Mental Health by Rabbi YY Jacobson: Recent Episodes
TheYeshiva.net
Adult Content: Webinar With Rabbi YY & Eli Nash: Adult Content: A Webinar withRabbi YY andEli Nash discussing the shame around addiction, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022
In Conversation: Rabbi YY & Rabbi Shimon Russell, LCSW: Rabbi YY Jacobson & Rabbi Shimon Russell, LCSW,discussing and taking questions on zoom, regarding: Why Are So Many Teenagers Struggling in Today's Generation? What We Can Do to Help Them? Episode #83 of "Let's Get Real with Coach Menachem," with Rabbi Menachem Berenfeld, Life Coach, moderated by Asher Parnes.
Women's Chanukah Class: This weekly women's class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Miketz, 26 Kislev, 5782, November 30, 2021, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.
Q & A with Rabbi YY on Instagram live: Rabbi YY Jacobson on "Instagram Live"answering questions related to Mental Health, moderated byMoshe Schonbrun,Rabbi at University of Maryland & Host of The Chavrusa Podcast. On Sunday evening, 3 Kislev, 5782, November 7, 2021.
Lecture for Mental Health Initiative Chabad NJ: Faith in Times of Anxiety - Address to Chabad of Montclair
Rabbi YY on Podcast "From Inside Out": Rabbi YY Jacobson on a Podcast with Rivkah Krinsky and Eda Schottenstein, "From Inside Out."To access their weekly podcast go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-inside-out-rivkah-krinsky-eda-schottenstein/id1504150729 How do we speak our truth when it isnt popular? How do we explain the decline in our collective mental health? What inconvenient truths do we need to acknowledge before healing? In this episode, we ask Rabbi YY Jacobson these questions (and others). He is of the most sought-after Jewish speakers in the world today and stands among the most successful contemporary communicators of spirituality - lecturing to global audiences of all faiths and walks of life. Rabbi Jacobsons compelling and deeply insightful answers remind us how it is only through confronting the truth that we can truly set ourselves free.
Lecture to Chazkeinu: Rabbi YY Jacobson addressed"Chazkeinu", an organization dedicated to help women with mental illness,on Wednesday, 23 Iyar, 5781, May 5, 2021
Rabbi YY with Meir Kay: Meir Kay in Conversation with Rabbi YY Jacobson on "The Great Day Podcast with Meir Kay." What does a great day look like? family history; memorizing the Rebbe's hours-long talks; juggling the stress of life; allowing yourself to connect with a reality thattranscends words; facing your emotional pain; understanding your power; dealing with failure and regrets; the power of authentic prayer.
Part 2 of 3 Part Dating Series: Part 2 of 3 series with Rabbi YY Jacobson about dating, the boy's role. This series is part of the "Let's Get Real" live interactive conferences with life coach Menachem Berenfeld and Asher Parnes.
Part 1 of 3 Part Dating Series: In part one of a three part series with Rabbi YY Jacobson about dating, Rabbi YY& Moshe Zev Lamm LCSW discuss dating, the parentsrole. This series is part of the "Let's Get Real" live interactive conferences with life coach Menachem Berenfeld and Asher Parnes.
Baal HaTanya's Road to Happiness: This workshop was addressed by Rabbi YY Jacobson via zoom at the International Conference of Chabad Shluchos, on Thursday Parshas Yisro, 22 Shevat, 5781, February 4, 2021.
Women's Class - Sefas Emes Vayigash: This weekly women's classwas presented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayigash, 7 Tevet, 5781, December 22, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson's home in Monsey, NY. The text-based class on Midrash Rabah and Sefas Emes Parshas Vayigash explores two enigmatic Midrashim on the portion, about Yehudah surrendering to Yosef, and Yosef's "rebuking" his brothers. How do we deal with our wounds inside and our challenges outside? Does the world hate us or love us? Is G-d my best friend or just my heavenly boss? How my own mind and actions can cause what is really love to be seen as hate, what is really light to be seen as darkness. We are given a blueprint of how to face every trauma and challenge and see it as an opportunity for infinite love and growth.
