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This episode is sponsored by Dina and Daniel Heiss, in honor of the 10th yahrzeit of Dina's father, Zev Yehudah ben HaRav Yisrael Michel. May his neshama have an aliya. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to author and theoretical physicist Berel Leib Epstein about rational reasons to choose to believe in Judaism and live a Jewish life.In this episode we discuss:—In a time without clear and open revelation and miracles, how do we find God in the modern world? —How is Kabbalah like quantum mechanics?—Why is it worth discussing reasons to believe in God in the first place?Interview begins at 11:40.Tune in to hear a conversation about how we find truth and build meaning in our lives.Dr. Berel Leib Epstein is a theoretical physicist with a background in nonlinear optics and laser physics. After studying under Dr. Phillip Sprangle at the University of Maryland, he joined the Johns Hopkins Physics Laboratory, working on innovative research projects aimed at maintaining America's technological edge in defense. Berel lives with his wife and children in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also learns in Yeshivas Ner Yisroel.References:Emunah and Physics: A Jewish Resolve by Dr. Berel Leib EpsteinFor more 18Forty:NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/joinCALL: (212) 582-1840EMAIL: info@18forty.orgWEBSITE: 18forty.orgIG: @18fortyX: @18_fortyWhatsApp: join hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.
In this opening lesson of the 28th and final gate of Orchot Tzaddikim—the Gate of Fear of Heaven (Shaar Yirat Shamayim)—Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explains that the Torah's concept of "fear" does not primarily mean terror or anxiety. Rather, yirah means awe, awareness, perspective, and clarity. True fear of Heaven is living with a constant awareness of Hashem's greatness and recognizing our personal relationship with Him. The Torah repeatedly teaches that this awareness is the foundation of Jewish life and the greatest treasure a person can possess.Rabbi Wolbe then demonstrates that Torah is not the ultimate goal—it is the pathway that leads to Yirat Shamayim. Torah study without developing a deeper awareness of Hashem is compared to possessing the keys to the inner rooms of a house while lacking the key to the front door. Likewise, the purpose of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai was not simply to acquire knowledge, but to establish an everlasting relationship with Hashem. Every mitzvah reconnects us to that covenant and strengthens that bond.The lesson concludes by describing three levels of fear. The lowest level is serving Hashem because of concern for what other people think. A higher level is serving Hashem out of fear of punishment. The highest and purest level is serving Hashem solely because He is Hashem—out of love, awe, gratitude, and a sincere desire to fulfill His will. Rabbi Wolbe closes by encouraging us to recognize the countless gifts Hashem grants us every moment—from the ability to breathe and see to the privilege of living each day—which naturally inspires profound gratitude and authentic Yirat Shamayim._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 16, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 5, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #FearOfHeaven, #YiratShamayim, #SpiritualGrowth, #Faith, #AweOfGod, #RelationshipWithHashem, #LoveOfHashem, #LiveWithPurpose, ★ Support this podcast ★
This week I have three stories for you. The first is about a mother whose family goes through an unimaginable accident, and years later, a dream her son has the night before a big test. The second is about a young chassid of Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuz who becomes convinced his own Rebbe might be even greater than the Baal Shem Tov himself. The third is about Rabbi Sholom Rokeach, the first Rebbe of Belz, stranded at the Russian border with his money running low, and the "work tools" he decides to unpack. If you're enjoying these Chassidic stories, please take a quick moment to buy me a coffee. https://ko-fi.com/barakhullman Thank you! I deeply appreciate your support! Link to Two Cups of Tea, my first story video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d48AFirymU Also available at https://soundcloud.com/barak-hullman/the-rebbes-work-tools To become a part of this project or sponsor an episode please go to https://hasidicstory.com/be-a-supporter. Hear all of the stories at https://hasidicstory.com. Go here to hear my other podcast https://jewishpeopleideas.com or https://soundcloud.com/jewishpeopleideas. Find my books, Figure It Out When You Get There: A Memoir of Stories About Living Life First and Watching How Everything Falls Into Place and A Shtikel Sholom: A Student, His Mentor and Their Unconventional Conversations on Amazon by going to https://bit.ly/barakhullman. My classes in Breslov Chassidus, Likutey Moharan, can be found here https://www.youtube.com/@barakhullman/videos I also have a YouTube channel of ceramics which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@thejerusalempotter
On today's page, Chullin 96, the rabbis explain why an olive-sized portion has become one of the foundational measurements in Jewish law. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on moderation, intention, and why Judaism so often seeks the middle path rather than the extremes. What does it really mean to eat? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What is Antisemitism and when did it begin? What is God's plan for the Jew and the Gentile? Join Rabbi Schneider today as he explores the effect Antisemitism still has on the church today. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/dhw
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe teaches that true Torah study begins with mastering the fundamentals before chasing complexity. A student who rushes into intricate analyses without first understanding the simple flow of the Talmud misses the very foundation upon which Torah is built. Every word of the Talmud is rooted in the Mishnah, and every Mishnah is rooted in the Written Torah. The deeper insights become meaningful only after the basic structure is firmly established.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah is meant to be lived, not merely admired. Every learning session should conclude with the question: How does this change my life today? Quoting the Ramban's famous letter, he encourages listeners to transform every Torah lesson into practical action. Torah is not an academic discipline reserved for intellectual exercise—it is Hashem's guidebook for everyday living, shaping our choices, character, and relationship with the Creator.The lesson then contrasts Torah study with every other profession. In the business world, people are rewarded for results, but in Torah, Hashem rewards sincere effort. Even when understanding is incomplete, every moment spent striving to comprehend Hashem's wisdom carries eternal value. Rabbi Wolbe illustrates this with the analogy of a plumber who is paid only for a successful repair, while a Torah student is rewarded for every honest attempt to learn, regardless of the outcome.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe highlights one of the defining features of authentic Torah learning: respectful disagreement in pursuit of truth. The debates of Hillel and Shammai, the passionate discussions of the sages, and the give-and-take of every study partnership all teach that Torah grows through listening, questioning, and refining ideas—not through ego or victory. The goal is never to prove oneself right, but to discover the truth of Hashem's Torah. He concludes with a powerful reminder that Torah is not simply another subject to study—it is the very life force of the Jewish people, nourishing the soul just as food nourishes the body._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 4, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe teaches that true Torah study begins with mastering the fundamentals before chasing complexity. A student who rushes into intricate analyses without first understanding the simple flow of the Talmud misses the very foundation upon which Torah is built. Every word of the Talmud is rooted in the Mishnah, and every Mishnah is rooted in the Written Torah. The deeper insights become meaningful only after the basic structure is firmly established.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah is meant to be lived, not merely admired. Every learning session should conclude with the question: How does this change my life today? Quoting the Ramban's famous letter, he encourages listeners to transform every Torah lesson into practical action. Torah is not an academic discipline reserved for intellectual exercise—it is Hashem's guidebook for everyday living, shaping our choices, character, and relationship with the Creator.The lesson then contrasts Torah study with every other profession. In the business world, people are rewarded for results, but in Torah, Hashem rewards sincere effort. Even when understanding is incomplete, every moment spent striving to comprehend Hashem's wisdom carries eternal value. Rabbi Wolbe illustrates this with the analogy of a plumber who is paid only for a successful repair, while a Torah student is rewarded for every honest attempt to learn, regardless of the outcome.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe highlights one of the defining features of authentic Torah learning: respectful disagreement in pursuit of truth. The debates of Hillel and Shammai, the passionate discussions of the sages, and the give-and-take of every study partnership all teach that Torah grows through listening, questioning, and refining ideas—not through ego or victory. The goal is never to prove oneself right, but to discover the truth of Hashem's Torah. He concludes with a powerful reminder that Torah is not simply another subject to study—it is the very life force of the Jewish people, nourishing the soul just as food nourishes the body._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 4, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Join our Book club to discuss this book by becoming a Patreonsupporter at https://www.patreon.com/AcrosstheDivide Rev. Yohanna Katanacho joins us to discuss his book,"Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes". He unpacks the new world order that Jesus establishes in the Gospel of John and the relationship of these teachings to 1st century Judaism. They discuss the exclusivity of Christian Zionism and what reading John's gospel through Palestinian eyes must teach us about an inclusive kingdom that replaces hate with love and justice. Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho is a Palestinian Evangelical Christian currently serving as the Academic Dean of Nazareth Evangelical College. He also recently translated the Greek New Testament into Colloquial Galilean Arabic. He is the author of "Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes" and "Unlocking the Old Testament: Christ is the Culmination of the Law." Follow Across the Divide for more on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/acrossthedividepodcast/
Soteriology 101: Former Calvinistic Professor discusses Doctrines of Salvation
Dr. Leighton Flowers welcomes Dr. Jason Staples to discuss the meaning of Romans 9-11. Did John Calvin, and the Calvinists that followed him, misunderstand Paul in Romans 9–11? In this interview we walk through Paul's argument about Israel while challenging the foundations of Calvinistic soteriology. Dr. Staples is the author of Paul and the Resurrection of Israel, a groundbreaking book that challenges how Christians and others have traditionally understood Paul's view of Israel in relation to the church.
On today's pages, Chullin 94 and 95, the rabbis discuss signs and omens, prompting a conversation about the place of superstition in Jewish life. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism rejects magical thinking while embracing rituals that inspire hope, prayer, and intentional living. When does a good omen become an act of faith instead of superstition? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Read OnlineReviving Religious HabitsHe summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” Matthew 15:10–12Jesus' words would have stunned His Jewish listeners because He challenged deeply rooted religious beliefs about purity and impurity. He was not denying the value of external practices when they are rightly understood and ordered. Rather, He was reorienting the discussion toward the interior life—toward the heart, the true source of either moral purity or corruption.This teaching came in response to a question posed by the Pharisees and scribes: “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal” (Matthew 15:2). The “tradition of the elders” referred to a body of oral interpretations and applications of the Mosaic Law, developed over generations. Though intended to safeguard the Law, these traditions had, over time, begun to obscure the heart of God's commandments by placing excessive emphasis on external observances.Jesus responds by shifting the focus to the interior life. What defiles a person, He says, is not the ritual neglect of external customs but the disordered desires, thoughts, and words that proceed from a corrupted heart. Sin is rooted in erroneous thinking and interior disorder, not in ritual nonconformity.Notably, though the disciples expressed concern that Jesus had offended the Pharisees, He remained unmoved. He says of them, “They are blind guides” (Matthew 15:14). Their leadership was detached from the heart of divine truth and the Father's will. Anything not planted by His heavenly Father will be uprooted. Traditions and practices that are not grounded in God's will cannot endure.In this case, the tradition in question—ritually washing hands before meals—was neither good nor evil in itself. Cleanliness, of course, can be a good habit. However, when a symbolic act is treated as if it possesses power to bestow grace or confer purity, apart from one's interior disposition, it becomes a stumbling block. The external act, separated from inner faith and intention, undermines its original purpose.Though the specific customs of first-century Judaism may no longer be practiced, the same principle applies today. Consider, for example, the practice of saying grace before meals. This is a beautiful and commendable habit—but only when it is truly a prayer. Reciting words without thought, attention, or gratitude does not glorify God. Nor does it bring about the blessing we seek. Prayer must always come from a sincere and devout heart.What do you cling to the most—customs, traditions, and habits, or the very heart of God's will? Often, faithfully following God requires that we evaluate, reorder, and strengthen certain habitual practices—even good ones.This especially applies to religious habits: making the Sign of the Cross, praying the Hail Mary or the Our Father, donating to charity, or even attending Sunday Mass. These actions have great spiritual value, but only when united with intentional faith and love. The Mass is indeed the source and summit of our faith, but if we are only externally present while interiorly disengaged from the sacred Mystery before us, we will not receive the fruits of grace that God desires to bestow.Reflect today on the religious habits you practice. Are they merely external customs, or do they express a living faith? Seek to reintegrate heart and habit, so that every prayer, every gesture, every act of charity, and every act of worship flows from a soul sincerely united to the will of God.Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, everything You did flowed from the perfection of love that flooded Your Heart. You did not act out of mere custom or habit, but intentionally and sincerely, doing each act with love that glorified Your Heavenly Father. Please make my heart like Yours, so that all that I do bears fruit and gives You eternal glory. Jesus, I trust in You. Image via Adobe StockSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.
