The Weekly Parsha - With Michoel Brooke

Michoel Brooke
Michoel Brooke
  • 5.0 (26)
  • Judaism
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to "The Weekly Parsha with Michoel Brooke," your go-to podcast for engaging, accessible Torah study.Join us to explore the weekly Torah Parshios, offering insights and life lessons for beginners and seasoned learners. Each 15-to 25-minute episode offers a comprehensive yet digestible exploration of the weekly Parsha.Discover valuable Parsha wisdom to enrich your spiritual journey, deepen your understanding of our holy Torah, and inspire personal growth. Subscribe today and begin your journey into the timeless wisdom of the Torah.NEW! Join on WhatsApp for more motivational Torah content. Send "Greatness" to (757)-679-4497 to subscribe.

  1. 12h ago

    PARSHAS EIKEV: Bentch Loudly and Proudly—with a Full Belly! (Plus, the Torah’s Guide to Getting Rich Quick)

    You eat, you get full, you say a blessing. Sounds basic, until you realize the Torah treats that moment as a game-changing commandment. We start with Parsha Eikev’s promise of a “good land” and zoom in on the verse that becomes the source for Birkat Hamazon: eat, reach real satiety, then bless Hashem. From there we get practical fast, including what “full” actually means in halacha, why the obligation depends on your personal threshold, and why this mitzvah may be one of the most repeated spiritual acts of an entire lifetime.  Then we tackle the question that should bother anyone paying attention: how can a human being bless the Creator, the source of all blessing? Drawing on Rabbeinu Bachya and the Sefer HaChinuch, we flip the whole concept on its head. Brachos are not doing something for God. They are doing something to us. Benching becomes a structured gratitude practice that trains awareness, breaks the autopilot feeling that food and income “just happen,” and builds a mindset of hashgacha, responsibility, and attention to what you’ve received.  We also explore the bold claim found in classic sources and cited in the Mishnah Berurah: careful benching connects to parnasa. Not as a magic trick, but as a relationship. When you recognize the gift, you become a better receiver for more good. We close with one doable move: pick Friday night and bench out loud, from a text, with your family, so your kavana is real and the habit sticks. Subscribe, share this with a friend who rushes benching, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    PARSHAS EIKEV: Bentch Loudly and Proudly—with a Full Belly! (Plus, the Torah’s Guide to Getting Rich Quick)

  2. Jul 16

    SPECIAL EPISODE! Why Moshiach is a Baal Habos and how to Mourn for the Beis HaMikdash When You Feel Nothing | with Rabbi Don Jarashow

    You’re told to mourn for the Beis Hamikdash, but what if you never saw it, never lived that reality, and honestly do not feel much beyond the inconvenience of the Nine Days? We sit with that question without pretending it is easy, then rebuild the whole season from the inside out: not as a grim endurance test, but as a training in sensitivity, empathy, and spiritual awareness. We talk about what the Nine Days restrictions are really doing and why limiting pleasure can create the space to feel something real. Along the way, we share a story that reframes mourning through the lens of sacrifice and perspective, and we explore what it means to recognise that exile is not just ancient history but a present spiritual condition. If the Shechinah is still in exile, then the goal is not to “perform sadness,” but to align with God’s pain in a way that changes how we live. From there, the conversation turns practical and personal: what does it mean to “wait for redemption,” and how does a person find the specific avodah that actually fits them? We also touch on the depth of Kinot as Jewish poetry, and we end with Shabbos Nachamu and the idea of Nirtza, that sincere effort is wanted and cherished, and that comfort has its own sacred time. If this helped you think differently about Tisha B’Av, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What practice most helps you feel the Nine Days in a real way? Check out R' Don Jarashow on TorahAnytime! https://mytat.me/s1484 Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    SPECIAL EPISODE! Why Moshiach is a Baal Habos and how to Mourn for the Beis HaMikdash When You Feel Nothing | with Rabbi Don Jarashow