Women's Chanukah Class - Q & A: This is the Q& Asegment at the conclusion of Rabbi YY'swomen's Chanukah class. The class waspresented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayeshev, 22 Kislev, 5781, December 8, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson's home in Monsey, NY
Chassidus: Likkutei Sichos Parsha Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev #4: This text-based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 10 Parsha Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev was presented on Friday, Parshas Vayishlach, 18Kislev, 5781, December 4, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson's home in Monsey, NY
Likkutei Sichos Parsha Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev #3: This text-based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 10 Parsha Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev waspresented on Thursday, Parshas Vayishlach, 17Kislev, 5781, December 3, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson's home in Monsey, NY
Likkutei Sichos Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev #2: This text-based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 10 Parsha Vayishlach/Yud Tes Kislev was presented on Wednesday,Parshas Vayishlach, 16Kislev, 5781, Dec 2, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson's home in Monsey, NY
YY Moment: Meditating With the Jewish Community of Naples: Rabbi YY Jacobson during aZoom conversation with Chabad of Naples, Florida, on Sunday, 24 Elul, 5780, September 13, 2020
Lakewood Zoom On Joy in Life: "If Everything Is So Beautiful on the Outside, Why Are We So Miserable on the Inside?" A Zoom conference with Rabbi YY Jacobson, on Sunday, 27 Tammuz, 5780, July 19, 2020, This is part of "Let's Get Real" series, Sunday Nights Live conferences, with Asher Parnas, and life coach MenachemBernfeld.
Forgiveness: This program, a moment for forgiveness, was recently aired, to utilize the coronavirus crisis as a moment of introspection and forgiveness.The speakers are: RabbiYY Jacobson, Rabbi Ariel Shoshan, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky, Rabbi Pinchus Jung, Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, Rabbi Yissocher Frand, Rabbi Fishel Schachter, and Mrs. Perl Abramowitz.
Tragedy, Death & the Afterlife: Rabbi YY Jacobson giving the inaugural class for the "Learning For Raizel" series of weekly classes, in the Memory of Raizel Zucker A"H, 39, a Mother of 8. This class was presented on Wednesday Evening, 26 Iyar, 5780, May 20, 2020
Lecture & Q and A with Couples Struggling with Infertility: Rabbi YY Jacobson presented this lecture, followed by Q and A, to couples struggling with infertility. The zoom event, organized by A-Time, took place on Monday evening, 10 Iyar, 5780, May 4, 2020.
YY Moment: Psychology/Mental Health: An excerpt from Rabbi YY's Women Sefirah Class: https://www.theyeshiva.net/jewish/6319
Coronavirus: Children's Program #1: This special program for children waspresented on Thursday, Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei, 23Adar, 5780, March 19, 2020. Rabbi YY Jacobson shared three stories and responded to questions of children during this coronavirus pandemic.
Women's Vaeira Class/The Emunah Series : This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Vaeira, 24Teves, 5780, January 21, 2020, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Chassidus: Torah Ohr V'hinei Anachnu Mi'almim #6: This class was presented on Thursday Parshas Vayigash, 5Teves, 5780, January 2, 2020, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Women's Vayigash Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayigash, 3Teves, 5780, December 31, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Lecture Great Synagogue, Jerusalem : This lecture was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson, in the Great Synagogue, in Jerusalem, on 21Kislev, 5774, November 24, 2013.The lecture exploressome of the Torah paradigms forpsychology and the human psyche. The event was organized by Chabad of Talbiya.
