The Second Temple Era was an eventful time for the Jewish People and the perpetuation of Torah. Over the course of the Second Commonwealth our nation was blessed with great legends, such as Ezra, Shimon Ben Shetach, and Hillel, but the Nation faced unprecedented tests too: We were forced to contend with hostile foreign nations; internally, we suffered from discord and sectarianism; and at various times the Rabbis were targeted with assassinations and purges. To understand the imperative for the codification of Oral Torah, we must study the treacherous and perilous conditions of Torah in the Second Temple Era. This podcast was originally recorded for episode 33 of the TORAH 101 podcast and has been re-edited for The Jewish History Podcast.

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In the narrow sense, Oral Torah refers to the interpretation and understanding of the Written Torah. The Written Torah is written cryptically, and the Oral Torah demystifies and explains it. But the truth is that Oral Torah includes much more than that. Oral Torah includes all of Torah that is not included in the Written text. In this special edition of The Jewish History Podcast, we discuss the concept of Rabbinic Law, its roots, how the corpus of Oral Torah was expanded, and the various developments in Oral Torah from Moses until the end of prophecy at the beginning of the Second Commonwealth. This podcast was originally recorded for episodes 31 and 32 of TORAH 101, but have been re-edited for The Jewish History Podcast.

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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In honor of the TORCH Fundraiser today at giveTORCH.org, I was interviewed by the TORCH Board President, Dan Kullman, of The Shema Podcast fame. In this special discussion, we talk about the history and development of the TORCH podcasts and make an appeal for your support of the fundraiser. Every donation is TRIPLED.

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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One of my New Year’s resolutions is to record more episodes of The Jewish History Podcast in 2021. If you may indulge me, I would like to suggest to the audience to sample my Parsha Podcast in 2021. In this episode which covers Parshas Shemos, you can take it for a test drive to see if you want to consider subscribing and listening to it. Hope you enjoy and here’s to a fabulous 2021!

SUBSCRIBE to The Parsha Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe

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As we approach the end of December, I chose to experiment by doing something a bit different in examining the Jewish take on the Christian hero and on early Christianity. When we look at the Talmudic sources on the matter we find that our version of this story is radically different than the Christian one, and, quite unsurprisingly, the Christian censors forced the Jewish printers of the Talmud to omit these sections. But these sections were preserved and clandestinely perpetuated, and in this episode we they reveal is fascinating.

Sanhedrin 107b Talmud

Sanhedrin 107b

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This Jewish History Podcast is sponsored by my dear friend, Shully Lichtman, who dedicated it in the merit of continued health for all.

If you want to sponsor an episode of the Jewish History Podcast or if you have any questions or comments, please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Chacham Ovadia Yosef was one of the most impactful and transformative Jewish leaders of recent history. In Part One we discussed Chacham Ovadia’s complete Torah mastery, in this episode we will explore his role as a leader: as a Rabbi, as Rishon LeZion (Sephardic Chief Rabbi), as a halachic arbiter, as a Posek (halachic arbiter), as an influential, national and international, and even political figure.

Perhaps his most impactful legacy, the mission that he strove for his entire life, was what he called, the restoration of the Crown of Sephardic Jewry to its previous Glory. This axiom was Chacham Ovadia’s oft-quoted motto and life mission, and the unifying theme of his life and accomplishments

This motto had widespread implications. It had religious and halachic meaning, but it also described Chacham Ovadia’s efforts to better the state of Sephardic Jewry in the political, economic, social, and cultural realm. On all accounts, Chacham Ovadia’s efforts were a wild, unbridled success.

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Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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Of all the episodes that I have recorded over the years, this will be perhaps the most unique one. For one, it will be released simultaneously on all 6 channels that I am fortunate enough to host: The Parsha Podcast, The Jewish History Podcast, The Mitzvah Podcast , This Jewish Life, The Ethics Podcast, and TORAH 101, and of course on the podcast channel that hosts all of my podcasts on one feed – All Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe Podcasts. The reason for this is that I wanted to share a momentous milestone with my podcast family, and to share a bit of my personal story. A few days ago, the podcasts tallied their millionth download. In honor of this tremendous milestone, I wanted to dedicate an episode to publicly thanking the Almighty for all that He did for me; I wanted to thank my family and friends;  I wanted to thank the listeners who have invested a staggering amount of time into the podcasts; and of course the donors who partnered with me in this venture. If not for y’all, I’d be selling cabinets or mortgages. 