The first believers in Jesus were recognized as Jews. In fact, Jesus never wanted the Gentiles to become separated from their Hebrew roots. What kind of persecution did the early church face, and how did it contribute to the separation of Judaism and Christianity? Find out in today's episode. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/8l2
Nikki Goldstein was in a coma in the ICU at St Vincent's Hospital when she first 'met' Rabbi Eli Schlanger. When she woke, the pair embarked together on a project to share the wisdom, compassion and universality of several Jewish teachings.Although they were from very different worlds, when Nikki gained consciousness and met Rabbi Eli properly the two became fast friends.Then, they started writing a book together - based on the deep and expansive conversations they began having about hope, personal growth, spirituality and modern life.Rabbi Eli wanted Nikki's help to share seven ancient Jewish guidelines on living a good life, which he believed could be helpful to anyone, Jewish or not, who was looking for a way to live in a world that feels increasingly chaotic.While Nikki and Rabbi Eli didn't agree on everything all the time, they did both believe these teachings to be universal in their compassion and wisdom.The pair had just recorded their last conversation for the project in December last year, when Rabbi Eli was one of 15 people killed in the Bondi Beach terror attack.Nikki decided to honour his memory by finishing their book alone.Conversations with My Rabbi is published by HarperCollins.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores religion, faith, modern living, disconnection, hope, radical empathy, togetherness, multiculturalism, learning from others, spiritual, family, near-death experiences, autoimmune disease, anti-Semitism, terrorism, grief, tragedy, suffering, meaning of life, spiritual teachings, friendship, prayer, meditation, Judaism, secularism.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you'll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe traces the remarkable chain of the Oral Torah from Mount Sinai through the generations. Every mitzvah, together with its explanation, was given to Moshe Rabbeinu at Sinai. While the Written Torah records the commandments, the Oral Torah preserves the practical details that make those commandments possible to observe. This sacred transmission—from teacher to student, generation after generation—ensures that Torah remains authentic, living, and faithful to its Divine source.Rabbi Wolbe explains how the Oral Torah was eventually committed to writing as circumstances demanded. Faced with persecution, exile, and the fear that Torah knowledge would be forgotten, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled the Mishnah. Centuries later, the Talmud expanded upon it, and generations of scholars—including the Geonim, Rashi, and the Rambam—continued organizing and clarifying Torah so that every generation could understand Hashem's will. Far from inventing new ideas, these Torah giants faithfully organized, explained, and transmitted what had already been received.The lesson also highlights the extraordinary accessibility of Torah in our own generation. Rabbi Wolbe reflects on how previous generations treasured even a single volume of Talmud, while today thousands of Torah classes, translations, and sefarim are available with the touch of a button. This abundance carries a responsibility: to seize the opportunity and immerse ourselves in Torah study with gratitude and purpose.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe returns to one of the central themes of the Gate of Torah: review, review, review. Torah is not mastered through a single exposure but through constant repetition until it becomes part of who we are. The great sages reviewed their learning countless times, allowing Torah to become second nature. Their message is timeless: learn consistently, review faithfully, and allow the Torah to shape your heart, mind, and life._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 3, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Intimate Judaism: A Jewish Approach to Intimacy, Sexuality, and Relationships
Many Jewish young adults reach their wedding night with almost no real guidance on intimacy and sexuality. Rabbi Scott Kahn and sex and relationship therapist Talli Rosenbaum open the series by explaining why these conversations need to start years before the chuppah, and what's ahead in the next nine episodes. The remaining nine episodes of Intimacy and Sexuality for Emerging Adults will drop this Saturday night, August 8th. Subscribe today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe traces the remarkable chain of the Oral Torah from Mount Sinai through the generations. Every mitzvah, together with its explanation, was given to Moshe Rabbeinu at Sinai. While the Written Torah records the commandments, the Oral Torah preserves the practical details that make those commandments possible to observe. This sacred transmission—from teacher to student, generation after generation—ensures that Torah remains authentic, living, and faithful to its Divine source.Rabbi Wolbe explains how the Oral Torah was eventually committed to writing as circumstances demanded. Faced with persecution, exile, and the fear that Torah knowledge would be forgotten, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi compiled the Mishnah. Centuries later, the Talmud expanded upon it, and generations of scholars—including the Geonim, Rashi, and the Rambam—continued organizing and clarifying Torah so that every generation could understand Hashem's will. Far from inventing new ideas, these Torah giants faithfully organized, explained, and transmitted what had already been received.The lesson also highlights the extraordinary accessibility of Torah in our own generation. Rabbi Wolbe reflects on how previous generations treasured even a single volume of Talmud, while today thousands of Torah classes, translations, and sefarim are available with the touch of a button. This abundance carries a responsibility: to seize the opportunity and immerse ourselves in Torah study with gratitude and purpose.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe returns to one of the central themes of the Gate of Torah: review, review, review. Torah is not mastered through a single exposure but through constant repetition until it becomes part of who we are. The great sages reviewed their learning countless times, allowing Torah to become second nature. Their message is timeless: learn consistently, review faithfully, and allow the Torah to shape your heart, mind, and life._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 3, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Nehemiah leaves for a while to go back to the king of Persia. While he's gone from Jerusalem, things begin to change for the worse: Nehemiah comes back to a corrupted temple. The storage rooms were being used as personal apartments for evil men like Tobiah. Nehemiah throws out all of Tobiah's belongings and commands the rooms be used for storage again. The people learn that Ammonites and Moabites are not allowed to enter the assembly of God due to their past mistreatment of the Israelites. However, there are exceptions, such as Ruth, a Moabitess who converted to Judaism and became an integral part of the Israelite community. Nehemiah discovers that the Levites and temple singers have not been receiving their rightful tithes, which has led them to abandon their duties and seek alternative means of survival. Hey! Don't leave before looking at other P40 stuff: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk Merch - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop YouVersion - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/38267-out-of-the-mire-trusting-god-in-the-middle Check out LifeAudio for other faith-based podcasts on parenting, studying Scripture, and more:www.lifeaudio.com Need help memorizing Scripture? Check out Verse in the Chorus: https://www.youtube.com/@VerseintheChrous Become a member to gain access to The Bible Explained on Fridays: https://ko-fi.com/p40ministries Support babies and get quality coffee with Seven Weeks Coffee https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40 Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Once the largest Jewish denomination in America, the Conservative movement is now experiencing a dramatic decline while Reform Judaism, Orthodoxy, Chabad, and independent Jewish communities reshape American Jewish life.Rabbi Daniel Levine sits down with Jay Sanderson, President and CEO of American Jewish University and former President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, to discuss the future of Conservative Judaism—and whether Jewish denominations themselves are becoming obsolete.They explore why younger Jews are increasingly reluctant to identify with a denomination, whether Reform and Modern Orthodoxy have absorbed Conservative Judaism's most successful ideas, and why Chabad has become so appealing to Jews who once might have joined traditional suburban synagogues.The conversation also examines interfaith marriage, Zionism and anti-Zionism in rabbinical schools, the rising cost of Jewish participation, and whether Jewish institutions have become too focused on fighting antisemitism at the expense of building meaningful Jewish life.Topics include:• Why Conservative Judaism is shrinking• Whether Jewish denominations still serve a purpose• Reform Judaism, Orthodoxy, and the disappearing Jewish center• Why Chabad continues to grow• Intermarriage and welcoming interfaith families• Zionism and anti-Zionism in rabbinical schools• The changing role of American synagogues• Whether America's Jewish “golden age” is ending• The Jewish community's focus on antisemitism• Why Jewish education, synagogues, and summer camps cost so much• How Jewish institutions can remain accessible and relevant⏱️ Timestamps00:00 Is Conservative Judaism collapsing?01:39 The history and purpose of Jewish denominations03:47 Why denominational Judaism is declining06:46 The changing meaning of American Jewish identity09:04 Intermarriage and Jewish belonging10:08 How Reform Judaism and Orthodoxy have changed11:04 Did Conservative Judaism succeed by influencing the other movements?13:23 Synagogues, independent minyanim, and the future of Jewish community15:25 Do Jewish denominations still serve a purpose?18:54 Israel, Zionism, and rabbinical schools22:48 What should the role of a rabbi be?23:39 Conservative Judaism and interfaith marriage25:53 Is Chabad replacing traditional synagogues?27:18 Why Chabad's financial model is so appealing29:19 Chabad as a “family bakery” rather than a franchise31:27 Is the American Jewish golden age ending?32:30 Is fighting antisemitism consuming Jewish institutional life?34:34 Building Jewish life instead of focusing only on antisemitism36:20 Antisemitism and Jewish life on college campuses38:50 Why is participating in Jewish life so expensive?40:00 Is cost really the main reason Jews disengage?41:06 Why Jewish institutions refuse to reduce expenses42:23 How much should the Jewish community spend fighting antisemitism?42:58 The most important challenge facing Jewish lifeIf you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone interested in Judaism, Jewish identity, American Jewish life, Zionism, religion, or the future of the Jewish community.#ConservativeJudaism #AmericanJudaism #JewishIdentity #Judaism #JewishCommunity #Chabad #ReformJudaism #OrthodoxJudaism #Antisemitism #Zionism #InterfaithMarriage #JewishHistory #RabbiDanielLevine #JaySanderson
In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we shall finish Miriam the sister of Moses.Miriam (rebellion) – Moses Sister – A ProphetessMiriam was the older sister of Moses, and it was she who watched over him when he was placed in a basket on the River Nile. She went on to become a leader of the Hebrews when they escaped from Egypt and went in search of the Promised Land.Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male. But the price of speaking out is severe; Yahweh punishes her, after which she never speaks, nor is she spoken to. Centuries later, prophecy remembers her as the equal of Moses and Aaron in representing Yahweh before the people, and as the inaugurator of a performance and composition tradition of song, drums, and dances in Israel. Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exod. 15:20.), is the first of her order mentioned in the Word of Yahweh. While Yahweh never ordained a woman to be priest, nor do we read of women as bishops or pastors in the New Testament, the vocation of "prophetess" is common to both dispensations. Hannah (1Sam. 1:2) was practically a prophetess, and so was Huldah, to whom King Josiah went in his time of perplexity. Deborah (Judges 4:5) was a prophetess (2Kings 22:14), and there were also false prophetesses, such as Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), as well as false prophets. Yahweh's order in the family is not according to earthly birthright. Speaking of the leaders of His people Israel, He says: "I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4.) All these children of Amram were of the prophet order. Miriam was the eldest, Moses the youngest; yet Moses is first mentioned, because he knew his Yahweh more fully than either his brother or his sister. Aaron, his elder brother, ranks next, and Miriam, the eldest of the three, ranks last.Miriam was a leader of the Hebrew people during the Exodus, the great founding event of Judaism. The episodes we have about her are disjointed and probably only represent a fraction of the stories originally told in the oral tradition of the Hebrew people. The story of Miriam contains four different episodes: 1 Miriam saved her brother Moses, Exodus 2:1-10. This well-known story shows that the survival of the leader of the Exodus, Moses, depended on the courage and ingenuity of one young woman, his sister Miriam. 2 The song of Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. This fragment of the Song of Miriam is one of the oldest poetic couplets in the Old Testament. It is an example of a literary genre devoted to celebrating military victories with triumphal poems. 3 Miriam's ordeal, Numbers 12. This story is about the authority of established law. Moses was the great lawgiver of the Hebrew people Moses' legislation formed the basis of Hebrew life. The story acknowledged that Miriam and Aaron were both popular leaders, but the Law, represented by Moses, bound them. 4 Miriam's death, Numbers 20:1-2. Miriam died in a waterless place in the wilderness, but Yahweh subsequently caused water to appear there. In this study we finish up with #3 Miriam's ordeal and complete the study with Miriam's death While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had indeed married a Cushite woman); and they said, 'Has Yahweh spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?' And Yahweh heard it. Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.Yahweh knows when we criticize and snip at each other. No matter our position in the church, we have to remember that all of Yahweh's children are special to Him. In fact, today, we can be even closer to Yahweh than Moses was the one who stood face to face with Yahweh. Our Yahweh now lives inside of us, for we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. How then can we not be afraid to speak against another of Yahweh's servants, His child? If we do so, we may very anger Yahweh and cause Him to depart from us.Numbers 12:10: Suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow = Leprosy was a disease where the body rotted and decayed. It was considered a “walking death” – and Miriam had an advanced case of leprosy (white as snow) instantly. At this moment, Yahweh caused her body to reflect her heart.Leprous = First occurance is in Exodus 4:6. Nine (Denotes Finality of judgment. It is 3x3, the product of Divine completeness. The number nine, or its factors or multiples, is seen in all cases when judgment is the subject.)so afflicted: Exo. 4:6. Num. 12:10. 