Women's Vayishlach Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Vayishlach, 12 Kislev, 5780, December 10, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Women's Vayetzei Class: The opening of the thirtieth chapter of Genesis relates a small but disturbing scene. The infertile Rachel tells her husband: "Give me children, and if not, I am dead." And Jacob became angry with Rachel, and he said, "Am I instead of God, Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" Jacobs response seems painfully insensitive and uncharacteristic of their affectionate bond. He is in love with Rachel. Any experienced and loving husband knows that even in a good day when your wife conveys an emotion about something eating up on her, the last think you do is get angry at her! What she wants from you is an attentive ear and a receptive heart. That itself makes her feel better. Certainly if she is expressing her pain over a real and deep wound. Jacobs response is baffling and disturbing. Today we will present four approachesone from the Midrash, the second from a medieval Jewish philosopher, the third from the Munkatcher Rebbe, and the fourth from the Ramban and the world of Chassidus. The Midrash opens up its commentary on the portion of Vayeitzei by attributing Psalm 121 to Jacob on his journey to Haran. Psalms 121 begins with a description of a distraught narrator, who wonders from where will my salvation come? Jacob despaired. The Midrash says: Jacob said to himself: What?! I will give up hope from my Creator? I will never give up hope! My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! But what does this mean? Did Jacob really give up hope? Just because he was destitute and penniless, he fell into such despair? This is the man who would carry on the covenant of Abraham and Isaacdid he really forget about G-d? Also, his words seem repetitious: What? I will give up hope from my Creator? I will never give up hope! He should have just said: I will never give up hope! Why the question and the answer? It was the great Chassidic master, the Chidushei Harim (Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, the first Gerer Rebbe, (1799 - 1866)), who gave a stunning explanation. I would venture to add that knowing the life story of this man makes the explanation far more poignant. This women's class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayetzei, 5 Kislev, 5780, December 3, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Lecture Yehudi Conference: Rabbi Jacobson's main address at the YEHUDI Day of Inspiration & Million Dollar Campaign. 7 Tishrei, 5777, October 9, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency, Miami, Florida.
Lecture on Addiction: This lecturewas presented at an Addiction Awareness Event by the AZ House Jerusalem (https://www.azhousejerusalem.com)on Tuesday Parshas Ki Seitzei, 10 Elul, 5779, September 10, 2019, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Lecture in Washington D.C. on Forgiveness: This lecture was delivered at the National Jewish Retreat of JLI, in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. on Thursday, August 16, 2019 (15Av, 5779).
Women's Eikev Class: This women's class was presented onTuesday Parshas Eikev, 19Av, 5779, August 20, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY. The Jewish people are standing at the Eastern side of the Jordan river. They are poised to enter the Promised Land. Their faithful leader, Moshe, speaks to them. These are his words: "Hear, O Israel! Today, you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens. A colossal and towering nation, the children of the giants, whom you know and of whom you have heard said, "Who can stand against the children of the giants?!" This is mind-staggering. Moshe is repeating, almost verbatim, the words the Ten Spies uttered 39 years earlier which caused an unparalleled catastrophe, and derailed Jewish history from its course. Is this for real? After everything they have been through, Moses repeatsas we said, almost verbatimthe terrifying and destructively-impactful words of the spies which sowed terror and dread in all of their brethren hearts! It is here that we discover the truth of Torah. Judaismdoes not deny reality; it does not sell us the Brooklyn Bridge. It acknowledged the real fears internal and external hardships, but it also says: Hashem is with you; you can confront every fear.Life is difficult, but if you can accept that, then life can be a lot of fun! CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a powerful tool, but sometimes it can fail you. It is then that you need another, very different tool -- articulated in this story of Eikev. The lecture is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbos Parshas Eikev, 23 Av, 5731, August 14, 1971.
Tishah B'Av 5779: This lecture was presentedon Tisha B'Av, 5779, Sunday, August 11, 2019, at 11 Forshay Road, Monsey, NY. Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted.
Women's Shlach Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shlach, 22Sivan, 5779, June 25, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Women's Sefirah class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Emor, 9Iyar, 5779, May 14, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Women's Kedoshim Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Kedoshim, 2 Iyar, 5779, May 7, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Women's Pesach Class: This women's class was presented on TuesdayParshas Metzorah, 4Nissan, 5779, April 9, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Bo/Pesach Women's Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Bo, 2Shevat, 5779, January 8, 2019, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Vayeishev/19 Kislev/Psychology: Excerpt from the Yud Tes Kislev Farbrengen with Rabbi YY Jacobson - Tuesday, November 27, 2018, 19 Kislev, 5779 at 20 Forshay Road, Monsey, NY.
Women's Noach Class: This Women's class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 30 Tishrei, 5779, September 9, 2018, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Lecture to Encore Therapists: This lecture was presented to all of the staff of Encore, Special Education Behavioral Health and Related Services, a children Therapy serving agency, on 23 Elul, 5778, September 3, 2018, in Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY.
Lecture Chazaq Queens: This lecture by Rabbi YY Jacobson was presented on Sunday, 3 Av, 5778, July 15, 2018, for the Chazaq organization, in Queens, NY.
The Emunah Series: Q &A: Therapy, Mental Illness, Anxiety & Faith Child Molestation When Rabbis Disappoint Why Not Get Rid of Religion? Why Do My Ancestors Obligate Me? Individuality & Chassidic Dress Talent for Acting When to Divorce What Was the Opposition to Chassidus?
