Rabbi Joe’s Torat Tel Aviv

THINK at JLIC TLV
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Experience Rabbi Joe Wolfson’s popular THINK class from wherever you are. This podcast brings you recordings of the weekly Monday night sessions in Tel Aviv, where Rabbi Wolfson explores the intersection of Jewish thought, contemporary issues, and timeless wisdom. Through careful textual analysis and lively discussion, Rabbi Wolfson guides participants in examining classical Jewish sources while grappling with modern ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions. Whether you’re a seasoned learner or new to Jewish studies, THINK offers an accessible yet intellectually rigorous space to deepen your understanding and challenge your perspectives. Now available as a podcast, you can join the hundreds of weekly attendees who gather to explore what Judaism has to say about the pressing issues of our time.

  1. THINK: Shelach - The Story Of The Ma'apilim

    Jun 2

    THINK: Shelach - The Story Of The Ma'apilim

    In tonight's THINK we look in depth at the story of the ma'apilim, the lesser-known, lesser-studied sequel to the story of the spies - of the group who decided to risk everything to enter the land (even after God had decreed that they would die in the desert) and ended up paying the ultimate price. Our class examines this tragic and strange story - and charts how in the 19th and 20th centuries the story of the ma'apilim returned to history becoming a critical image for thinkers as diverse as Haim Nahman Bialik and Rav Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe.  Source sheet here THINK is dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation. May our learning a blessing for their memories

    1h 16m
  2. Reading Ruth On Lillenblum #2 - Elimelekh As A Study In (Failed) Leadership

    May 18

    Reading Ruth On Lillenblum #2 - Elimelekh As A Study In (Failed) Leadership

    In our second class exploring the work Nahalat Yosef, a beautiful commentary on Megillat Rut written in Tel Aviv by Rav Y.Z. Lipovitz, we examine the opening lines of the megillah and explore the character of Elimelekh. Although the verses themselves are sparse in detail, Rav Lipovitz, drawing on classical midrash and commentaries, paints a portrait of Elimelekh as a potentially transformative leader who could have saved Israel in a time of darkness. The discussion moves beyond Elimelekh the individual and develops a philosophy of Jewish leadership and Jewish history  - as demanding and relevant now as they were in mid-century Tel Aviv when they were first written. Source sheet here THINK is generously sponsored by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

    1h 5m
  3. Reading Ruth On Lillenblum #1 - Introducing Rav Y.Z. Lipovitz’s Nahalat Yosef: A Tel Aviv Commentary on Megillat Rut

    May 12

    Reading Ruth On Lillenblum #1 - Introducing Rav Y.Z. Lipovitz’s Nahalat Yosef: A Tel Aviv Commentary on Megillat Rut

    ln 1923 a young man named Rabbi Yosef Zev Lipovitz moved to Tel Aviv. He had been one of the leading lights at the great yeshiva of Slobodka. He was a  quiet man and did not seek out fame or publicity. Instead he and his wife opened a small pension, a hotel restaurant, on Lillenblum St, where, for the next 35 years, their front room became a gathering place for anyone in Tel Aviv, from famous journalists to simple labourers to the greatest rabbis, to learn Torah with Rav Lipovitz and hear the events of the day illuminated through ancient teachings.    The only work published in his lifetime was his gorgeous commentary on Megillat Ruth known as Nahalat Yosef. The work is simply beautiful, original and profound readings of Ruth that present a worldview of a great scholar and human who had much to say to the world around him   His name is not widely known these days and after his death in 1962, his wife Baylah, sold all her possessions down to her wedding ring to finance the publication of her husband's works.    Tonight we will begin to learn this great work - bringing his insights back to life in the city that R Lipovitz moved to more than 100 years ago Source sheet here.   THINK is generously by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

    1h 3m

  4. Apr 14

    B'KROVAI AKADESH: The story of Rav Tzvi Guttman, his murdered sons, and a destroyed Romanian world rebuilt in Tel Aviv

