The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

The weeks that lead up to Pesach/Passover, is the time to prepare ourselves to become a vessel to receive the influx of energy that G-d brings to the Jewish people.   This is the energy that will propel us to greater heights of spirituality and provides us the opportunity to unleash ourselves from limited thought and connect more to our infinite Creator.  In this amazing discussion with Rabbi Wohlgelernter he shares the techniques to prepare ourselves to connect to the power of Pesach and the ultimate time of renewal.  

In this episode my Rabbis and fellow TORCH Podcasters, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe and Rabbi Chaim Bucsko, have a engaging conversation around the upcoming holiday of Pesach.

Pesach is rapidly approaching.  It is the origin and foundation of the Jewish people. We have much symbolism we encounter at the Pesach Seder and while Matzah on one level is also symbolic, on a deeper level it is much more.  Matzah eaten on Pesach, while avoiding Chametz (leavened bread), has inherent in its physical construct the ability to provide our bodies with the antidote to tear away the illusion of this world and infuse us with Emunah.   Propelling our Emunah to new heights is what the Almighty is wanting to give us during this time of year, through a combination of spiritual energies from above and by us eating Matzah and contemplating that the Hashem that controlled all of nature during the Exodus, is our Hashem today.  In this episode we are joined by the lovable and brilliant, Rabbi Wohlgelernter to teach us about the power of Matzah, our Red Pill. 

One of the challenges in adapting Torah observance is learning how to be in and advance one’s career in the corporate world without comprising our service to Hashem.  The outside world’s definition of a holiday is not remotely the same as what we call a holiday and our business colleagues, managers and clients have a difficult time understanding why we can’t come into the office or return a phone call or email on those days and once a week on Shabbos.   We can’t dine with them at business lunches or dinners in their non-kosher restaurants and we have to make time in the afternoon to daven Mincha.   In this episode we are joined by my friend David Goldman and we share our personal stories on how to navigate being frum in the business world. 

The Hebrew letters are the building blocks of creation.  The Torah in Bereishis/Genesis describes G-d creating the world by speaking and those ten emanations from the Creator are continuing throughout time to recreate the worlds and everything in them, in every moment.  However there is more to the Hebrew letters than just the sounds they represent as their shapes have tremendous spiritual energies as well.  In this episode we are joined by Rabbi Yaakov Cohen and he shares his wisdom on this subject of the meaning of the shapes and sounds of the Hebrew letters, the building blocks of creation.  

In this episode my Rabbis and fellow TORCH Podcasters, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe and Rabbi Chaim Bucsko, have a engaging conversation around the upcoming holiday of Purim.

Every morning and every night we are commanded to say the Shema prayer in order to internalize that Hashem created the world and is intimately involved with everything in our lives and that everything He does is for our good. This is the idea that He is One.  But when tragedy hits, how does one continue to maintain and strengthen their Emunah and Bitachon?  In this episode we are joined by Rabbi Gershon Schusterman, author of the book “Why God Why? How to Believe in Heaven when It Hurts Like Hell.” Rabbi Schusterman not only knows this subject academically, as a Rabbi, but through personal experience, as he had to endure earlier in his life, tragically and suddenly, losing his wife.  There is tremendous wisdom in what he shares that is of tremendous benefit to all.

In this discussion we delve into the amazing opportunities that our business endeavors provide to us in developing our understanding of Torah, strengthening our Emunah, and then using our Torah to unleash endless creativity and fearlessness in the marketplace.

In this episode I take my cherished friend and teacher, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, to task through a barrage of questions challenging him on Torah beliefs and philosophy. With his titan intellect, that was forged through a life dedicated to Torah study, he swatted away my arguments with eloquence, wisdom and humor, leaving me and the listener with a deeper appreciation and understanding of our Torah and heritage.

As the President of the Board of TORCH, one of my core responsibilities is to be the representative of the TORCH shareholders, aka the donors.  This year instead of conducting my due diligence on my own I decided to go a different route.   I not only brought in a team of stock analyst from YDH Investment Management to conduct the due diligence meeting but I recorded the meeting for our listeners and donors.  Of course, any Q&A with Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe and Rabbi Chaim Bucsko always leads to learning Torah wisdom.https://torchweb.org/support.php