Women's Mishpatim Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Mishpatim, 21 Shevat,5778, February 6, 2018, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.
Chassidus/Recovery: Maamar Einyan Shoivevim: This shuir in a maamar of the Baal HaTanya, "Einyan Shovevim" (the weeks of Shemos-Tetzaveh) dedicated in Kabbalah to repairing issues connected to intimacy and the bris)was presented during a kumzitz farbrengen, in honor of Chaf-Daled Teves, 24 of Teves, the 205th yartziet of the Baal HaTanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe (1745-1812), with Rabbi YY Jacobson, in Monsey, NY, on Thursday, the eve of 24 Teves, 5778, January 10, 2018.
Chanukah 5778 -- a video a day: The second episode of our Chanukah 5778/2017, a video a day series. The Secret of the Dreidel by Rabbi YY Jacobson.
Keynote at CSB 2017 Conference for Jewish Life Insurance Professionals: Rabbi YY Jacobson presented this lecture at the csbEnvision7 Conference, the premier national business conference for Jewish Life Insurance professionals, on 11 Cheshvan, 5778, October 31, 2017, in Palisades, NY. The annual csbEnvision conference benefits Computer Sciences for the Blind
Lecture at CSB 2015 Conference: Rabbi YY Jacobson presented this lecture atCSB (Computer Sciences for the Blind)Conference, the premier national business conference for Jewish Life Insurance professionals, on 28 Av, 5775, August 13, 2015, at West Point.
Tuesday Women's Yom Kippur/Sukkos Class: This class, explaining the secret of Kal Nidrei, and exploring the theme behind all of the holidays of Elul and Tishrei, was presented to women on 6 Tishrei 5778, September 28, 2017, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Tuesday Woman's Rosh Hashanah Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday, 21 Elul 5777, September 12, 2017, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. The class explores the debate in the Mishnah about the shape of the shofar and the debate if we take a breath between the Shevarim and the Teruah -- on a deeper emotional, psychological and spiritual level. Delving into the Attachment theory in psychology and in Judaism, the class explains two states of consciousness, Igulim and Yosher, oneness and separation, and how ultimately, it is in the synthesis of both that we can find our wholesomeness and meaning in life.
Women's Ki Savo/ RH YK Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Ki Savo, 14 Elul, 5777, September 5, 2017, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.
9 Days/Shlach Women's Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday 2 Av, 5777, July 25, 2017, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY
Parshas Matos Women's Class: This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Matos, 23 Tamuz 5777, July 18, 2017, at Ohr Chaim Shul in Monsey, NY
Balak Women's Class: This women's was presented on Tuesday Parshas Balak, 10 Tamuz, 5777, July 4, 2017, at Ohr Chaim shul in Monsey, NY. It is one of the strangest stories in the Torahwhen the donkey suddenly opens its mouth. But why the need for this strange and funny miracle? What was the point of a donkey seeing an angel, Balaam beating it because he could not see anything in front of him, and then the donkey opening its mouth? Why the need for this strange and humorous miracle? What exactly do we gain from knowing that the wicket Balaam managed to hear a donkey speak? Many commentators have offered various perspectives. Today we will offer one insight (I heard it from Reb Avi Fishoff). The Torah here is using a striking parable to convey a vital and critical message about education, mentoring and parenting. It is a message that can be a game changer today as we encounter so many young men and women giving up on themselves. Last week, a young 21 year old woman from Brooklyn died from overdose. Malky struggled for years with a terrible learning disability and when she was expelled from schools that were clueless, she lost her dignity and ultimately, after many a struggle, fell prey to drugs. She was a brilliant artist, a spunky and fun girl, with a heart of gold, but surrounded by clueless educators she lost faith in herself, though her family was as loving and supportive as anyone can be.
Shlach Women's Class: The Flax, the Window and the Rope: The Story of Rachav. All the World's a Play of Three Scenes. This class for women was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shlach, 19 Sivan 5777, June 13, 2017, at Ohr Chaim shul, Monsey, NY
Does the Mizbeach Cry when an Abusive Marriage Ends?What Every Abused Spouse Must Know. Rabbi YY Jacobson led a telephone conference call on the painful topic of abuse in marriages, followed by Q and A, on April 30, 2017.
