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

Torah and Asceticism (6:4)

The Ethics Podcast is dedicated to exploring the authoritative book of Jewish Ethics, the Book of Mishnah titled “Ethics of our Fathers”. This book, called “Pirkei Avos” in Hebrew, is nearly 2,000 years old, and it is a compendium of the ethical aphorisms of the great Sages of Jewish history circa 300 BCE – 200 CE. Each episode begins with a biographical sketch of the Mishnah’s author culled from the Mishnaic, Talmudic, and Midrashic Literature, and shares some of the timeless lessons and applications of the teaching. Please email any questions, comments, or feedback to rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

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Honor is a funny thing. It yields no tangible, discernible, sensory benefit to the recipient, yet it is so highly coveted and desired. We all want respect. We all want others to look up to us and to admire us. Our standing in the eyes of others matters greatly to us. In way to wisdom […]

Aversion to Honor (6.6.35)

No one likes criticism. To receive criticism is painful. To be told what we did wrong stings. We bristle at the notion that we are flawed and imperfect. The mere knowledge of the existence of our shortcomings causes us discomfort. But receiving criticism is actually highly productive. It’s a good thing. It is very beneficial […]

Loving Rebuke (6.6.34)

Straightness is a virtue. Straightness means to be proper and upstanding in all of your conduct. It means doing what’s proper and just and good. It also references thinking. Straight, sensible, logical, clear, cogent thinking is better than crooked thinking. Way number 33 to wisdom is about this virtue. – – – – – – […]

Loving Straightness (6.6.33)

Charity is a big element of religious life. Our Sages tell us that the mitzvah of charity equals all the mitzvos of the Torah combined. But monetary charity is only one type of charity. There are many different types of charity, in the love of charities is a means to acquire higher levels of wisdom. […]

Loving Charities (6.6.32)

TORCH Fundraiser — support the Ethics Podcast Our organization, TORCH, does only one fundraiser a year, and that is happening right now at giveTORCH.org. This is a matching campaign and every donation will be DOUBLED. Please support the Ethics Podcast right now at giveTORCH.org The website for the Fundraiser is giveTORCH.org Click and donate to support the Ethics Podcast […]

Torah and Asceticism (6:4)

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