2Kings 5:1, 2Kings 5:27; 7:3; 15:5. (2Chron. 26:20). Matthew 8:2; 26:6. Luke 17:12. (Nine cases, 21 individuals.)By the way 21 in the Biblical Number for Divine Completion as regardsSpiritual Perfection, Many times, I have read that Yahweh punished Miriam by making her leprous. There is a big debate on whether Yahweh did this or not. Let's read the verse again. Yahweh was angry and left in verse 9 and here in verse 10 we read of the cloud departing, and Miriam was leprous. No where are we told Yahweh made Miriam leprous or even that Yahweh punished Miriam with leprosy. Yahweh went away. There is protection under the shadow of Yahweh's wing, but when we leave that protection or by our actions cause Yahweh to withdraw we lose that protection.11 Oh my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us = Aaron called Moses his master (my lord), and he attributed to Moses the power to strike Miriam with leprosy. Aaron also confessed his previous criticism as foolish and sinful (we have done foolishly…we have sinned).13 So Moses cried out to Yahweh = This was the first word spoken by Moses in this chapter. He had not spoken the entire time he was accused, leaving it up to Yahweh to answer his critics.14 Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again = Yahweh did heal Miriam. If she were still a leper, she would not have been allowed to remain in the camp of Israel, and she was received again. Yet, Yahweh allowed her to live with the outward display of her inward heart for seven days – and allowed the whole nation to know it.Miriam's question 'has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses?' was a profound one. It asked How do we know what Yahweh wants? What ways does Yahweh speak to us? Who has authority over us? These questions are universal, asked by people of every place and era.Numbers 20:2 The people stayed in Kadesh (sanctuary); and Miriam died there and was buried there = Miriam died in Kadesh. Through the years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel came now to Kadesh. This is probably another place named Kadesh but presented to remind us of the failure of faith at the Kadesh of Numbers 13:26.Miriam, with her brothers Moses and Aaron, led the Hebrew people throughout the forty years when they reverted to the nomadic life, searching meanwhile for a land where they could settle. The life they led was hard, and they must often have yearned for the stability and settled life they had left back in Egypt. Water was always scarce, the food supply was unreliable, and the physical living conditions were rigorous. Eventually these conditions took their toll on Miriam, and she died. 'The Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.' Water, the symbol of life, had played quite a large part in Miriam's life. She saved her brother from the water; she led the song of victory after the parting of the Red Sea; she died in a waterless place. Immediately after her death, Yahweh gave abundant water to the people, in the form of a spring. Unlike most women in the Bible, Miriam is never called wife or mother. She has neither husband nor children. Jewish traditions, however, cannot tolerate her status as single. The historian Josephus deems Hur the husband of Miriam (Antiquities 3.54; see Exod 17:10–12). Rabbinic sources give her Caleb for a husband and Hur for a son (but compare 1 Chr 2:19). Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh!Have any questions? Feel free to email me; keitner2024@outlook.com
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explains that Torah study is not merely an activity—it is meant to become the very occupation of a Jew. Just as a business owner is always thinking about their business, even after locking the store for the day, so too Torah should remain at the center of a person's heart and mind at all times. Through constant engagement with Torah, a person acquires wisdom, humility, refined character, awe of Hashem, and countless other virtues, while meriting immeasurable reward both in this world and in the World to Come.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah study alone is not enough—the true measure of Torah is whether it transforms the way we live. A scholar who teaches justice while acting unjustly undermines the very Torah he proclaims. The greatness of Torah is realized only when learning inspires action, integrity, and authentic character. Torah is not merely information to be taught; it is a way of life to be embodied.The lesson also explores the importance of learning Torah lishmah—for the sake of Torah itself. Through the story of Elisha ben Avuyah's father, Rabbi Wolbe illustrates that when Torah is pursued for honor alone, its spiritual foundation is weakened. Nevertheless, our Sages encourage every Jew to study Torah, even if their initial motivations are imperfect, because sincere Torah study has the power to elevate a person's intentions over time. One who begins for personal reasons can ultimately arrive at learning purely for the sake of Heaven.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe reminds us that every mitzvah learned with excitement carries immense value, even if circumstances prevent us from physically performing it. The Torah is infinite; every verse contains a lifetime of wisdom waiting to be uncovered. The journey of Torah study never truly ends—it continually deepens, inspires, and draws us closer to Hashem._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 2, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explains that Torah study is not merely an activity—it is meant to become the very occupation of a Jew. Just as a business owner is always thinking about their business, even after locking the store for the day, so too Torah should remain at the center of a person's heart and mind at all times. Through constant engagement with Torah, a person acquires wisdom, humility, refined character, awe of Hashem, and countless other virtues, while meriting immeasurable reward both in this world and in the World to Come.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah study alone is not enough—the true measure of Torah is whether it transforms the way we live. A scholar who teaches justice while acting unjustly undermines the very Torah he proclaims. The greatness of Torah is realized only when learning inspires action, integrity, and authentic character. Torah is not merely information to be taught; it is a way of life to be embodied.The lesson also explores the importance of learning Torah lishmah—for the sake of Torah itself. Through the story of Elisha ben Avuyah's father, Rabbi Wolbe illustrates that when Torah is pursued for honor alone, its spiritual foundation is weakened. Nevertheless, our Sages encourage every Jew to study Torah, even if their initial motivations are imperfect, because sincere Torah study has the power to elevate a person's intentions over time. One who begins for personal reasons can ultimately arrive at learning purely for the sake of Heaven.Finally, Rabbi Wolbe reminds us that every mitzvah learned with excitement carries immense value, even if circumstances prevent us from physically performing it. The Torah is infinite; every verse contains a lifetime of wisdom waiting to be uncovered. The journey of Torah study never truly ends—it continually deepens, inspires, and draws us closer to Hashem._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on August 2, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Rabbi Chaim Singer Franke's Shabbat Teaching at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, August 1, 2026. (Youtube/Zoom)Special Guest: Rabbi Chaim Singer-Frankes.
Have you ever noticed things come in threes? One thing goes wrong, then another, then another — and you start to wonder if the universe is trying to tell you something. So is there anything to it? This week we go straight into it: mazal, horoscopes, and the surprising truth about whether the stars actually have a say in your life.Here's what we get into:Why the Torah takes astrology seriously — and then forbids you to touch itPharaoh's stargazers, and the reading that came trueAvraham being lifted above the stars — ein mazal l'YisraelThe two kinds of mazal, and which one you can actually rise aboveWhat Rabbi Akiva's daughter did the night before her wedding that changed everythingBy the end, you'll never read a horoscope — or say "it's just not my year" — the same way again.If this one spoke to you, share it with a friend who checks their horoscope "just for fun," and come tell me what landed.
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Jewish Faith & Jewish Facts with Rabbi Steven Garten. Aired: August 02, 2026 on CHRI Radio 99.1FM in Ottawa, Canada. For questions, email Rabbi Garten at rabbishg@templeisraelottawa.com For more CHRI shows, visit chri.ca
The Mitzvah of Tzedakah is often translated as "charity," but that misses its deeper meaning. Tzedakah is about justice, responsibility, and caring for another human being with dignity. In this week's Parsha, the Torah introduces the Mitzvah with an unexpected word: Laymor - "to say." Why begin a commandment about opening our hands with a word about speaking? Perhaps because the greatest gifts are not only the ones we place in someone's hand, but also the words we place in their heart. Words can restore dignity, awaken hope, and give another person the strength to keep going. A remarkable story about the Tosher Rebbe, Rabbi Meshulum Lowy, shows how a few carefully chosen words transformed the life of a young man in crisis. It is a powerful reminder that the most valuable thing we give another person may not be our money at all. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman (michael@adath.ca) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
In this episode of Dennis Teaches the Torah, Dennis delves into the complexities of the Torah and its depiction of God. In this thought-provoking discussion, he explores the idea that God is often portrayed as masculine, and examines the reasons behind this representation. He also touches on the importance of the land in Judaism, discussing how it is a physical and tangible aspect of the faith. The episode covers a range of topics, from the biblical account of Jacob's blessing of his grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to the significance of the tribe of Judah. Dennis shares his insights on the Torah's teachings and how they relate to modern society, offering a unique perspective on the importance of tradition and the role of the individual in shaping their own destiny. He also discusses the concept of anger and its place in Jewish tradition, highlighting the dangers of extremism and the importance of moderation. Follow on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/timeless-wisdom-with-dennis-prager/id1517302239 Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4SZEYeH4tuLr2FvG4ok1rl Learn more about Dennis Prager: https://pragertopia.com/ Follow Dennis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DennisPrager Follow Dennis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedennisprager/ Follow Dennis on X: https://x.com/DennisPrager Learn more about the Salem Podcast Network: https://salempodcastnetwork.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
The conversation explores why fringe theories around Jesus remain so compelling, how theology, mythology, and allegory overlap, and why these ideas keep resurfacing in modern culture. Jared explains how the book grew out of a more scholarly project and became a deeper dive into the stranger theories surrounding Christ. The discussion covers the idea of Jesus as an alien, the role of AI in apocalyptic narratives, the influence of the Book of Enoch, the possibility of Jesus traveling through the East, and the argument that many religious stories work as layered allegories rather than literal history. Jared also shares how his own views have shifted over time, from Catholic upbringing to atheism, agnosticism, and a more spiritual perspective shaped by his research. The episode also touches on: Jesus and AI as modern end-times symbolism The tension between scholarship, belief, and conspiracy The role of scripture, Gnostic texts, and non-canonical sources Whether Jesus was a historical figure or a Roman invention The mushroom theory, the Shroud of Turin, and the "three days" motif Flood myths, cataclysms, and parallels across ancient traditions The overlap between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam Travel, sacred places, and spiritual atmosphere around the world Author, Artist, Traveller, Theological Researcher - Jared has self published 12 books, some on the untold mysteries behind the Christian Prophet. https://jaredwoodssavedmylife.com/ To gain access to the second half of show and our Plus feed for audio and podcast please clink the link http://www.grimericaoutlawed.ca/support. For second half of video (when applicable and audio) go to our Substack and Subscribe. https://grimericaoutlawed.substack.com/ or to our Locals https://grimericaoutlawed.locals.com/ or Patreon https://www.patreon.com/grimericaoutlawed Support the show directly: https://open.spotify.com/show/2punSyd9Cw76ZtvHxMKenI?si=ImKxfMHgQZ-oshl499O4dQ&nd=1&dlsi=4c25fa9c78674de3 Watch or Listen on Spotify https://www.simulationmaps.com/#products Disaster Maps, Volcano Sim, Asteroid Sim, Shipwreck Map, UFO Map etc https://grimericacbd.com/ CBD / THC Tinctures and Gummies https://grimerica.ca/support-2/ Our Adultbrain Audiobook Podcast and Website: www.adultbrain.ca Check out our next trip/conference/meetup - Contact at the Cabin www.contactatthecabin.com Join the chat / hangout with a bunch of fellow Grimericans Https://t.me.grimerica grimerica.ca/chats Discord Chats Darren's books www.acanadianshame.ca Sign up for our newsletter http://www.grimerica.ca/news InstaGRAM https://www.instagram.com/the_grimerica_show_podcast/ Purchase swag, with partial proceeds donated to the show www.grimerica.ca/swag ART - Napolean Duheme's site http://www.lostbreadcomic.com/ MUSIC Tru Northperception, Felix's Site sirfelix.bandcamp.com Chapters 0:03 — Intro and Jared's background 1:37 — Why he wrote the book 4:23 — AI, Revelation, and end-times symbolism 13:22 — Balancing controversy and fairness 16:15 — Faith, skepticism, and spirituality 19:19 — Allegory, symbolism, and hidden meanings 27:23 — Jesus in Japan and the mushroom theory 34:08 — Jesus, stars, and the Christ myth 46:53 — Did Jesus exist? 53:13 — Book of Enoch and alien connections 54:45 — Flood myths and cataclysms 67:53 — Dark sorcerer, alchemist, false prophet 75:45 — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and reinterpretation 78:06 — Travel, sacred places, and Easter Island 84:45 — Where to find Jared's work
Rabbi Amy Bernstein's weekly Torah study class via Zoom with guest teacher Elon Gilad. Elon Gilad writes on the Hebrew language and Jewish History for Haaretz, where his etymology column has been a fixture for a decade. He is the author of "The Secret History of Judaism" and editor of a scholarly edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch. The event was conducted in person at K.I. and via Zoom on July 31, 2026.