Do You Ever Throw a Child Out of the House? How to Deal with Rebellious Children. This class was presented in Adar 5777, March 2017, at Ohr Chain, Monsey, NY, at the conclusion of the daily Gemarah Shuir, Rosh Hashanah 16b, where the Gemarah says that Yishmael was judged based on his present siaution, not based on his future generations. The class was a response to the question, why, then, when it comes to a Ben Sorer Umoreh do we judge him based on his future, not his present?
A lecture by Rabbi YY Jacobson presented at an Amudim Awareness Event in Forest Hill, Queens, NY, on March 4, 2017. This event was held in response to many recent cases of overdose and suicide in the Jewish community. This is a sharp speech about confronting the crisis of youths losing their lives to addiction and despair, and the layers of deceptions and lies that allow the crisis to fester.
This women's class on Purim was presented on Tuesday, 9 Adar, 5777, March 7, 2017, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY. The most special of the four mitzvos we are obligated to do on Purimlistening to the Megillah, sending gifts of food to a friend, and enjoying a feastis Matanos Laevyonim, giving gifts to the poor. Yet there is something amiss here: Why did the Bible, in the book of Esther, as well as the all of the Talmudic and halachik literature, designate the term matanos laevyonim, gifts to the poor, rather than use the standard versiontzedaka laevyonim, charity to the poor? The Talmud relates that G-d says He needs an atonement every month for diminishing the moon. If G-d feels guilty why does he not repair His actions? But how can G-d even do anything wrong? According to the Midrash, King David requested from G-d to streamline the entire world. David said: Master of the universe! Let everyone sit equally before you, both the rich and the poor. Let all people have equal means. Imagine! Thousands of years before Karl Marx, King David could not understand why is our world divided between the rich and the poor? The handicapped young man was abandoned by his parents as an infant. He has never seen them or spoken to them. After 30 years he finally met them. These were his words: Mumma, Puppa I, I am not perfect. You, too, you are also not perfect. I have forgiven you. Can you forgive me? This class, based on a talk of the Lubavithcer Rebbe, Purim 1971, explores the essence of the human struggle on earth and the unique experience of giving charity on Purim.
This women's class was presented on 11 Shevat 5777, February 7, 2017, at Ohr Chaim shul, in Monsey, NY.
This class, presented on Sunday Parshas Bo, 2 Shevat 5777, January 29, 5777, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY, explores the structure of the Jewish calendar. Given the inherent challenges of a lunar based calendar (including the fact that it needs to be synchronized with the solar seasons), why did the Torah choose set up the calendar and base Jewish life around the moon? Also, what is the significance of the fact that for the first half of Jewish history we established our Rosh Chodesh based on live witnesses who observed the moon; yet, for its second half, the system was altered to follow a pre-set calendar. And if the calendar is a fair way of navigating time, why did the Torah demand that the optimal way of establishing the first day of the month is through the tedious and complex process of witnesses traveling to the court and being cross examined there? Why not always use the calendar? Third, why is the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon told to Moses as a prelude to the redemption of the Jews from Egyptian bondage? What connection is there between the moons renewal and the Egyptian Exodus? And why right now? It is strange that with so much going on, G-d decides at this precise moment to discuss the Jewish calendar! The end is near; liberation is about to happen. Why are we now concerned with the calendar? Fifth, why was this the first mitzvah given to the Jewish people, days before they were to become a free nation? In a deeply moving address in 1959, the Lubavitcher Rebbe offered a majestic and heart stirring explanation.
Women's Vayechi Class: This class to women was presented on Tuesday morning, 12 Teves 5777, January 10, 2017, at Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY
Vayigash Women's Class : This women's class was presented on Tuesday morning, 5 Teves 5777, January 3, 2017, At Ohr Chaim shul, Monsey, NY
Likkutei Torah Ki Tezei Maamar Ki Siyenoh Le'ish #1.How We Operate On Two Levels of Consciousness: an animal consciousness and a Divine consciousness. The struggle between them and how we must deal with it and discover harmony in our psyche. The ultimate solution is not obliteration but enlightenment and education. This class was delivered during the week of Pinchas 5776, July 2016, in Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.
