This Jewish Life - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

The debate over the authorship of the Torah is a very important one; and not only for us Jews but the majority of humanity accepts this document as the dictation of God to Moses. In this class we continue our quest to logically assess both sides of the arguments as to the authenticity of the […]

The Torah weaves law and instruction with dialogue and narrative; often miraculous and supernatural events and stories like the Exodus narrative of the Ten Plagues, the splitting of the sea into 12 walkable dry paths and the momentous national prophecy at the foot of Mount Sinai. Supernatural narratives are not unique to our religion; rather […]

“From Moshe till Moshe no one arose like Moshe” This epithet which is engraved on the tombstone of Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, the Rambam, sheds light on the enormity of his impact and influence upon the Jewish people. The mere claim that the Rambam’s contributions and leadership was surpassed only by Moshe Rabbeinu is a testament […]

No mission is as critical to the success of humanity as the mission that began at the Mount Sinai and continues to this very day of transmitting the Torah from generation to generation accurately. After all, the Torah is what differentiates the Jewish people from the nations of the world; it is what we mean […]

There is an important difference between the Aggadic portions of the Talmud – the ethical and philosophical sections, and the Halacha/law portions. Also, learn why the study of the Babylonian Talmud supersedes the study of the Jerusalem Talmud, despite that fact the the latter was written 180 years earlier.

Learn about some of the fine details about how courts are constructed, how evidence is presented in Jewish courts, and the incredible efforts that the Torah demands from us to ensure that a just verdict is reached.

What does Judaism say about organ donations, DNRs and euthanasia?

Historically, the Jewish people remained almost completely free of sectarianism, and that is one of the reasons for our continued survival as a people and as a religion against all odds throughout the millennia. Yet in the 19th Century several modern splinter sects sprang up, namely the Reform, the Conservative, and to a lesser extent, the […]

Ever wonder why we fast on the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha b’av, and on the happiest – Yom Kippur? Listen and learn all about the four minor and two major Jewish fasts.

Learn about Jacob informing his wives’ about his proposed clandestine flight away from his father in law’s home. What lessons can we deduce from the peculiar methods Jacob employs when trying to convince Leah and Rachel of the merits of leaving?

In the book of Numbers we read about the heroic actions of Pinchus who avenged God’s fury and murdered a Jewish leader who was publicly fornicating with Midyanite woman. The Torah accords him with much honor for his courageous acts. What is the deal with this? Are we allowed to take the law into our […]

For more than three millennia now the Jews have remained steadfastly dedicated to Torah study. Even during times when 99% of their non-Jewish neighbors were illiterate, every man, woman and child in the Jewish community was able to read and write – and well versed in Torah. Jewish societies have historically valued Torah knowledge and study […]

What if there was a repeatable and formulaic method to achieving happiness? What if there was a systematic step-by-step instruction manual to acquiring, sustaining and deepening our relationships? Indeed, the manual for living – the Torah – takes our hand and guides us to achieving what we desire most.

Jewish law makes a strange distinction regarding the prohibition of envy: Envy of someone else’s physical, material and intellectual gifts and successes is prohibited, while envy of another’s spiritual achievements are permitted and encouraged. What is the rationale for that distinction and why does it mirror the prohibition of arrogance? We also learn that of […]

While humans have seemingly progressed, improved and evolved in many areas of life, in the arena of relationships we are comparatively neanderthals, and we are regressing. Surprisingly, a 3300 year old document will succinctly instruct and guide us in four sentences more successfully than all the relationships and self help books in Barnes and Noble.

There is a fine line between arrogance and a keen understanding of the brutal facts; between humility and delusion. Did Moses – the humblest of men – know that he was the Jewish greatest prophet? Is the smartest guy in the room allowed to know that fact without transgressing on the severe sin of גאוה, haughtiness? […]

The deeper meaning and insight into the various holidays and festivals in the Jewish calendar.

Click HERE for part 1 We continue our exploration of the themes and insights of the progression of a Jewish life.

The words of our Sages in the Talmud were written with the utmost precision and exactitude. Thus, when encountering perplexing statements in the Talmud (as in the subject of this class) it is a grave error to consider that the authors made a mistake or even to only study the statement superficially without straining to understand […]

Us Jews are privy to the most valuable thing on Earth: The Almighty’s precious Torah. All too often we neglect to realize the enormity of this reality, but if you stop for a second and truly analyze it you will recognize how astonishing it is. Mere mortal humans, the most fallible and feeble of all […]

Human all have a collection of positive and negative character traits. Judaism teaches us that we must perfect our character and acquire all the good characteristics and rid ourselves of our negative character maladies. But religiosity is not the only reason why change is imperative. Relationship breakdown only occurs due to bad character. Proper parenting […]

Spousal selection is a perplexing and vexing part of life for most people; at least if the rates of failure in marriage are indeed what they are reported to be. The average person does not now where to start, what to do, what to look out for and how not to make a grievous and […]

Three times in the Torah we are commanded to experience the emotion of love: “Thou shall love your fellow as yourself” (Leviticus 19, 18) “Thou shall love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10, 19) “Thou shall love Hashem your God with all your hearts, with all your soul […]