  3. Jul 10

    Parshas Mattos Masei: You Weren't Meant to Do This Alone - The Floater Trap

    If you have ever felt like you are doing everything “right” and still feel untethered, this one is for you. We start with Parsha Matos Masei and the weight of the Three Weeks, then pivot to a modern pressure point: the moment you leave the yeshiva world and step into work, contracts, deadlines, and environments you did not choose. That transition can be bumpy, and it can quietly drain your Torah learning, your davening, and your joy if you try to muscle through it alone. We share the advice I got from my Rosh Yeshiva for staying grounded: keep learning Torah day and night, choose learning that holds your attention, and move at a sustainable pace that survives busy weeks. Then we get to the heart of the message: join a chaburah. Not a casual drop in, but a real fellowship where people know you, where your presence matters, and where healthy accountability and friendly competition pull you upward. To make it concrete, I use a real estate story about choosing a brokerage and how a bonding trip changed my view of what a team gives you. We connect that to the spiritual danger of becoming a “floater” with no consistent shul, no steady rebbe, and no anchored community, and we end with a powerful Rav Hutner story about what it means to be seen. If you want stronger Torah learning, better work life balance, and a Jewish community that actually holds you, commit to a group that would miss you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who feels untethered, and leave a review with one place you want to belong more deeply. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    Parshas Mattos Masei: You Weren't Meant to Do This Alone - The Floater Trap

  4. Jun 19

    Parshas Korach: An Unfiltered Rant on the Sickness of Comparison & Jealousy

    Jealousy rarely announces itself as jealousy. It shows up dressed as fairness, principle, or “I’m just asking questions.” We take the Torah portion of Korach and follow one sharp insight from Rashi: the revolt doesn’t begin with ideology; it begins with envy. Once that emotion takes the wheel, even a legitimate claim can become destructive, pulling in allies, fuelling suspicion, and turning leadership into a scoreboard. From there, we zoom out to the everyday version of the same problem: comparison culture. If “smart” means smarter than the people around me, if “wealthy” means richer than my neighbors, and if “success” means getting the honor someone else got, then I’m stuck living sideways. We explore how status pressure can sneak into work, learning, relationships, and even spiritual growth, leaving us constantly uneasy and never fully satisfied. We end with a healthier, Torah-based framework for self-worth: an independent reference point rooted in personal mission. Instead of measuring ourselves against others, we measure the percentage of our own responsibility that we’re actually fulfilling, with God at the center. We also share practical ways to weaken jealousy over time, including honest self-review, private prayer, and doing good without needing anyone to notice. If this reframed how you think about ambition and confidence, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the conversation. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    Parshas Korach: An Unfiltered Rant on the Sickness of Comparison & Jealousy

  5. Jun 12

    Parshas Shelach: When Seeing Becomes Deceiving

    One word in Parsha Shelach changes the way we read the whole story: “Lo Sasuru.” We usually hear it as “don’t stray after your heart and your eyes,” but the Torah uses that same root earlier for the spies who “scouted” the Land of Canaan. That connection is not just literary, it’s a map of how temptation works and why the spy story ends with the mitzvah of tzitzit.  We walk through the spies’ failure, the nation’s panic, and the painful decree of forty years, then zoom in on tzitzit as a visibility based practice. The Torah says to see the fringes and remember every commandment, and that sight is meant to interrupt the inner drift that pulls us toward ego, pleasure, honour, and shortcuts. We also touch the Shema’s closing lines and the remembrance of the Exodus, because spiritual freedom starts with what we train ourselves to notice.  Rashi lands the punch: the heart and eyes are “meraglim,” spies for the body. The eye sees, the heart covets, and the body acts. But here’s the empowering twist: the same scouting system can work in the other direction. When what’s deepest in us is service of Hashem, our eyes and heart start scanning the world for kindness, restraint, blessings, charity, and mitzvah opportunities.  If you want a sharper lens on Jewish mindfulness, Mussar, and the psychology of desire through Torah, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves Parsha insights, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    Parshas Shelach: When Seeing Becomes Deceiving

  6. May 28

    Parshas Nasso: Rabbeinu Bachaya’s Secret to True Simcha That Most People Get Wrong

    We challenge the need to be the hero of a good outcome and ask what success looks like when the goal is bigger than our name. Using Rabbeinu Bechaya on Mishlei and Parsha Naso, we learn how simcha becomes real when we celebrate God’s will being done, even through someone else.   • the difference between wanting the yeshiva funded and wanting to fund it   • defining success as the accomplishment rather than our accomplishment   • how Rabbeinu Bechaya frames a parsha through a single guiding verse   • why “simcha” is a specific joy tied to Hashem and wisdom   • “asos mishpat” as joy in the phenomenon of justice   • learning to be happy when a friend does the mitzvah better   • the story that tests whether we can celebrate Torah we did not build   • simcha as a mitzvah that completes avodah   • why the Leviim sing and what it trains in us   • the 30 to 50 window as a lesson in using strength well   Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