Send us Fan MailMadison Rachel Margolin is an author, journalist, and facilitator, trained in Lev Emunah Therapy (based in Kabbalistic and Breslov concepts), narrative therapy, and MAPS Zendo Sit (psychedelic space holding). Her first book is a journalistic memoir entitled Exile & Ecstasy: Growing Up with Ram Dass and Coming of Age in the Jewish Psychedelic Underground (Hay House, 2023), while her second and third books are more educational: The DoubleBlind Guide to Psychedelics (Artisan Books, 2026; co-written with Shelby Hartman) and, forthcoming, Judaism is Psychedelic: A Practical Guide (Ayin Press, 2027). She is the co-founder of both DoubleBlind Magazine and the Jewish Psychedelic Summit, and hosts a podcast on the Be Here Now Network called Set & Setting. She has written for dozens of publications including Vice, Rolling Stone, and Playboy, and has presented on psychedelics, Judaism, and more at conferences around the world, spanning NYC, Denver, London, and Israel. Based between New York and Israel, Madison spends her free time practicing yoga and dancing.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------https://wig-guru.com - Use Code 'Brainstorm' For 10% Offhttps://www.thevillagerecovery.org/Business Email: Brainstormwithsony@gmail.com-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For more Brainstorm go to...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aPCiuzsIoNKYt5jjv7RFT?si=67dfa56d4e764ee0Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm-with-sony-perlman/id1596925257Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brainstormwithsonyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainstormwithsony
Library Minyan member Henry Morgen's Shabbat Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, August 1, 2026. (Youtube)Special Guest: Henry Morgen.
On this episode of Thinking Fellows, the guys ask what it means to call Christianity, Judaism, and Islam the "Abrahamic faiths." They look at the history of the term and what these religions actually share. They also explain why their differences, especially about Jesus Christ, matter more than the label and how Christians can talk with Jews and Muslims without losing the truth of the Gospel. More from 1517: Support the work at 1517 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education New Books from 1517 Publishing: The Turk at the Door by Adam Francisco Luther and the Lion: A Narnian Catechism by Samuel Schuldheisz By Water and the Word by Brian Thomas Being Family by Dr. Scott Keith More from the hosts: Caleb Keith Scott Keith Adam Francisco Bruce Hilman Follow 1517: Instagram X/Twitter Facebook
On today's pages, Chullin 92 and 93, the rabbis forbid sellers from misrepresenting what they're offering, insisting that honesty belongs in every transaction. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross explores why Judaism demands integrity not only in the marketplace, but in every human relationship. Is telling the truth simply about avoiding lies—or about honoring the people we deal with? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Lexi Kohanski is a trans Jewish writer and educator, who recently created a Jewish TTRPG (table-top role-playing game) called Worlds to Come: The Hebrew Role-Playing Game. She is also a brand-new member of Judaism Unbound's staff team (our Education Content & Design Specialist)! Lexi joins Lex (confusing, we know!) and Rena Yehuda in this episode, for a podcast diving into the power of Jewish play, and the magic of weaving worlds through language. Also, for the first time ever, Judaism Unbound itself turns into a roleplaying game for 10 minutes? It's a modified version of Worlds to Come, featuring Jewish time-travel, magical creatures, and that thing many of you are thinking about all the time (the Roman empire). ---------------------Don't miss our 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva (Judaism Unbound's digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning) -- teachers this time around include Xava De Cordova, Alicia Jo Rabins, and Laynie Soloman. Register at JudaismUnbound.com/classes! -----------------------Eight incredible students from the UnYeshiva's certificate program in Unbound Judaism will be graduating, on August 2nd! Mark your calendars, so that you can be there to celebrate their amazing achievement. You can register to attend via this link! Access full shownotes for this episode via this link. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation -- support Judaism Unbound by clicking here!
Jesus did not come to start a new religion. In fact, the Bible says the Word is to be preached first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. In today's episode, join Rabbi Schneider as he explores the why the inclusion of Gentiles in the Gospel of Jesus contributed to the separation of Judaism and Christianity. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/g7x TITLE: Gentiles, Judaism, and Christianity (The Separation: Inclusion of the Gentiles) Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com
Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal delivers a rich expository sermon on James 5:1–6, one of the most striking prophetic passages in the New Testament epistles. Drawing on the Jewish literary and cultural context of James's original audience — Jewish Christians scattered from Jerusalem by persecution — Tony unpacks why this text is not a blanket condemnation of wealth, but a devastating judgment oracle against those who hoard riches and oppress the vulnerable. Along the way, he explores the eschatological weight of accumulated wealth, the theology of God's omniscient justice, and the stunning comfort available to the suffering believer. The episode closes by returning to James's thesis: that trials of every kind, including economic oppression, can be counted as joy because of who God is and what He has done in Christ. Key Takeaways James is a deeply Jewish book written to a specific audience — Jewish Christians dispersed from Jerusalem by Saul's persecution, not a general audience of wealthy or Gentile believers. The prophetic "Come now" signals a judgment oracle, not a direct address — James is not rebuking wealthy members of his congregation, but pronouncing eschatological judgment on oppressive landowners using a technique common in Amos, Malachi, and Micah. Hoarding wealth is not morally neutral — it is self-condemning — The corroded gold and moth-eaten garments are not just symbols of decay; they serve as legal evidence against those who refused to use their wealth for God's glory and the good of others. Withholding wages from laborers constitutes a form of murder — In the ancient world, depriving workers of their wages could literally cost them their lives. James draws on Old Testament law to frame predatory economic exploitation as a capital sin. God sees and hears the cries of the oppressed — The wages of defrauded workers "cry out" to the Lord of Hosts, echoing the blood of Abel in Genesis 4. God's justice is not passive or delayed out of ignorance — it is certain and coming. Matthew 25 reframes Christian mercy as care for the body of Christ — The sheep-and-goats judgment is not a general humanitarian mandate, but a specific call to care for persecuted brothers and sisters — and to recognize that mistreating them is mistreating Christ Himself. Trials are counted as joy through the doctrine of imputation — Suffering is not stripped of its pain, but it can be moved from the loss ledger to the profit column because God uses adversity as the instrument of sanctification and glorification. Key Concepts The Prophetic Address: Who Is James Actually Talking To? One of the most common misreadings of James 5:1–6 is assuming James is directly rebuking wealthy Christians in his own congregation. Tony Arsenal corrects this by grounding the passage in its literary and historical context. James employs a well-established prophetic technique — seen in Amos, Malachi, and Micah — of addressing an absent party in order to pronounce judgment on them, while simultaneously comforting those who overhear the oracle. His audience is the dispersed, impoverished Jewish Christians who fled Jerusalem under Saul's persecution. There were almost certainly no wealthy landowners in the room. The "Come now, you rich" is a judgment declaration directed outward, designed to assure the suffering poor that God has seen their oppressor and will act. Far from being a proof-text for radical poverty, the passage is a pastoral comfort wrapped in prophetic fire. Corroded Gold as Legal Evidence Against the Soul James's claim that gold and silver have "corroded" is deliberately shocking — and theologically precise. Gold, uniquely among metals in the ancient world, does not corrode. By saying it has already corroded, James is not making a metallurgical claim but a moral and eschatological one. The accumulated, hoarded wealth of the oppressor has lost its purpose. It sits idle while workers starve, and in doing so it becomes evidence — a legal witness — against its owner in the court of divine justice. Tony draws a direct line between this image and Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount about treasures stored on earth being subject to moth and rust. Both brothers — Jesus and James — appear to be drawing on the same shared wisdom, likely rooted in the same household and the same mother's instruction. Unused wealth does not just fail to help others; it actively indicts its holder. Counting It All Joy: The Accounting Logic of Sanctification Tony closes the sermon by returning to James 1:2 — the thesis statement of the entire letter — and unpacking the word "count" as an accounting term, directly related to the doctrine of imputation. Just as righteousness is reckoned to the believer in justification, so suffering can be reckoned as joy in sanctification. This is not a call to pretend pain isn't real, or to perform contentment. It is a theological reframing: what belongs in the loss column of the ledger can, by faith, be moved to the profit side — not because the trial was pleasant, but because God is sovereign, good, and working all things toward the believer's conformity to the image of Christ. The oppressor means their wickedness for evil. God means it for glory. The supreme example is the cross itself — the only truly innocent man, suffering the worst evil ever committed, for the redemption of His people. Memorable Quotes The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you — and the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees you — and that should be a great source of comfort. Imputation is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the loss ledger — what should be an expense — and we're able to move it to the profit. Not because it didn't hurt, and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified. Full Transcript Tony Arsenal: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you." It's always a little, uh, strange to sort of jump into the middle of a series, and, um, you know, Wes is one of the most competent preachers that I know personally, so I trust that he has given you a good and satisfying overview. Uh, but I don't feel like I would be doing my responsibility if I didn't at least touch on a few things, uh, related to the, the intro to James that I think is relevant for this particular passage in a way that maybe is not relevant for the rest of the book. So some of this I hope is review, I, I anticipate is review, but I think it's worth, uh, touching on. James, as you know, is the, the half brother of Jesus. He was the leader of the Jerusalem church, and specifically he was sort of the figurehead of the Jewish church as a whole. Um, the Jewish church was the only church for the very early part of the church's growth. There were always, uh, Gentile believers. Even in the Old Testament, there were Gentiles who trusted in the Lord of Israel and the God of Israel. They were often called God-fearers. They rarely converted all the way to Judaism, but they were sort of seen as an attachment to the Jewish people. They didn't participate in all of the blessings of the Jewish people, but they did participate in most. They often had the same kind of protection. They were in a form of covenant with God. Um, they were able to worship and offer sacrifices. The temple itself had a whole portion of the temple dedicated called the Court of Gentiles, specifically for these Jewish worshipers. And as the church spread, primarily through persecution, which we'll touch base on here in a minute, as the church spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria, and ultimately to the ends of the earth, it took on a, an increasingly Gentile Greek flavor. As more and more primarily initially Greek converts came into the church, and then of course, as it spread to other sort of non-Hellenistic lands, other, other types of people, other nations, other people groups joined the church, the scriptures which-- the New Testament we receive primarily from Paul, at least in terms of the epistles, um, also began to take on a more Gentile flavor. Not because Paul was a Gentile, but because Paul was ministering primarily to Gentiles What we'll see here is that James is a very Jewish book. I'm sure that along the way there's been several kinds of things pointed out to you to show that, but I wanna show a couple things that not only establish James as the author, James the brother of, of Jesus, but also root the, not only the author, but the audience in a distinctly Jewish Christian, uh, context. So you don't have to turn there, I'll read this, but in Acts, uh, 15, which is the, the great Jerusalem Council, uh, we read this. It says, "With the following letter..." So the, the council meets, they make a decision about what k- what parts of the Jewish law were going to be commended to and recommended, uh, and required for the Christian believers, the Gentile Christian believers, and when they're done, they send this letter to all of, all of the churches. And it says, "With the following letter, the brothers, both apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are at, of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings." Now, I don't know about you, but I always sign my emails the same way, right? I've got, like, my work signature that I have to use, that the, the hospital makes me use with all the proper formatting and colors and fonts, but I always have the same signature. Mine is very simple. I just say, "Thanks," right? I just sign it as, "Thanks," above my signature, and I'm sure you all have that sort of characteristic way you sign a s- sign an email, or maybe it's the way you say goodbye at the end of a phone call. My father-in-law always says, "So long," which is a phrase you don't hear very often, so it's very distinct to him. We all have these little tells in our communication that sort of tip off who they're from. If you turn quickly back over to James 1, so just flip the page, uh, to the left here, he starts his letter by saying, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings." It's the only two letters in the New Testament that we have where the author identifies himself, sends to a sort of