Parsha Podcast with Ari Goldwag

What was the reward that Pharaoh offered the midwives in exchange for their act of infanticide? How did they go above in beyond in defying Pharaoh's decree? How did the decree actually cause there to be no birth defects or stillborns amongst the babies born to the Jewish people? What was the special reward in the area of Torah and Shechina (Divine Spirit) that was rewarded to the midwives? How did their personal acts of self sacrifice bring about the redemption of the national Jewish people? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Why did Yaakov not want to be buried in Egypt? Why couldn't the burial in Israel wait, as it did for Yosef, whose bones were eventually brought for final burial in Israel? What is the great importance of being buried specifically in Israel? What happens to the bones of the righteous who were not buried in Israel - at the time of Techiyas Hameisim (Revival of the Dead)? Why did Rebbe get upset when he saw the bones of someone from outside of Israel being brought for burial in Israel? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the concept of the wolf and the lamb pasturing together in the time of Moshiach? How does this parallel the cure of the deaf, mute and lame in the future time? What is the root of all imperfections in the world? Why are the dead brought back to life with their imperfections, and only afterwards restored to wholeness? How do the wolf and lamb parallel Binyamin and the brothers coming back together? How do the lion and cattle eating straw parallel Yosef and Yehuda coming back together? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.heir inborn talents and positive character traits? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is Yosef's goal in sending the brothers through these difficult trials and tribulaltions? How does Yehuda's request of Yosef express, on behalf of his mother, the appreciation for Rachel allowing Leah into the home of Yaakov? Why was this appreciation absent at the end of the story? How does Yosef use the middah (character trait) of quiet, which was an important middah of Rachel and her offspring? Why does this middah seem to be absent from Yosef at the beginning of the story when he speaks of his dreams? How does one develop their inborn talents and positive character traits? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Why did Yaakov show favor to Yosef? What is meant by the fact that Yosef was of a similar 'look' to Yaakov? What is the idea behind his 'greater wisdom?' Why did Yaakov give him a 'coat of stripes?' What is represented by these stripes or lines? What is the teaching behind the fact that the coat 'reached to lines of his hand,' and that it 'fit into the palm of his hand?' Why does this same word (pasim-lines) denote a lottery, Yosef's trevails, and the splitting of the sea? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the backstory that predicated the struggle of Yaakov with the angel of Esav? Why did the angel appear as a fellow shepherd? How is the entire struggle of the Jewish people - throughout our thousands of years of exile - contained in this interaction? What are the lessons for our approach to commerce and spirituality as we traverse the lands of exile? Why did Yaakov believe that the angel was in fact a magician employing black magic? How did the angel prove his power was spiritual in nature, and what does that teach about the power of Esav? What is represented by the 'fire of Yaakov' which is greater than the smaller 'fire of Esav?' Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

How does Yakov Avinu (Jacob) represent the Jewish people's descent to exile and return to redemption? Why did the sun set early, and when did the sun 'get back' the two hours with an early sunrise? Why was Yakov referred to by the angels (and his son Yosef) as 'the Sun?' What is the 'key to redemption' that Yakov used and Hashem uses for the Jewish people in the future? What is represented by the 600,000 or 1.2 million angels who greeted Yakov on his return to Israel? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the reason for the repetition of the word 'kol' - voice - in the statement of Yitzchak that the voice sounds like Yakov and not Esav? What is the reason for the doubling of the language of Esav's 'hands' and what do we learn from the voice of Yakov being placed next to the hands of Esav? What is the special power of Torah learning and prayer, and why does it 'float up' especially when it is done by children? Why are the angels referred to as 'those who stand?' What is the power of our voice to cause the upper and lower realms to pause? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the lesson that the Torah imparts with teaching us that Avraham married Keturah in his later years and had six children with her? Why should one 'spread one's investment' over a number of lucrative possibilities? Why did R' Akiva's earlier students all perish, while his later students, who were much fewer, thrived and filled Israel with Torah? Why does the 'extra investment' seem to produce more results, though it is done without the same focus and concentrated efforts? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the meaning of the word 'after' that follows the word 'ram' in the verse which refers to the ram that Avraham found and offered as a sacrifice in place of his son Yitzchok? How did Avraham use this ram if it might have belonged to someone? What is the significance of the fact that this ram was created on the sixth day of creation, and how did it live so long until the time of Avraham? What was its special nature which made it appropriate as a replacement for Yitzchok? What is the depth of the teaching that this word 'after' refers to the Jewish people's redemption which will be 'after' all of their sins and the travails of exile? What is the significance of the Shofar which will be 'blown' with the advent of the age of Moshiach? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the deeper meaning behind the name change of Sarai to Sarah? What is the concept of the 'Woman of Valor' who is the 'crown of her husband?' In what way was Sarah greater than Avraham? What is meant when the letter 'yud' of the name Sarai splits and half is distributed to Avraham and half to Sarah? Why does the 'yud' fly in front of the Throne of Hashem's glory and complain? Why is it comforted in being told that it will be added and become the first letter of the name of Yehoshua (Joshua)? Why was Sarah originally a 'princess for herself,' and subsequently a 'princess for the world?' Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the lesson of the black color of the raven who was initially sent on a mission by Noach to discover if they could leave the ark? Why did Noach argue that the raven didn't deserve its existence as it did not seem to have a spiritual purpose? What was Hashem's response to Noach's claim? How does the righteous individual give existence to the whole world? Why did Eliyhau (Elijah) only want to eat from the bread and meat of Yehoshafat (Jehoshaphath)? What do we learn from the fact the Yonah (dove) returned only because it could not find a place for its feet to rest? What is meant by the fact that the Jewish people 'will only return if they have no place to rest?' Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

What is the secret of the five double letters referred to by the acronym MaNTsPaCh? What do the sages mean when they say they were given over to Moshe at Sinai, and then forgotten and re-instituted by the prophets? What is the special understanding the children were able to come to when their teachers did not arrive on a rainy day? What is the depth of the teaching that these children later became such great leaders of the Jewish people? How does this connect to the word Anochi - I - of the first word of the Aseres Hadibros (Ten Commandments) and how does this all relate to Breishis - the beginning of the Torah? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Why does the Torah use the language 'take for yourself' in regards to the mitzvah of the arba minim (four species)? What is the loss one incurs when giving up the 'bread and wine of Torah' for the 'silver of Esav?' Why did R' Yochanan sell his fields, his vineyards and his olive orchards? How did we merit the great spoils of Egypt, Sichon, Og and 31 kings from the small 'investment' of the Agudas Eizov (hyssop bundle)? What is the great reward that awaits us for keeping the mitzvah of Lulav and Esrog? Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Can one break Shabbos to cure one's ear? How does listening to Torah give life to one's entire body? What happens when someone turns away from listening to Torah, Heaven forbid? What is the idea behind the teaching that if one listens to Torah, that person will be heard by others? What is the depth of the idea that the tzadik is able to perform miracles that are the exclusive domain of Hashem? Find out in this week's parsha podcast.