  7. May 8

    Parshas Behar & Bechukosai: This One Skill Can Save Your Marriage, Friendships, and Avodas Hashem

    If you’ve ever heard the words but missed the message, you already understand the core idea of Parshat Behar Bechukotai. We’re closing Sefer Vayikra and pulling one powerful thread through everything: the Torah doesn’t only ask us to listen, it asks us to listen in the voice. That single phrase, highlighted by the Netziv, becomes a life skill that changes how we learn, how we love, and how we grow. We start with the parsha landscape, Shemitah, Yovel, the blessings and the hard warnings, and the fascinating laws of erchin. Then we zoom in on “Im Bechukotai telechu” and ask what it really means to follow Hashem’s path without turning religion into robotic box-checking. Using an everyday example (yes, even a “pick up bananas” request), we unpack subtext, tone, and context, and why deep listening is the difference between conflict and closeness. From there, we get practical. In marriage, we explore how empathy often matters more than advice, and how “fixing” can accidentally ignore what your spouse is truly saying. In chinuch and parenting, we look at the hidden reasons kids resist learning, like an Aramaic vocabulary gap that can make Gemara feel impossible. And in Avodat Hashem, we revisit Shemitah and Yovel as training in trust, renewal, discipline, and relationship, not just rules. If this gave you a new way to hear people and hear Torah, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review that tells us where you’re going to practice Shema beKolah this week. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    Parshas Behar & Bechukosai: This One Skill Can Save Your Marriage, Friendships, and Avodas Hashem

  8. May 1

    Are You Wasting Your Shabbos? The Parshas Emor Wake-Up Call

    Shabbos can be the best day of the week and still feel strangely… normal. If we’re honest, routine can flatten holiness, and “been there, done that” can sneak into a mitzvah that is supposed to reshape our entire week. We want to bring Shabbos back, not as a vague self-care day, but as a Mikra Kodesh: a day that stands out so clearly you can’t confuse it with the other six. We start with a provocative contrast from Parshas Emor: the Jewish calendar and the festivals are sanctified through Beis Din and witnesses, a breathtaking partnership where humans help set sacred time. But Shabbos is different. Shabbos is fixed by Hashem from creation. That raises the real question: if we don’t “declare” Shabbos into existence, what does the Torah mean when it calls Shabbos a Mikra Kodesh? From there we dig into Onkelos and the Ramban. Onkelos frames Mikra Kodesh as ma’ora kadesh, a holy happening that befalls you. The Ramban explains mikra as a summons, a calling forward to assemble yourself for holiness. Then we bring it down to earth with halacha and practical Shabbos preparation: changing clothing, upgrading food and drink, setting the table, building a clean and calm home, marking the day with songs, meals, learning, and Havdalah. We also share a powerful story about a father whose joy at the Shabbos table becomes the definition of what a “remarkable” home can look like. If you’ve been craving a more meaningful Shabbos experience, press play and choose one change to try this week. Subscribe for more Torah-rich conversations, share this with a friend who loves Shabbos, and leave a review with your best Shabbos upgrade idea. Support the show Join The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! ------------------ Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar!Listen on Spotify or 24six!Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

    Are You Wasting Your Shabbos? The Parshas Emor Wake-Up Call
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Welcome to "The Weekly Parsha with Michoel Brooke," your go-to podcast for engaging, accessible Torah study.Join us to explore the weekly Torah Parshios, offering insights and life lessons for beginners and seasoned learners. Each 15-to 25-minute episode offers a comprehensive yet digestible exploration of the weekly Parsha.Discover valuable Parsha wisdom to enrich your spiritual journey, deepen your understanding of our holy Torah, and inspire personal growth. Subscribe today and begin your journey into the timeless wisdom of the Torah.NEW! Join on WhatsApp for more motivational Torah content. Send "Greatness" to (757)-679-4497 to subscribe.

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