    This Yom HaShoah, our JLIC TLV comunity had the immense privilege to hear from Rav Elchanan Guttman - rav of the Bet Yaakov Yosef synagogue in Tel Aviv The shul was founded by Rav Guttman's grandfather, Rav Tzvi Guttman, and named for his two sons Yaakov and Yosef who were murdered in front of him after they were taken from their home in Bucharest in 1940.    Rav Elchanan Guttman tells the moving story of Romanian Jewry before, during and after the Shoah through the story of his own remarkable and heroic grandfather.  Towards the end of his remarks Rav Guttman shares the single message that his grandfather would have wanted to tell a kahal of young olim in 2026   Rav Guttman speaks in Hebrew with a summarised translation into English at intervals by Rav Joe Wolfson.   We are very grateful to Rav Guttman for taking the time to share his story with us and it is our joy to help fill the shul that his grandfather built in memory of his murdered sons

    1h 31m
  5. THINK Eliyahu #4: Eliyahu At Har Sinai & Eliyahu At Seder Night

    Mar 31

    THINK Eliyahu #4: Eliyahu At Har Sinai & Eliyahu At Seder Night

    After the seeming ultimate triumph at Har Carmel in the previous shiur and chapter, Eliyahu finds himself in the depths of despair as Izevel still seeks his life and journeys to Har Horev (Sinai) where Hashem teaches the ultimate lesson of how a prophet should act - not through fire and noise but through the thin small voice From here (at around the 40 minute mark) we move to consider why it is Eliyahu of all the nevi'im who joins us at the Pesach seder, what this teaches us about Pesach and how this might explain the remarkable difference between the harsh prosecuting Eliyahu of Tanakh and the kind, caring Eliyahu of later Jewish thought.  Source sheet here THINK is generously dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

    1h 5m
  6. THINK Eliyahu #3: Showdown at Har Carmel

    Mar 24

    THINK Eliyahu #3: Showdown at Har Carmel

    Gathering the people to Har Carmel, Eliyahu attempts to force the wavering people to believe with an irrefutable demonstration of God's power, challenging the prophets of the Ba'al to the ultimate win-all lose-all contest One of the greatest stories in Tanakh and one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of Jewish faith - an episode which appears to recreate the revelatory experience of Har Sinai but as understood by the midrash exemplifies the challenges and limits of miraculous proofs Source sheet here THINK is generously dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation. Our learning should be an aliyah for their neshamot

    1h 14m
  7. THINK Eliyahu #2 - Eliyahu & Ovadyahu, or, Zealotry vs. Compromise

    Mar 17

    THINK Eliyahu #2 - Eliyahu & Ovadyahu, or, Zealotry vs. Compromise

    After three years of hiding as a fugitive, Eliyahu is commanded by God to appear before Achav (Melakhim I 18:1) and potentially bring an end to the drought On the way to appearing before Achav, Eliyahu meets Ovadyahu - a man who has risked everything for the sake of Hashem and his prophets, but who has gone about doing so in a way totally different from that of Eliyahu Tonight's class provides a study in two different religious-political personalities - one of zealotry and one of compromise - as relevant now as then. Source sheet here THINK is dedicated by Elaine Diller in loving memory of her parents, Michael and Sarah Marton z”l , through the Michael and Sarah Marton Family Foundation.

    55 min
  8. Miklat Torah #3 - Benji Jones on Parshat HaChodesh

    Mar 12

    Miklat Torah #3 - Benji Jones on Parshat HaChodesh

    For tonight's Miklat Torah, Benji Jones shares insights into Parshat HaChodesh and the significance of the Torah's emphasis on counting the months.

    6 min
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About

Experience Rabbi Joe Wolfson’s popular THINK class from wherever you are. This podcast brings you recordings of the weekly Monday night sessions in Tel Aviv, where Rabbi Wolfson explores the intersection of Jewish thought, contemporary issues, and timeless wisdom. Through careful textual analysis and lively discussion, Rabbi Wolfson guides participants in examining classical Jewish sources while grappling with modern ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions. Whether you’re a seasoned learner or new to Jewish studies, THINK offers an accessible yet intellectually rigorous space to deepen your understanding and challenge your perspectives. Now available as a podcast, you can join the hundreds of weekly attendees who gather to explore what Judaism has to say about the pressing issues of our time.

Information

  • Creator
    THINK at JLIC TLV
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Rabbi Joe’s Torat Tel Aviv

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