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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TORAH 101

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, known the world over as “Chacham Ovadia” or simply “Maran”, was one of the most important rabbinical personalities of the 20th Century. His career accomplishments were staggering: He was a Torah scholar of absolute unmatched greatness. He was a transformational Rabbi – with rabbinic posts both in Israel and abroad – who served as the Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was a voluminous Halachist – having answered hundreds of thousands of Halachic queries in his lifetime and authored 50 books on Halacha in his lifetime. His accomplishments also extend beyond the rabbinate: In the 1980s, he founded the largest and most powerful religious political party in Israel. He was also the Patriarch of a prestigious rabbinic dynasty. In part one of our series of this giant of Jewish history, we tell the story of his remarkable Torah prowess that undergirded all his career accomplishments.

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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This Jewish History Podcast is dedicated in honor of Shimmy and Joely Bernstein, new podcast listeners but old friends of ours – thank you for your friendship over the years

Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Rabbi Avraham Grodzinski was the last head of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Lithuania. He was primary disciple of the Alter of Slabodka, and his successor after the Alter moved to Chevron, heading the yeshiva until WW2 broke out, and even leading a cadre of students in the ghetto under ghastly conditions.  With the destruction of European Jewry in the Holocaust, the vibrant world of the Lithuanian Mussar Yeshiva world expired – the great yeshivos erected or resurrected after the war are a shell of their progenitor’s glory.

Rabbi Grodzinksi is an exemplar of the glory and greatness of that lost world

A man of unmatched nobility – even aristocracy, a person of flawless, sterling character, an unparalleled intellect, and a man who lived a tragic life replete with all manners of suffering, punctuated by his macabre murder by the Nazis on the 22nd day of Tammuz 1944, exactly 76 years to the day from when this podcast is released

Please email me at rabbiwolbe@gmail.com with any questions or comments

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This Jewish History Podcast is dedicated in loving memory and leiluei nishmas Rivka bas Reb Avraham. May her holy Soul be elevated in Heaven

Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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The Chazon Ish’s activism once he arrived in British Mandate Palestine were not limited to building up the religious and Torah infrastructure of the Land. His invested great efforts in establishing the political philosophy of the yeshiva community, and like his work in building the Torah infrastructure, his political efforts endure until today. Indeed, for much of the history of the state, the political parties and ideologies that he led were heralded as the kingmakers of Israeli politics. In his day, The Chazon Ish waged campaigns against government policies that he thought were unjust and harmful to the religious community. He also guided and advised religious politicians who heeded his advice. But he wasn’t just an adviser to the politicians, He was viewed by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as the leader of the yeshiva community’s camp and in fact the PM visited and negotiated with him on matters of religion and State. The influence that the yeshiva community has on Israeli politics is stronger than ever, and as I mentioned in episode 70, it is impossible to really understand the dynamics of the Israeli political universe – in general a labyrinthine vortex of complexity – without understanding the positions staked out by the Chazon Ish during the very early days of the State

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This Jewish History Podcast is sponsored by Bill Koen in loving memory of Michael Ben Shmuel and Yehudit. May his Soul be elevated in Heaven

Sponsorship: Please consider sponsoring a podcast by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

Contact Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe:
Websites: Personal: RabbiWolbe.com; TORCH: Torchweb.orgTwitter: Personal: @RabbiWolbe; TORCH: @TORCHWEB
Facebook: Personal: Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe; TORCH: TORCH Centre
Email: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com.

Podcasts Links:

This Jewish Life – A Podcast About Jewish Philosophy with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Jewish History Podcast – The podcast telling the Remarkable story of the Jewish Peoples with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
The Parsha Podcast  – A Weekly podcast of analyzing and Exploring the Parsha with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
TORAH 101 – A Podcast about the Divinity of Torah and the relationship between the Written and Oral Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher;
Eternal Ethics – The Pirkei Avos Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher.
The Mitzvah Podcast – Surveying the 613 Mitzvos of the Torah with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe: Apple Podcasts