Likkutei Torah Baal Hatanya Einyan Shenetnah Torah: Likkutei Torah Bamidbar/Shavuos Maamar Einyan Shenetnah Torah
Class Kedoshim: And a man who takes his sister and he sees her nakedness it is a chesed, kind act, and they shall be cut off the Torah states in Kedoshim, in Leviticus 20. This is beyond strange. Incest is a kind act?! Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), the founder of Chassidus, revealed the unconscious dimension of Judaism, conferring upon it a new depth and sophistication. One of his most fundamental teachings was that G-d was not a force above the world controlling it, but rather G-d is the very truth and essence of Reality. Therefore, in every thought there was meaning, in every experiencejoy, in every encounterDivine energy. You can find G-d in all. This class takes us on a journey into one of the Baal Shem Tovs teachings on how to deal with alien and destructive thoughts that inundate us during prayer and meditation. 150 years before the birth of psychoanalysis, the Baal Shem Tov taught us how the external manifestation of a thought may eclipse its inner meaning, how the egg may contain live chick. Every thought needs healing and sublimation. Yet there are exceptions. To be able to perceive in the spirituality in your addiction, you must be free from its toxic entanglement.
Class Parshas Bo/Vaeschanan: The question is obvious: Why the change in the blessing before the tefilin we wrap on the arm and the one we place on our head? Why does the arm tefilin get the blessing to put on tefilin, and the head tefilin, for the mitzvah of tefilin? Both tefilins are put on, and both of them are a mitzvah! So why this distinction? Rabbi Yosef Engel (1858-1920) and Rabbi Yosef Rozen (1858-1936), the Ragatchover Gaon, answer this question in a novel fashion. Take for example a bride getting dressed for her wedding. We all understand that the ultimate objective is not for her to put on the wedding gown; the objective is for her to be wearing the gown. It is just that in order to wear the gown, she needs to put it on. Is the same true about tefilin? Is the mitzvah to have the tefilin on you (if even for a short while), or perhaps the mitzvah is simply to put them on? Which part of the two components makes you fulfill the mitzvah? Which one of the two is the ultimate objective? Is it the act or the result of the act? Is it the act of wrapping tefilin on your arm and head, or is it the result of the wrapping, namely, that you are wrapped by tefilin? Rabbi Engel and Rabbi Rosen prove that in each one of the two boxes of tefilin, the definition of the mitzvah is completely different. Which brings us to the deeper question: Why this strange distinction mitzvah between the tefilin on the arm vs. the tefilin on the head? Why would G-d desire different things for the two tefilins we wear? Why two different objectives for the arm tefilin and head tefilin?It was the Lubavitcher Rebbe who explained the novel approach of the Ragatchover from a deeper psychological and spiritual perspective. Essentially the distinct definition of the mitzvah in each one of the tefilin boxes reflect the stunning path of Judaism toward living a serene, wholesome, happy and maximized life, in which we learn to create peace between the mind and the heart.
In the opening of this weeks portion, Vaeira, G-d tells Moses: "I, too, have heard the moans of the children of Israel, from the slavery that the Egyptians are enslaving them, and I remembered My covenant. The verse is raddled with questions. First, what is the meaning of the words And I too have heard the moans? Second, the words from the slavery that the Egyptians are enslaving them seem superfluous. Finally, we are puzzled by the final words of the verse, and I remembered My covenant, as though to say that if not for the outcry of the children of Israel He might have not remembered His covenant. Today we will share an incredible insight by one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, Rabbi Shimson of Astropole, murdered by the Cossacks in 1648. Rabbi Yochanan, compiler of the Jerusalem Talmud, was one of the greatest teachers of the Talmudic era. Living an extraordinary long life, from 180 CE till 279 CE, one century after the destruction of the second Temple, his teachings are studied in depth to this very day, His life was also filled with enormous pain. His father died before his birth, and he was orphaned of his mother soon after. Tragedy would mark the rest of his years with the death of each of his ten children in his lifetime. And yet this great man never lost his equilibrium, his faith, optimism, joy and focus. He was a master, a teacher, a leader and a spiritual giant. In one place in Talmud, Rabbi Yochanan discussed pain. And when such a man discusses pain, we ought to listen. Pain, he taught, elevated a human being to a unique plateau. People in pain live in a different realm. Their perspectives on life, death, love, meaning, truth, faith profess a depth and sensitivity of different proportions than the rest of humanity. Yet, while Reb Yochanan compared pain to the tooth and eye of the slave, Reish Lakish compared pain to salt. The disagreement is profound. Pain transforms people forever. It takes them to places the rest of us never visit. But does this demand of them that the pain has a purpose? This was the great argument between the two Talmudic sages. In Egypt, G-d embraced one opinion. We often look at our generation and wonder how can Moshiach come to our generation, seemingly so lowly and distant? We fail to recognize, the incredible holiness embedded in our people as a result of all the pain our people has endured. We are ready and worthy of Moshiach.
