The Shema Podcast for the Perplexed

This important topic is for men only. Gentlemen, we have a sacred and eternal covenant with the Almighty, the Bris Milah. This contractual arrangement comes with ongoing responsibilities, that if violated will cause a breach of this Holy contract and make our Bris null and void. It is essential for us and the entire Jewish nation to keep our covenant. Tune in and learn from Rabbi Cohen as he discusses the Kabbalistic and Torah insights to the meaning of the Holy Bris.

Every Jew who was raised in the secular world can identify either grandparents, great grandparents or great-great grandparents that were Torah observant Jews.   Somewhere along the way one generation taught to their children how to live as a Jew but not why we live as a Jew and why we know evidentially the divinity of our Torah.   That generation then grows up and either in their lifetimes or their children's, they eventually leave Torah observant Judaism.  Sadly this phenomena of the Revolving Door of Torah observant Judaism exist today.  In this episode I asked Rabbi Nagel to join us and share his wisdom on how we can make the doorway to Torah Observant Judaism a one-way door in.

The Jewish people inherited the spiritual DNA of kindness from our forefather Avraham. It is in the moments when we are giving tzedakah, volunteering our time to help another or fulfilling the mitzvah of saving a life that we feel most aligned with our true selves. However with the subject of organ donations there are many halachic details that we need to be aware of in order to fulfill this mitzvah according to Hashem’s will. In this episode I have Rabbi Yossi Grossman, founder of the Jewish Ethics Institute to teach us what we need to know on this important topic.

As we transitioned from the two thousand years of Torah and into the two thousand years of Moshiach, prophecy for the Jewish people waned away. We as a people had to adapt to a world where we could no longer ask our Creator via His prophets for guidance in our daily lives. However, the Almighty did leave in a place a means for Him to convey to us messages when he needs too, in order to keep us all on the proper path towards a successful life. In this episode I have the great Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe on to discuss how we can achieve prophecy.

This was an impromptu episode.  Rabbi Aryeh was in my office to record a podcast and before we began, I sought his council on a personal matter.  It is a concern I have been struggling with for quite some time.   I realized in that moment that the purpose of this podcast is to share my struggles and questions with you, so that we can all learn together.  I hit the record button before I asked my question and I’m grateful that I did.  I believe his words of wisdom can help all of us as we toil in Torah.

I had the great honor and privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion on Chanukah, at the TORCH Center with my Rabbis and fellow Torch Podcasters, Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, Rabbi Yaakov Nagel and Rabbi Chaim Bucsko.  The upcoming holiday of Chanukah will be so much richer for me as a result of learning from my beloved Rabbis and I know you will feel the same.

Chanukah is a very special time of year for the Jewish people, so I wanted to bring on to the podcast 4 very special guest to share with us their wisdom on our holiday of Chanukah and the message the Almighty wants us to absorb and take with us throughout the year.

Tearing Through the Illusion Part IIThe Almighty calls Shabbos a gift for the Jew. However, it is the most difficult mitzvah for a Jew to take upon themselves for the first time as one’s Yetzer Hara will use every tactic possible to dissuade them from doing so. In Part II of this episode I setup a panel discussion with Rabbi Bucsko and his students and we discuss the motivations for them wanting to keep Shabbos, the challenges associated with changing one’s lifestyle to observe this mitzvah and how to develop a personalized road map to receive the gift of Shabbos, that the Almighty is eagerly wanting to give to each of us.

When B’nai Yisrael left Egypt, they were not alone.  Pharoah had also sent out his people, the Erev Rav, the Mixed Multitude.  Moshe Rabbeinu converts them to be part of the Jewish people and they became the instigators of the sin of the golden calf, complaining about lack of meat, water and more.  The Erev Rav has since been interwoven into the fabric of Klal Yisrael in every generation since.  In this episode we are joined by Rabbi Cohen to answer questions like who were these people that Pharoah sent out with us, what was their mission, who is their reincarnation in our current generation and how can we remedy the situation.  Rabbi Cohen, drawing from sources in Tanach, Midrash and Zohar, shares amazing insights with powerful lessons and how we serve the Almighty in our current era and bring about the final redemption.

The problem with the secular world is that the behaviors that are considered “normal” have been in a constant state of fluctuation throughout human history. The reason for the constant state of change of which behaviors are “normal” is that they are determined by popularity rather than reason. In Torah Judaism, the behaviors we aspire to were dictated by our Creator and therefore what we consider to be normal behavior has been a constant for over 3300 years, since the receiving of the Torah. In this episode I ask Rebbetzin Trepp, all the questions that those that are new to Torah Judaism may be wanting to know, but are apprehensive to ask their Rabbis, either out of fear of offending or thinking the subject is taboo. Of course, there are no taboo subjects on the Shema Podcast. So no need to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation as you will get all of these answers on this episode.