generalized audience, and then signs it, "Greetings." Now, James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem Church. He was the leader of the Jewish ch- the Jewish Church in general, and he signed the letter coming from the Acts Council as sort of the presiding minister. If, if we were, y- you might call them, like, the moderator of your business meeting, or we would call them the moderator of our presbytery or our session in the Presbyterian context I come from. He was the one who sort of, like, presided over there, and so the letter that went out to the churches was signed in his name and written, drafted by him. So we see this characteristic way that the letter is addressed with this final word, "Greetings," which is not used frequently in the New Testament We also see when we look at the language carefully that the audience of this, uh, of this letter, it's debated and there are good arguments, but i- in my opinion, it's very clear that the audience of this letter is not Jewish Christians in general or, uh, Jews who have not yet converted. There are some people who would say that 'cause they're called the 12 tribes. But instead it is the Jewish Christians who originally dwelled in Jerusalem and were sent out into the countryside after the persecution that was started primarily by Saul. If you look at Acts, Acts 1 which is, uh, the passage where Saul begins to persecute the church or where Saul kinda comes on the scene as the persecutor of the church, there's a couple distinct, um, distinct linguistic markers we should touch base on. Starting in verse one it says, "And p- Saul approved of his execution. And there arose a day-- that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. They were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church and entered the house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." When we look at this and we compare it to that, uh, again, that first verse of James where he says to the ones who are scattered, we see that there's a pretty strong linguistic parallel that tells us that the people he has in mind for this letter, the people he's addressing, are the same people who were dispersed or scattered out of Jerusalem in the persecution. When he says to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, that word dispersion is not really a translation. It's what we call a transliteration. So it's not like we've taken a word and sort of given it an English word. We've just changed the word, the letters over to English letters. In Greek, the word is diaspora, dispersion, and in, uh, Acts 1, the verb used to, to sort of describe this scattering of them is diaspero. And it is a picture of scattering seed. This is what a farmer would do. So it's not even the normal word we would use when someone is fleeing persecution. It's this idea that God has scattered Christians out into the world, in this case by persecution. He scattered them out into the world to be planted. A lot of this is where we get phrases from Tertullian about the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Now, why does this matter? As I mentioned, we often think in Gentile categories when we're reading the New Testament, and for good reason. One, we're all, all Gentiles, I'm presuming. I, I don't, I don't think-- I think I mentioned this last time, and no one came up and corrected me. I don't think anyone here is ethnically Jewish with ancestry that they're directly aware of, you know, where they trace their lineage directly back. Europe is a, a big amalgamation of just about everything, so most of us probably have a smattering of different ethnicities. But none of us are ethnically Jewish to the idea that we would, uh, identify as such in the same way. And even if we were, we've been raised and grown up in a Gentile context. We live in the West. We have-- We think in different categories. And what's more is most of the New Testament is written primarily to Gentiles by someone who is ministering to Gentiles. So Paul uses a fair amount of, of Hebraisms or things that are related to the Old Testament. Of course, he's explaining the Old Testament, and he makes ample reference to the Old Testament because that is the word of God, and it is profitable for our teaching, our correction, our reproof, and ultimately for our, our sanctification. But he uses metaphors and language in a way that is not common to the Israel context that Jesus and James and Peter and the other apostles were raised in. We don't have time to go there, but there's even some metaphors that Paul uses that are actually used the opposite way in, uh, in the more Hebraic Jewish, uh, epistles we have. One example that comes to mind is, um, Paul looks at the concept of milk, and that's not necessarily a good thing, right? It's not a bad thing, but it's what immature believers use, right? They can't handle the meat of the Bible. They have to be given the milk of the gospel before they can progress to the meat. In the Book of Hebrews, which I don't think was written by Paul, and in other places, Peter uses milk as a way to talk about nourishment, right? We think of the land flowing with milk and honey. Milk was not seen as some sort of substandard food that was only for babies. It was seen as, like, the richest, best thing that you could eat. We all have a linguistic environment that we grow up in. We all have a shared vernacular. You know, if I say something like, "You can't get there from here," everyone knows what that means. Obviously, you can get there from here, but you have to take this circuitous route. We know what that means. I think if we went around the room, we probably would find that there is this shared language. And then if we took individual families, we'd find that even within those families, there's further narrowing down of sort of like inside jokes and words that are used in ways that are not necessarily the same as others So when we read James, or when we read the letters of Peter or the letters of John, we should default to thinking more along the lines of comparing them to the words of Christ in the Gospel, first and foremost, and then to the Old Testament before we start to think about them necessarily comparing them to Ja-- or to Paul or to other kind of first century Hellenistic literature. That's not, of course, to say that Paul and James contradict. I'm sure that we went through a long explanation with much detail when you got to James chapter two, which is, of course, the most famous example. Paul uses the word justification or justify in a legal sense to make or to declare someone to be righteous. It's the verdict that the judge delivers, and it communicates the status. It actually performs what it says. When the judge says, "I find you not guilty," it changes your status from being potentially guilty to being cleared of all charges. Paul uses it slightly differently. He's not using it in the sense of to make someone righteous or to declare them righteous. He's using it to say they've been shown to be righteous. They've been validated. They've been vindicated. And if we get that mixed up, that's the source of all sorts of confusion. So when we come to this passage, and we'll get there, I promise, when we come to this passage, we have to understand some of the metaphors and the language that's being used draws from an existing body of shared cultural language that is foreign to us and is in some ways foreign to the rest of the New Testament, apart from what we see in the Gospels And it's important to remember, and this is why it's so key to land, that the audience of this letter is the persecuted, poor Jewish Christians who probably had a fairly comfortable life, relatively speaking, living in Jerusalem. These are city folks. These are people that live in Jerusalem or farm into the fields immediately around Jerusalem. They were established. They owned land. They probably had family that they had to leave, and now they're scattered out into the country with nothing. They're sent out into the world with no jobs, no family connections, no social welfare. Because they've left the Jewish faith, at least from the perspective of the Jews, they can't even go to their Jewish brothers and sisters and rely on the hospitality that's required in the law of Moses This is so important when we think about how James opens the letter and delivers what I think is his thesis statement. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of every kind." Trials like not knowing where the next meal is gonna come from, not knowing where the next roof over your head is, not being sure you can feed your children. We all face real trials and tribulations in our life. Some of them are related to our faith, and some is just the fallen human condition in the fallen world we live in. But we're talking here about a totally different category of, uh, trial and persecution than most of us hopefully will ever experience That brings us to our actual passage now. James opens up this section with a linguistic marker that signifies this is a change in topic. He says, "Come now," or another way to translate it might be, "Now listen. Listen up." When my son is doing something that, uh, I need him to stop or I need to give him instructions, I hold him by his shoulders and I say, "Look at my eyes. I want your eyes right here. Look at my eyes." That's what Paul is doing. He's stopping and he's interrupting the flow of language. This shows us this is a new topic and a new audience. James is not speaking to rich Christians in his audience. First, 'cause there likely weren't any rich Christians directly in his audience. Remember, these are the, the poor Christians scattered out into the Judean countryside, into Samaria He's using a technique that's really common in the prophets. It's common in Jesus, where he's addressing the people who are not really listening as a way to establish that they will be judged, to hold them accountable, but also to comfort those who are hearing the message. This is a form of prophetic address. We see this in Amos, where he's chastising the Jewish leaders. Uh, in Malachi and Micah, this happens. Malachi is primarily, at least initially, is primarily, uh, a book that is railing against the rich leaders in Jerusalem who had oppressed their own brothers and sisters. The chances that those Jewish cr- uh, Jewish leaders were reading his prophecy or hearing his prophecy is pretty slim. So he was addressing a different group to establish the judgment that he was proclaiming on another party. Jesus does this when he says like, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees." There were probably scribes and Pharisees in the audience there, but he wasn't just talking to the people in front of them. He was pronouncing a judgment oracle, a judgment prophecy on all people who fit that category, and James is doing the same thing here James is not opposing wealth generally. Sometimes James is used as kind of a New Testament example to justify the idea that we should all be poor and wear shabby clothing and walk around barefoot and dirty all the time. Right? This is a key passage that's used, uh, in parts of the church that really emphasize sort of a poverty-based lifestyle. Think of like the wandering monks of the Middle Ages or the, the, um, sort of more radical exclusionists that exist even in our day. I remember when I was in college, I was really enamored with this figure named Shane Claiborne. Some of you have probably heard of him, and I remember I was so impressed because he, he didn't buy new shoes. He just cut new shoes out of duct tape and put them back together. Now, there's some, you know, there's some rugged, uh, rugged get-it-done-ness that, uh, I think us, uh, New Englanders can appreciate, but God does not call us to wear duct tape shoes, at least not universally. I'm not gonna comment on whether he calls Shane Claiborne to do that. I also don't think Shane Claiborne does that anymore. Um, some of us he may call to a lifestyle of poverty in association with a mission field or in association with a specific calling. He does not call us generally to be poor or to not gain wealth What he is opposing here is the refusal to use wealth appropriately for God's glory and the accumulation of wealth just for wealth's sake We'll see that as we unpack the language here a little bit. He establishes that he's not just talking about the earthly hoarding of wealth, as though somehow the very act of accumulating wealth was itself the problem. What he's doing is he's pronouncing an eschatological judgment on those who hoard wealth and use it to oppress others. We see here he says, "Come now, you rich, and weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you." Th- that word weep and howl, those are li-- those are words that are most commonly used in prophetic literature to describe the final cry of anguish. Think about the weeping and gnashing of teeth that Jesus talks about. This is the language he's using. He's talking about the final estate of those who refuse to submit their wealth to God He says, "Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be the evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures in the last days." Now, remember what we said. We, we should read this not in light of some general wisdom, although it is general wisdom that if we accumulate wealth, it tends to not actually go well for us if we're not utilizing it in God-honoring ways. But we should read this in light of the most obvious connection, his big brother, Jesus, who taught his people, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." To maybe land this linguistic, uh, this linguistic connection a little more, I don't know, vibrantly, I'm gonna speculate a little bit. So if you don't like it, then you can disregard it. This is not God's Word. This is a speculation. I can just imagine little Jesus, little nine-year-old Jesus, and probably little six or seven-year-old James and the rest of their siblings, and there's quite a few of them. And we have Joseph, uh, who maybe at this time was still living, although probably not. We know he was living until Jesus was later, you know, 12, he was still around, but we don't know exactly when he left the picture. But he was a carpenter, and he was not, probably not overly wealthy. Uh, they had had to pick up and move, you know, cross-country anyways. They-- We don't know exactly where they were from initially, but they went to Bethlehem, and then they returned to Nazareth. They probably didn't have a lot. There were a lot of mouths to feed and only one business. They didn't have a farm. They didn't own livestock that we know of. I can just imagine a time when little J- little James or one of his sisters was frustrated about the fact that they didn't have anything. And I could picture Mary getting down and going, "Do not store up treasures in, in, uh, in heaven or on Earth. It's all gonna waste away." The same way we might tell our children kind of a, a moral kind of story. Sometimes we have this picture, last time I was here I, I spoke on Philippians 2, we have this idea that Jesus was somehow like Superman, that he, he was just pretending to be a normal human most of the time. As it touches his