The Emunah Series: Basics of Emunah #3: Five Features of a Faith-Based Life: Confidence, Integrity, Divine Intimacy, Joy and Love
Two Roads Diverged in the Woods of History: The Path of Enlightenment & the Path of Surrender. Which One Will Triumph?
This class to women explains the strange fact that the most explosive expressions of passion and emotion emerge in the story of Shechem's criminal abduction and violation of Dina. What does this teach us about passions and addictions of all sorts.
In this text based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 30 Vayishlach we explore the unique relationship between Dinah and her mother Leah as extroverted women.
Meor Einayim Vayishlach: Do you feel you have obstacles in life which hinder your emotional and spiritual wholesomeness? This class can change that forever. It maintains one of the fundamental ideas of Chassidus: Your life has no obstacles, only opportunities to experience intimacy with yourself and G-d. But to internalize this, we need to experience a paradigm shift. We have to put on a new pair of glasses through which to view our world. This class, studying a text of Maor Einayim by the Chassidic master, Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl (1730-1797), explores the tragic story of King Manasseh who ridicules two biblical verses, one from Vayishlach and one from Vayeitzei. We explore the stories of Timnah, King Menasseh, Yosef, and how to view all thoughts, instincts, emotions, encounters, and experiences as messages from G-d trying to bring us closer to the core of reality.
Rashi says that trying to impress and deceive his father Isaac, Esau would ask his father: How does one tithe the salt and the straw? Yet this seems strange. For this question implies not extra piety, but absolute ignorance! For it is a clear law that these items are exempt of all tithing obligations. The class goes on to explore this Rashi on two levelsthe literal and the mystical. In the first we discover the intelligence and depth of Eisavs question, considering the unique properties of salt and straw. Then we go on to explain this question from a deeper perspective, analyzing the majesty and tragedy of Eisav, whose struggles were unique and who attracted the deep love and empathy of his father. The prophet says that G-d loathes Eisav. But the Kabbalists show us how easy it is to miss the real message of the verse. The class aims at liberating us from the erroneous notion that struggling with evil is evil. It is the other way around: Our struggle with evil is where our unique spiritual potential and greatness lay.
This class, presented to women in Lech Lecha 5770 (October 2010), explores a strange verse: "And G-d took Abraham outside, and He said, 'Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So will be your children.'" What do these words mean? Do they mean that the Jews will be uncountable, just like the stars? Well this interpretation is contradicted by the reality of history. In every generation, the members of the Jewish nation could be counted. Before the Holocaust we were 18 million; today we are around 14 million. Yet there are far more than 14 million stars!
This class was presented Lech Lecha 5774 (October 2013) to seminary students of Beth Rivkah in Brooklyn, NY.What is the genesis of Judaism? How did our faith begin? What was the first conversationbetween Gd and the first Jew, Abraham? Go for yourself from your Land, from your Birthplace, and from your Fathers House to theLand I will show you. But what a strange way of phrasing this eviction notice! If you had to packup your bags and leave the Country, the realities of Geography dictate that you would have tofirst leave the house, then leave your birthplace, and only then could you leave your country. Sowhy phrase this command in the reverse order? By reversing the geographical order, the Torah reveals that Gd is commanding far more than just Abraham's physical departure from his country. He was challenging Abraham to make adeparture from his inner stories that might obstruct the full realization of his true I, of histrue existence.
In a text based class, on Likkutei Sichos vol. 10 Noach, we explore the Torah's choice of language when describing Shem and Yafes covering the father's nakedness. We go on to explain the words of the Baal Shem Tov that the other person is always a mirror of you. If you are pure, you see purity in others. But is this true? Cant I be pure and see the filth in the other person? It depends what you see. A blueprint for dealing with difficult people and judging compromised behavior.