Every adult Jew is obligated to perform all 248 positive and 365 negative mitzvahs of the Torah. The sheer volume of mitzvahs can seem overwhelming and that raises a question: why would God in His Infinite wisdom see it necessary to task us with the performance of so many mitzvahs? Would not one mitzvah suffice? […]

Join Rabbi Wolbe and his trustful comrades as they attempt to unlock the wonderful meaning and insight of the Jewish calendar. This presentation will succeed in shattering the childish and simplistic understandings of the Jewish holidays that most of us have harbored since our youth, and infuse the holidays and rituals of the Jewish year […]

Join Rabbi Wolbe and his trustful comrades as they attempt to unlock the wonderful meaning and insight of the Jewish calendar. This presentation will succeed in shattering the childish and simplistic understandings of the Jewish holidays that most of us have harbored since our youth, and infuse the holidays and rituals of the Jewish year […]

It is well documented that modern humans fail at marriage at alarming rates. In the United States for example, in any given year the amount of divorces are roughly half the amount of marriages pegging the divorce rate around 50%. Shockingly, 5 out of 10 couples who commit to stay married to each other “until […]

Thinking and contemplating about our own demise is perhaps the most powerful tool we can use to change the way we think about life. When we realize that we too will swallow that bitter pill of death, our life and values appear in a new light. But what actually happens when we die? And what […]

A parent who brings a child to this world has accepted upon himself/herself the responsibilities of raising that child to be a happy, healthy and stable adult. This axiomatic idiom has been an unfortunate causality of today’s society. In America today only 63% of children grow up together with both biological parents. As Jews we […]

If you are ready to go kosher you have come to the right place. Rabbi Wolbe outlines the three easy step involved in transforming from a kosher novice to complete kosher observance. Kosher has never been simpler.

In the finale of the series we seek the greatest pleasure of them all.

Rabbi Wolbe addresses an interesting topic: The status of the Torah before it was given. Did Abraham have Torah? Did the Torah exist before the universe did?

Humans have a physiological innate need to live for something; to have meaning. Our needs go beyond the physical. In Judaism we say that this need is the yearning of the soul for soulful nourishment the same way bodies scream out for their unmet needs. Rabbi Wolbe teaches the Torah’s methods of how to utilize […]

Rambam on גן עדן, משיח, תחיית המתים, ועוה”ב. Definitions and perspectives.

Any pursuit of self perfection and character refinement will invariably be accompanied by two frightening and formidable challenges: 1. Body-Backlash; when the body rejects the agenda of the soul. 2. Heightened Haughtiness; when someone ascends to Mount Pious and declares himself mayor and looks down condescendingly upon others. These two dangers must be approached very […]

When the Torah presents us with parallel stories of people with radically different priorities and spiritual statuses who faced similar challenges with counter-intuitive results, clearly there is an important lesson for us.

We continue with enlightening and sobering guidance from the Torah regarding happiness and Love.

In part 2 we dissect the nature of the different types of Pleasures and explain the Torah’s view on the pros and cons of simple physical pleasures.

We begin this first of a multiple part exposition of major items in Jewish Life, Philosophy and Practice with a controversial but logical conclusion and a question. The conclusion: Life can only have meaning if God exists. The question: When you accept the Jewish definition of God you accept that God lacks nothing; so for […]

The term “overachiever” should not be mistakenly conferred onto people who achieve greatness; greatness can result from great intellect, opportunity and circumstance, overachievers are those who achieve beyond what their peers in circumstance and ability achieve. What is their secret, and how can we emulate them?

In this wide ranging discussion on God and his active participation in history, we ask, and attempt to answer, questions like these: How did 600k Jews mobilize and leave Egypt at a moments notice? Where was God during the Holocaust, Inquisition, the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648? Why does God not do miracles miracles every day? […]

In several places in Jewish Literature and practice we present Adam and Eve as a prototype of a relationship worth emulating. There is only one slight problem with that – Adam and Eve did not seem to have a stable relationship, much less an idyllic and harmonious one. What could the Torah possibly mean when […]

In 8 (!) instances in the Torah we are commanded with a seemingly unachievable task of “Thou shall walk in the ways of God”. The Talmud explains that this commandment instructs us to emulate God in our own behavior and activities – “Just as God is Merciful, you too be merciful; just as God is […]

Join Rabbi Wolbe as he explores and examines several peculiar curiosities about the forbearer of mankind, Adam. Why was man the only creature created as a single individual; why didn’t create a flock, tribe, gaggle or pride of humans? Why did Adam not have Torah, and how could he possibly have succeeded in his challenge […]

Ancient alchemists professed to turn lead into gold. For the past three millennium, the Jewish people have made an equally audacious claim: man is not beshackled by negative character; we can change, fix, perfect and purify our character traits. In this class we learn the process of how we go about transforming ourselves.

In this class Rabbi Wolbe sets out to demystify and unlock the secrets of one of mankind’s greatest challenges and struggles: temptation. Culling from an array of ancient Judaic texts we will begin with defining, demarcating and delineating the anatomy of temptation; focusing on the reason why forbidden fruit (or carbs) is so alluring and […]