humanity, as, as we think about Jesus as a human, he had a, his own human set of thinking faculties, his own human knowledge. He grew in wisdom and stature is what Luke teaches us. Well, where did he get some of this wisdom? There's a good reasonable argument to be made that some of the pr- more proverbial type sayings that we see in Christ, that they actually come from the wisdom of his mother and father. And a really good reason to believe that is James relies on the same exact, uh, sort of proverbial wisdom to l- land his point. He doesn't create his own metaphor, he goes back to, at the very least we can say he goes back to the words of Christ. That's a very safe position to take. But this is the shared linguistic context that they both grew up in And he says, "You've done this in the last days." Now, the, the phrase last days in the Bible, uh, in the New Testament generally refers to the time period from Christ's resurrection to his return. We, for a lot of reasons, think about it as kind of like that climactic end period in time. Depending on your, your persuasion, maybe this is when the Antichrist comes, or maybe this is before or after, or maybe during the time when the church is raptured. But in either case, we think of that sort of last period in time before Christ finally comes back. But the New Testament writers are really talking about the entire duration, from Christ's resurrection to his return is what they're referring to. But it does have in view this idea that we are in the last times. The, the final judgment is not necessarily strictly something that's out there in the future. We are living in the last days now, and so what we do and what we say and, and how we worship and if we worship is eschatology. It is the theology of the last times He also positions this as though this is a universal thing going on with those who hoard wealth. This is a very shocking image. Um, we have very good ways to preserve things in our modern world, right? We have ways to m- to make, uh, stainless steel that won't rust, or at least won't rust quickly. But most things in the ancient world, even most precious metals, corroded. Um, I remember when I was growing up, there was this project in my hometown. I lived in a, a little town called White Bear Lake in, in, um, Minnesota, although little is relative. It's pretty big compared to most of what we have out here. And I remember when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old, they had this big building project to build this brand-new, beautiful lakeside pavilion in the center of town, and it w- just gleamed in the sun. It was so gorgeous, and it was made of copper, and everybody loved it, and two years later, it was bright green. I think it's still bright green. I think they figured out it wasn't worth repairing, so they, they just, they just make sure it doesn't keep getting worse, and at some point, I'm sure they either have or will tear it down. But the one metal in the ancient world that didn't do this was gold. It's part of why gold is such a durable measurement of wealth is because it doesn't wear out. It doesn't corrode. It's very soft. It's very easy to damage it, which is why we don't build statues out of it, or we don't build, uh, buildings out of it usually, but it didn't corrode. So when James says here, "Not only your silver, which tarnishes and corrodes, but your silver and gold have corroded." Not are corroding, but have corroded. The rich hearer of this is probably, you know, sitting around like Scrooge McDuck with a pile of gold coins thinking, "Ah, it looks pretty good to me." And what James is saying is, "No, no, no. No, it's corroded. It's eating away at your heart. It's lost its value because you refuse to use it, and so it sits in a pile doing nothing for no one, except serving to further your own condemnation." This is such a crazy, shocking situation that the insanity of not using your wealth, period, the insanity of sitting on your wealth in the ancient world is going to serve as a form of evidence justifying the condemnation of these wicked fools And further, the corrosion of this wealth is an indication of the corrosion of their very souls. There's something about money. I was-- When I was here a couple times before, I preached one of the wealth passages out of Ecclesiastes, and there's something about money that has a unique way of really, really wrecking us. Either we don't have it and we want it, or we have it and we don't wanna lose it, or we have it and we don't spend it wisely. It seems like there's an infinite number of ways to screw it up. And we landed last time that the gospel is good news because with the nearly infinite ways of screwing it up, we're going to screw it up. But the one way that he talks about screwing it up here is hoarding it and sitting on it and not using it Moving on into verses four and five, James moves us now to a more sort of temporal register. He starts out by talking about what wealth is and what it's doing and how it will ultimately affect the entire life and eternity of those in his targeted audience, those he's proclaiming this prophetic, uh, judgment against. But in verse four, he moves back to the behaviors that are being, uh, being engaged in to show the state of these people's souls. He says, "Behold, the wages of the laborers you, who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter." James here points at the, at the behaviors that show this hoarding behavior, and he does it for a number of reasons. One, he needs to call out sin. That's part of the role of a Christian, and especially a leader or a minister in the church, is, um, to not only call out sin in the body of, of Christ, but in a, I think a very particular way, and there's all sorts of, uh, all sorts of theological controversies flying on around about Christian nationalism and other associated things. Some of it is just the spirit of the age. Um, post-COVID, there's a, a real strong sense that our government has failed us and we need to replace it with something else. But there is a, a true way, and I, I think some of those things are a little misguided, but there's a true way that the church, particularly her leaders, should be speaking to the culture around us, and yes, even to the government, to proclaim the truth of God into a wicked and godless culture. This might take the form o- of a m- minister who goes to a town hall meeting to speak out against a gambling association that's going to be forming, or a, an elder in the church or a deacon in the church who goes to speak to, uh, to the city hall or to the state legislature about the wickedness of abortion and about what we see it does to women's lives when they are fooled into thinking that this is the right thing for them. Again, the church is not the state, and the state is not the church, and we should be very careful not to cross those lines for all sorts of reasons. But we as a culture, as a Christian culture, in the United States particularly, have lost sight of our responsibility to speak truth in all circumstances to those in power So James is doing that, of course. But even more so, this is a way that he establishes for his direct audience, for the Jewish poor Christians who have been scattered in this diaspora, in this dispersion. He looks at them in a sense and says, "I see you. I see what's happening to you." And as God's representative, as his chosen voice for this message, as his inspired author, God sees you too This goes back again, the first two chapters of James serve as kind of a thesis statement and table of contents for the whole book. We get an idea of what may have been happening, the actual, uh, acts that were being engaged in, in, in chapter two verse six, he says, "You have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?" James has in mind here a form of predatory land purchasing, where the rich were sort of sweeping up property. They were sweeping it up, and then they were charging probably exorbitant prices to those who would lease the land to try to eke out a living. Does that sound at all like any of our current context, right? When's the last time any of us have tried to buy a house and found anything reasonable? Well, a large part of that is that there are big companies that are scooping up all the land and buying all the, the developments. Now, I'm not commenting on those particular situations. I don't know those people. I don't know their hearts, and some of those things actually are doing good things for the community. But we're familiar with this idea of someone who will purchase a resource, who will then jack the price up in order to turn a profit on it. I'm not opposed to turning a profit. Y- y- yeah, it takes money to run a business, and you have to, you have to recuperate those funds if your business is going to survive. But there's a, there's a way that that can be done that is a predatory act These rich landowners were getting fat on those that they were victimizing In our, in our modern world, we tend to think of someone who is overweight as unhealthy, for good reason, right? Too much weight, and I say that with someone with a little too much padding around the middle, so no, no judgment on this, but too much weight is not healthy, right? We hear that from our doctors, that there's a healthy weight range and there's an unhealthy weight range. In the ancient world, obesity was not the concern, right? Malnutrition was the concern. And so when you see, uh, a king in the Old Testament who's, who's noted to be fat, that's not always negative. Sometimes it is, but he's noted to be fat or he's noted to be large. Even the word for glory, I'm sure you've heard this before, the word for glory in the Old Testament has to do with being heavy. So this idea of weightiness or, um, being able to eat enough to actually gain weight instead of being thin was seen as a good thing, but not when you use it as a way to victimize other people. A person who gathers wealth honestly and enjoys it, that's, that's Proverbs right there. That's the Book of Ecclesiastes in its sort of positive sense, is that we, when we accumulate wealth and we use it for God's glory, it's perfectly okay for us to also use it for our enjoyment. God wants us to enjoy the fruit of our labor. But when we accumulate wealth and use it as a way to gain power over someone and to abuse them, that is what James is railing against here And ultimately, with the audience that James is writing to, this is a form of murder. This is why he says, "You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter." Because a person who can't feed their family in the Old Testament or in the New Testament era was likely to see them die. There are not a ton of people in modern America that are starving to death on the streets. It's not to say it doesn't happen. It's not to say that there's not things like food insecurity or malnutrition, but there are, there are plenty of places people can go to get their basic food needs met. It was not like that-- It's not like that in most of the world now, and it certainly was not like that in the ancient world. And so a, a landowner who again refuses, we're talking about the Jewish landowners, refuses to obey the Jewish law to leave some leftovers for the poor, and instead gleans all the way to the corner so that they can turn a little bit of extra pro-profit, is not only sinning against the Old Testament law, but is committing murder in the strictest sense by refusing to preserve the life of these poor, uh, Christians who are destitute And again, James is encouraging his readers here that the Lord has not ignored their plight. We can think back to the Book of Habakkuk, where Habakkuk basically lodges a lawsuit against God, saying, "You are not paying attention. You're not doing your thing. You're not being faithful to your covenant." And God says, "Let me show you how faithful to my covenant I am. The Chaldeans are on the way." And Habakkuk is like, "Whoa, wait a second here. That's not what I had in mind." God sees the oppression of the poor. He knows when His people are targeted. He knows when children are abused or when widows are ignored. He knows when the government does something to shut down a church, or when the medical institution refuses to acknowledge your personal rights. He sees those things, and He's not ignorant, and He's not static. He's not sleeping on those things. The purpose here is to comfort the oppressed by showing that God is not ignorant of what has happened to them. Just two quick Old Testament examples that use similar language. In Genesis 4, we read of Cain and his murder of Abel, and in verse eight it says, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.'" Numbers, uh, 35 verses 30 says, "If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. And you shall accept no ransom from him who has fled to the city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land except for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it." There's a rich history in the Old Testament of language of inanimate things, land, blood, wealth, other kinds of things that give testimony to God in some way, and specifically of these inanimate, uh, impersonal things testifying to the sin of the people that dwell around them. Even Christ says, "If these people do not worship me, the rocks will cry out." Now, the rocks are not literally crying out, although it certainly would be within God's power to make the rocks sing. But Christ is not saying in that passage that the rocks are going to form mouths and begin singing Hosanna or whatever song they might have been doing. What he's saying is that the very rocks themselves give testimony to the glory and goodness of God. So even if the people around here fail to do so, the entire rest of creation is doing so, and that is what James is saying here. My dear brothers and sisters scattered in the dispersion who have nothing, and in society's eyes are nothing, some of you are facing persecution. Some of you will be killed for your faith, but God sees because the wealth that is being accumulated on the breaking of your own backs is crying out. The corrosion of that gold serves as evidence for the condemnation of those who are harming you We often want justice in the moment. I think we always want justice in the moment, don't we? I think it's a really hard discipline to say, "That person wronged me, but I'm okay letting God sort it out." That is a hard pill to swallow, but it is often the pill that we have to take. It's the medicine that God uses to further our justification, our j- our, uh, excuse me, our sanctification Paul says, you know, "Do not take vengeance. Let the Lord do that." We can trust, and this is where the comfort of this passage comes for us, brothers and sisters, we can trust that when we are wronged, that when someone has done something to us that is a violation of God's law, that that sin will be punished. Now, when we're dealing with other Christians, that sin has already been punished, and so it is not, it is not appropriate for us to hold onto that and to take vengeance. That's what the parable of the unmerciful servant is all about If I as a Christian refuse to forgive my brother and sister when