixed in place? What is the secret to enduring love? In this exquisite Mishnah we discover the inner workings of how love works and what determines its stability. We also read a terrifying account of how people's spiritual standing […]

There are different types of people in the world. Just as our faces are not identical, our perspectives and abilities and innate qualities differ. Regarding a host of things, our Sages tell us that there are four distinct character types. In this wide-ranging Ethics Podcast we discuss memory tips, how to boost your intelligence, the […]

Anger is a sentiment that we all feel sometimes. What triggers our rage? What does our anger say about us? What is the connection between anger and faith? Why does the Talmud declare that getting angry is tantamount to idolatry? Why does the Talmud foretell that those who get angry are destined for all manner […]

In the question of generosity and miserliness, our Mishnah tells us that there are four kinds of people. Interestingly, a group that we would view quite innocuously is labeled as Sodom-like. This Ethics Podcast was originally released on the Ethics Podcast on Aug 11, 2021 – – – – – – – – – – […]

In ancient times, our nation benefitted from the service of prophets. The primary responsibility of a prophet was to rebuke and admonish the people when they veered off course from the proper path that the Almighty has planned for them. But what now? Prophecy has been extinct for more than 2300 years. How do we […]

What separates a wise person from someone who has to potential to be a wise person but has not actualized it? In the words of our Sages, such a person who has not cultivated their wisdom is a “Golem”, and there are seven key differences between a Golem and a wise person. In this very […]

In the final installment of the series of Tens, our Mishnah reveals to us the ten things that were created at twilight of Friday during the week of Genesis. What is the deeper meaning of twilight? What is unique about these seemingly random mix of things that were created then? In this very interesting Mishnah […]

For 800+ years our nation had a Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was a special place. It contained the vessels described in Scripture, it was the site of annual, national pilgrimages, it is where the high priest did the Yom Kippur service each year, it was the epicenter of the nation and it's rebuilding has […]

Fear of God and Faith in God are both laudable qualities worthy of great people. Both, of course, are mitzvos as well. Which one is loftier? At first glance, fear of God can only be built upon an edifice of faith and thus it would be a loftier level. But when we examine the issue […]