they've wronged me, it's me saying that I'm a better judge of their sin and I'm a better executioner than the Lord is when he punished that sin on the cross. But that sin was not atoned for when we're talking about unbelievers. When we're talking about those who will ultimately end their earthly life and find themselves waking up in flames, that sin has not been atoned for, and so God will have his justice, and we will have our justice. We won't turn there, but in Revelation, we're familiar with the passage, I think it's chapter six, where the martyred saints are under the throne and they say, "How long, O Lord?" Well, God doesn't answer their question, but he gives them new clothes. When Job cries out and he's, he's saying, "I don't understand why this is happening. Why are you targeting me, God? Why, why are you a hunter with your arrows in my liver?" God doesn't tell him why, but he says, essentially, "I'm God and you're just going to have to trust me that this is right." We see a very similar, uh, kind of situation here when we think about when, uh, when Abraham, uh, when God tells Abraham what he's about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and then Abraham negotiates, apparently negotiates with God, uh, trying to secure the salvation of the city for the sake of the righteous. And we read starting in verse 20 of chapter 18, he says, "The Lord said to, to Abraham," he says, " 'Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. If not, I will know.' " God is always seeing and investigating the sin of people We're, we're teaching my son, August, the children's catechism, which is a, a great resource. Um, and one of the questions is, "Can you see God?" And the answer is, "No, but he always sees me." Now that may feel at first to some people like a little bit of a heavy-handed answer, but knowing that God sees us is not just there to correct our sin. It should do that, right? Even the secret sins we commit in the dark when, when we're not being watched by anyone else, even, even those God sees. But do you know what else He sees? He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your victories even when no one else is celebrating them. He sees your progress. He sees you, and that should be a great source of comfort Now this passage, especially verse six, can be a little bit hard to apply because although we're the targeted audience, we're not the target of the judgment oracle. So I think what we have to do, we have to, we have to think about this in light of the way that God talks about the judgment of unbelievers in other places in the scripture, and how that helps us to understand kind of what our, what our status is. If you'll take your Bibles and open to Matthew chapter 25, I think the, um, the account here of the goat and sheep judgment, uh, is instructive for us Starting in verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King answered them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on the left, 'Depart from me for you for, uh, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also, uh, they also will say, answer saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not minister to you?' Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Now, this passage is sometimes understood as a general command to feed the poor or the sick, or to visit those in prisons, or any of the f- the sort of mercy ministry things that, that, um, are mentioned here. And those are all things that Christians should do, right? We should be engaged in, um, in mercy ministry to the poor, to those who are destitute. We should be mindful and thoughtful of those who have needs around us. What this passage is teaching, though, is not a general command to feed all people, but a specific command to care for your brothers and sisters in Christ when they have a need He doesn't say to the righteous, "You did these to everyone." He says, "Whatever you did to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me." All of the things that are listed here, the, the six mercy ministries that are listed by Christ here, are things that persecuted Christians were suffering at the time, persecuted Jew- Jewish Christians, and that would be common experiences for, for Jewish Christians and for all persecuted Christians. Right? They're hungry. They don't have food. Our diaspora Jewish Christians don't have land to farm, and even if they're able to scrape together enough funding to lease out a farm, they're being, uh, they're being totally overwhelmed by the cost of that. The sort of homeowners association dues of these pyramid schemes that were going on in the first century, they were so exorbitant that it wasn't even subs- subsistence farming. Christians were being thrown in, uh, in prison. They didn't have enough money to replace their clothes when it wore out. They couldn't have access to clean water. We take clean water as such a, such a basic thing, and it's so easy. You just turn on the tap, or you just go to the store and you buy a bottle of $7 water. It wasn't like this in the first century. If you didn't have a well, you didn't have water, unless you had someone who cared enough to share this precious resource with you. And so what Christ is saying to, to his people, both in the immediate audience on the Sermon on the Mount, uh, and in this, the Olivet Discourse here, what he's saying to his people is when someone in the body of Christ does not have what they need, the body of Christ should step up and make sure that that is the case, that they take care of that person. And likewise, he's saying to those who are not a part of the body of Christ, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Now, the intro to this, why it sometimes is called a parable, is the sheep and the goats. We sometimes go way too far into the arena of comparing the behavior of sheeps with the behavior of the people here, right? Sheep are nice, they're affable, they listen to you. In reality, from what I understand, sheep are pretty dumb and can be very stubborn, right? And then we, we read and we go, "Goats are stubborn, they're rebellious, they're not really good for anything." Well, there's a reason people have goats on farms. They, they can be stubborn, right? They can be destructive, but they also serve a purpose. So the point here is not that sheep are good and goats are bad. The point is that sheep are not goats and goats are not sheep. And, uh, another point that comes with this is sheep don't become goats by behaving like goats, and goats don't become sheep by acting like sheep. I have some friends that will tell you they have very affectionate, friendly, lovable goats, right? I'd, I would... If I could get my kids one of those little pygmy goats that everybody loves, I would do that, 'cause they can be very kind, very sweet, and they're very smart. But they're not sheep. And if you read this passage carefully, this fact that those who are taken to the right are, are in fact taken to the right is not because they fed the poor. It's not because they ministered to Christ by feeding the least of these. They did those things because they were part of the kingdom The King says to those on His right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The sheep on the right were always going to be the sheep on the right. They were predestined according to the counsel of God's will before all time to live and walk in good works. That's just Ephesians 2 there. That's also just James 2 there. You have faith, I will show you my faith by my works. This is evidence language, loved ones Likewise, the ones who are told to depart into eternal darkness were also predestined not to inherit this kingdom. No kingdom was prepared for them before the foundation of the world. They have no inheritance. They have nothing. They will end up in the state that they are trying to impose on these poor Jewish Christians. They will end up in the state that they may be trying to impose on some of us in this room And for the final verse here in, in chapter five, in verse six here, there's a lot of discussion and debate in the commentaries about who the identity of this righteous one is. It says, "You've condemned and murdered the righteous person, he does not resist you." Now, some commentators will take the fact that this is the singular righteous person, that he has been murdered and h- was condemned, and will take this as a reference to Christ. And that would, would make good sense, right? The Jewish, the wealthy Jewish landowners, the wealthy Jews in Jerusalem who per- who persecuted and cast out, um, the Christians, they were in the same group of people who condemned and murdered Jesus And at least at the time of writing this, and in many ways in our own day, God is not necessarily resisting them. He's allowing them to store up judgment for the coming day of wrath There are others who will take this as sort of the hypothetical singular, right? The righteous one or the righteous person is this, uh, representative hypothetical person that represents all of the persecuted Christians. And so it's more like saying, um, to the, the wealthy landowners who are persecuting Christians, "You have condemned and murdered the Christians, the righteous people, and we do not resist you." Now, at the end of the day, it's, it's always good to have good, sober, well-intentioned, text-based debates about what the Bible means. We can and we should try to convince others, uh, when we think they're wrong about what the scripture means. So that's not what I'm saying here. But in many ways, which of those two perspectives it actually is doesn't change the interpretation of this passage. Like we read in Matthew 25, like we read in Acts 9 when Christ comes and confronts Saul, what you do to God's people, you are doing to Christ himself. What you do to the body, you have done to the head. It's a little bit weird to say that when I stub my toe, I injure my head, but that's true, right? I don't injure my toe as though it's some separate piece. It's not like I'm a Lego man where I can just swap out a hand that gets cracked and put it back on. When I injure my toe, I injure myself. My whole body is injured even though it's specific to a part of my body. When you-- when someone persecutes you, when they, uh, try to extort your wealth, your funds, when they try to harm your body, when they try to take away your children, all things that are happening not just out there in the world, but in our country, even in our own region. When they try to tell you that because you don't wanna play a basketball game, that you can't play sports at all. When a city taxes a portion of a church's property because they don't think it's being used for religious purposes, they are doing that to Jesus Christ himself, and God will not be mocked This should call us both to faithfulness and to encouragement How people treat Christ or how people treat Christ's people, including how we trust, tr- uh, treat Christ's people, shows us what we think about Christ. The people who take care of the church do so because they love God, and they do it out of a regenerated heart that already loves God. And the people who hate the church do it because they hate Christ, and they do it out of their wickedness and out of their wicked heart This brings us back again to the thesis statement of James. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." And then he says later in that, uh, first chapter in verse nine, "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower fails, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Now, you're all coming up to the end of James here. Um, we probably have two, two more sermons, I would guess, and the rest of this chapter is reinforcing this. It's unpacking for the immediate audience and therefore for us, it's unpacking that although the rich have their punishment coming to them, that likewise our consolation, our comfort from Christ is also coming to us. He closes the whole letter out, he returns to his thesis statement to say, "I'm not going to pretend that the trials you're going through are joyful, but you can count it all joy." You can reckon it, you can impute it as joy, my brothers and sisters. You can put it in the joy column instead of the t- the pain column, right? We had discussion about the beautiful word imputation in the announcements and scripture reading in the beginning here Imputation is a, is an accounting term. And when we count it all joy, we're taking what should be a red line in the, in the loss ledger, right? We're taking what should be an expense, and we're able to move it to the profit. We're able to move it to the positive side, not because it didn't hurt and not because we wanted it to happen, but because our God is good enough to not rob us of the chance to be sanctified When we are oppressed and opposed, those who are oppressing and oppose us mean it for evil, just like Joseph's brothers, uh, and Pharaoh, and all sorts of wicked men in, in the Old Testament and in our own world. Pilate, Herod, you mean, you name it in the Bible, this applies. They meant their wicked acts for wicked things, but God, rich in mercy, works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And what is that purpose? That we might be transformed into the image of Christ so that Christ may be glorified and He may be the firstborn among many brothers. When we face trials and suffering of every kind, it leads us to our sanctification and to our ultimate glorification. We do not earn those things. We don't sanctify ourselves any more than we justify ourselves, or that any more than we will glorify ourselves or will raise ourselves from the dead. That is all God's work from start to finish. But God does use these things that He brings us through as a way to bring about that work It's like he bends us over the hammer, over the anvil of trials, and he hammers us until we become a sharp sword in the hand of, in his hand. Or he polishes us with a rough cloth until we become a smooth, beautiful gem, right? Think of any number of refining things that need to be done. It always involves, if the thing was, uh, was a person, it always involves something that would hurt a little bit. It always involves a little bit of damage to wear away the impurities. Our sanctification and our glorification is no different than that. He uses adversity. He uses the wicked actions and intentions of, of evil men and women. He uses those things to glorify us. So although we should never, uh, we should never seek those things, right? You don't have to go and make yourself the soft target to the wicked people. It's okay to keep your head down. There's nothing wrong with that. The Jewish Christians were probably doing their best to keep their heads down most of the time, and that's fine. There's not any words in scripture about being a coward if you don't, if you don't put a target on your back. But your target is gonna get there eventually, and that's not a bad thing. We can welcome that. We can count it as joy because of who God is and what he's done. The supreme act of suffering, the supreme act of, of evil happened to the only innocent person there ever was, and it happened to him for us. this episode is available below.
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explains that Torah studied purely for the sake of Heaven transforms the person who learns it. Drawing upon the example of our forefather Avraham, who discovered the Torah through his yearning to connect with Hashem, the Orchot Tzaddikim teaches that sincere devotion to Torah opens the wellsprings of Divine wisdom. The Crown of Torah is not merely earned through information, but through a heart that seeks closeness with the Creator.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah is unlike any other field of knowledge. While trades, professions, and academic subjects can often be remembered after years of neglect, Torah must be reviewed constantly. Through inspiring stories of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and his own teachers, he demonstrates that greatness in Torah is not the product of photographic memory but of relentless review. Every repetition deepens understanding, internalizes the lessons, and allows Torah to become part of one's very identity.The lesson then explores one of the greatest obstacles to Torah study: the distractions of the yetzer hara. The moment a person opens a sefer, countless unrelated thoughts suddenly flood the mind. This is not accidental—it is evidence of how precious Torah learning truly is. Success requires focused attention, repeated review, and the determination to resist the endless mental diversions that attempt to pull us away from spiritual growth.Rabbi Wolbe concludes by explaining that Hashem intentionally created human forgetfulness so that Torah would become a lifelong pursuit rather than a one-time accomplishment. Constant study keeps a person connected to Hashem, inspired toward mitzvah observance, and protected from spiritual decline. Whether walking, traveling, resting, or listening to Torah while commuting, every opportunity to engage with Torah strengthens the soul and fulfills the Torah's command to occupy ourselves with it day and night._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on July 31, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Miracles by the Water
Flanagan called AIPAC Craig's biggest career funder and pledged to refuse its money, saying the group labeled her a threat after she backed Bernie Sanders' resolution to block offensive arms sales to Israel. She noted meeting with AIPAC, J Street, and being endorsed by Bend the Arc. Craig countered that Flanagan was being disingenuous, citing Star Tribune reporting that Flanagan had met with AIPAC and submitted a position paper, and argued for a two-state solution while calling for a dramatic rebuild of Gaza with a rethink of US policy toward Netanyahu's government. Hawk sets this against the polling: roughly 60 percent of Democrats now view the Israeli government unfavorably, and about 74 percent oppose further military aid, per AP-NORC, Pew, and NBC surveys. He notes endorsements cutting the other way, including Gretchen Whitmer for Stevens, and makes clear his criticism is of the current government, not Judaism or Jewish people. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO- Additional Content Available Here: https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB
In this lesson from the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe explains that Torah studied purely for the sake of Heaven transforms the person who learns it. Drawing upon the example of our forefather Avraham, who discovered the Torah through his yearning to connect with Hashem, the Orchot Tzaddikim teaches that sincere devotion to Torah opens the wellsprings of Divine wisdom. The Crown of Torah is not merely earned through information, but through a heart that seeks closeness with the Creator.Rabbi Wolbe emphasizes that Torah is unlike any other field of knowledge. While trades, professions, and academic subjects can often be remembered after years of neglect, Torah must be reviewed constantly. Through inspiring stories of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and his own teachers, he demonstrates that greatness in Torah is not the product of photographic memory but of relentless review. Every repetition deepens understanding, internalizes the lessons, and allows Torah to become part of one's very identity.The lesson then explores one of the greatest obstacles to Torah study: the distractions of the yetzer hara. The moment a person opens a sefer, countless unrelated thoughts suddenly flood the mind. This is not accidental—it is evidence of how precious Torah learning truly is. Success requires focused attention, repeated review, and the determination to resist the endless mental diversions that attempt to pull us away from spiritual growth.Rabbi Wolbe concludes by explaining that Hashem intentionally created human forgetfulness so that Torah would become a lifelong pursuit rather than a one-time accomplishment. Constant study keeps a person connected to Hashem, inspired toward mitzvah observance, and protected from spiritual decline. Whether walking, traveling, resting, or listening to Torah while commuting, every opportunity to engage with Torah strengthens the soul and fulfills the Torah's command to occupy ourselves with it day and night._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on July 31, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Greetings Oddities! In this episode of the Those We Don't Speak Of Series Pt. 29, we continue the series within a series on Kabbalah! In this installment I continue talking about the precursor to Kabbalah called Merkaba Mysticism and focus on one specific influential rabbi Akiva in particular. Akiva known to be the mastermind behind the Oral Law was also the star of Merkaba (Chariot) Mysticism. I look at his influence and a couple other founders of modern Judaism with occult ties. So come with me as we go deep down the rabbit hole, far beyond the mainstream! Cheers and BlessingsSupport My Workhttps://www.patreon.com/theoddmanoutBuy Me A Coffee!https://buymeacoffee.com/theoddmanoutVenmo Tips - @theoddmanoutCash App Tips - https://cash.app/$theoddmanout T-shirts, Mugs and Stickers The Odd Man Out Merch Store At Bonfire https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-odd-man-out/TeeSpring https://theoddmanout.creator-spring.com/All Links https://linktr.ee/_theoddmanoutOddman Rumble https://rumble.com/user/TheOddManOut Social Media: _theoddmanout on Twitter, and Instagram Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theoddcastfttheoddmanout
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Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and Prophets. But those who are of Orthodox Judaism believe in an oral tradition known as the Talmud that was not written down in the Old Testament. In today's episode, learn about the Talmud, and find out how a misunderstanding of Jesus' teachings led to the separation of Judaism and Christianity. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/lvy TITLE: The Oral Law Versus Written Law (The Law (Oral and Written) Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com
In this opening lesson of the Gate of Torah (Shaar HaTorah), Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe introduces the three crowns described by our Sages: the Crown of Priesthood, the Crown of Kingship, and the Crown of Torah. While the priesthood belongs to Aaron and his descendants, and kingship belongs to the House of David, the Crown of Torah stands open to every single Jew. The Torah is not inherited by status, wealth, or family lineage—it is available to anyone willing to embrace it. The only requirement is the desire to learn and the commitment to make Torah one's own.Rabbi Wolbe explains why Torah study is considered equal to all the mitzvot combined. Torah learning is not an end in itself; it equips a person to observe, teach, and live the mitzvot with enthusiasm. Even mitzvot that a person cannot physically perform can become spiritually meaningful through sincere Torah study and a heartfelt desire to fulfill them. The value of learning is measured not merely by intellectual achievement but by the passion to translate knowledge into action.The lesson then addresses one of life's greatest spiritual challenges: balancing material pursuits with Torah. Rabbi Wolbe warns against postponing Torah learning until financial success or retirement, observing that "later" almost never arrives. Instead, Torah must become the permanent priority around which all other pursuits revolve. Through stories, practical examples, and the wisdom of our Sages, he demonstrates that those who establish fixed times for Torah often become more productive in every other area of life.Rabbi Wolbe concludes with a powerful insight into the unique reward of Torah study. Unlike the material world, where success is measured only by results, Hashem rewards the sincere effort invested in learning. Even when understanding is incomplete, every minute spent studying Torah is precious before Hashem. In Judaism, effort itself is a sacred achievement, making Torah study one of the greatest investments a person can ever make._____________This Podcast Series is Generously Underwritten by Peter & Becky BotvinRecorded at TORCH Centre in the Levin Family Studios (B) to a live audience on February 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas.Released as Podcast on July 30, 2026_____________This series on Orchos Tzadikim/Ways of the Righteous is produced in partnership with Hachzek.Join the revolution of daily Mussar study at hachzek.com.We are using the Treasure of Life edition of the Orchos Tzadikkim (Published by Feldheim)_____________Listen, Subscribe & Share: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jewish-inspiration-podcast-rabbi-aryeh-wolbe/id1476610783Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4r0KfjMzmCNQbiNaZBCSU7) to stay inspired! Share your questions at aw@torchweb.org or visit torchweb.org for more Torah content. _____________About the Host:Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Director of TORCH in Houston, brings decades of Torah scholarship to guide listeners in applying Jewish wisdom to daily life. To directly send your questions, comments, and feedback, please email: awolbe@torchweb.org_____________Support Our Mission:Our Mission is Connecting Jews & Judaism. Help us spread Judaism globally by sponsoring an episode at torchweb.org.Your support makes a HUGE difference!_____________Listen MoreOther podcasts by Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe: NEW!! Hey Rabbi! Podcast: https://heyrabbi.transistor.fm/episodesPrayer Podcast: https://prayerpodcast.transistor.fm/episodesJewish Inspiration Podcast: https://inspiration.transistor.fm/episodesParsha Review Podcast: https://parsha.transistor.fm/episodesLiving Jewishly Podcast: https://jewishly.transistor.fm/episodesThinking Talmudist Podcast: https://talmud.transistor.fm/episodesUnboxing Judaism Podcast: https://unboxing.transistor.fm/episodesRabbi Aryeh Wolbe Podcast Collection: https://collection.transistor.fm/episodesFor a full listing of podcasts available by TORCH at http://podcast.torchweb.orgv_____________Keywords:#JewishInspiration, #Mussar, #MasterClass, #GateOfTorah, #TalmudTorah, #TorahStudy, #CrownOfTorah, #JewishLearning, #DailyTorah, #TorahLife, #EffortMatters, #NeverStopLearning, #LearningEveryDay, #ChooseTorah, #TorahFirst ★ Support this podcast ★
Blurb: On today's page, Chullin 90, the rabbis continue their discussion of the laws of kashrut, reminding us that Jewish life is shaped not only by what we eat, but by the homes and families we build. Recorded around a barbecue table in upstate New York, this special summer episode with Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin and producer Josh Kross reflects on why Judaism's ancient holiday of love still has something profound to teach us about dating, marriage, and commitment. In an age of endless options, how do we learn to choose commitment? Listen and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jesus' declaration as being the Son of God was a stumbling block for the people of His day. Why was this declaration so controversial? How can we understand the Trinity? Learn how Jesus is in relationship with His Father in this episode. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/4dw TITLE: Does God Have a Son? Visit our website at DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com
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