This class, presented to women, Noach 2011/5772, explores apeculiar story in the Midrash Rabah on Noach. Alexander the Great visiting the King of Keitza to see how he runs his country. He observes how the monarch deals with two people coming to the king because one found a treasure in a newly bought filed and wants to return it. The seller refuses to accept it. The story may serve as an allegory to appreciate the tension in the human psyche between the two souls within us.
A levirate marriage has at first glance to practical relavance. This class explores the psycological relavance of this complex law to our every day lives.
Keynote Lecture at A TIME Weekend Retreat Elul 5775: Rabbi YY Jacobson's Lecture at A TIME Weekend Retreat, Elul 5775, August 7-8, 2015.Infertility: The Pain, the Stigma, the Loneliness, and the Courage.Four Pieces of Advice to Couples Struggling with Infertility.
On July 29, 2015, Rabbi YY Jacobson delivered a lecture on a cruise for sales people of Fidelity Payment Services. The speech, addressed to mostly observant and Chassidic Jews, spoke of methods to maximize business potentials and cultivating a perspective on ones self that allows one to expand horizons and operate without fear.
In this radio show, aired on June 6, 2015, Rabbi YY Jacobson interviewed Rabbi Manis Friedman on the subject of self-esteem and religion.
Behaaloscha Class: This class was presented onSunday Parshas Behaaloscha, May 31, 2015, in Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY
In a class presented to women in 2011 (5771), we explore a rather perplexing verse in the Parsha of Behar. When a Jewish slave is sold to a non-Jew, the relatives listed in Torah to redeem him are his brother, uncle, and other relatives. The father is omitted! This class dissects the nature of an addict and who can help him/her out of addiction.
This radio show, broadcast on May 2, 2015, explored the theme of forgiveness. Drawing on the stories of Simon Wiesenthal in Sunflower, of Nelson Mandela, and of the German Jewish Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau, it wonders when to embrace forgiveness and when to deny it to your enemy.
This Chabad Chassidic discourse, Ashrei Tivchar Utekarav, was delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in his office in Brooklyn at a "vach nacht," to Rabbi Ephraim Eliezer Yoles, chief Rabbi of Philadelphia, on the "vach nacht," the evening before the Bris of his grsndson, 16 Cheshvan 5716 (1955). It explores the three souls within each Jew, his or her four levels of consciousness, and the parallel to the four worlds.
This radio show was recorded on Motzaei Shabbos 8 Nissan 5775, March 28,2015, one week after the horrific tragedy of seven children of the Sassoon family perishing in a blaze that broke out in their home Friday night, March 21. On Tuesday, March 24 a German pilot crashed a plane into the French Alps. On Thursday, Britain reburied King Richard III.
There were two mitzvosterumas hadeshen and hotzaas hadeshen. The first consisted of taking each morning one shovel filled with charcoal ash and placing it near the altar; the second consisted of cleaning the altar from all its ashes and removing it from the Jewish camp. Yet the first mitzvah seems completely futile? Whats the purpose of filling a shovel with charcoal ash and placing it near the altar? The class explores two approaches. One is a guide to deal with the sadness that is born from your spiritual fire; the other represents the delicate balance in Jewish history of cherishing the past while constructing a future.
Sefas Emes Pesach: Who are the four children of the Haggadah? Why are they central to our Passover experience? What are their questions and why are these questions so important? The premise to answer all of these questions is that these the four children are not external to us; they are within each of us: within each of our hearts, there are four children who ask four distinct questions. What are the four biggest questions on Judaism? 1) The strange laws that we simply cannot wrap our brains ahead. I get the justice aspect of Judaism, but black boxes on my head? 2) How can small people really believe that G-d cares about their actions? 3) I lead my own life and define my own destiny. I dont need G-d. In our world of science and technology, the old needs are gone. 4) I simply dont care.
One set of sacrifices, set out in detail in the portion of Vayikra is the chatas, the sin offering, which was offered for an inadvertent transgression. But why should unintentional sins require atonement? What guilt is involved? The sinner did not mean to sin. Had the offender known the facts and the law at the time, he would not have done what he did. Why then does he have to undergo a process of atonement? The class explores four perspectives, which present the Torahs approach to the moral life and the human soul. It culminates with a penetrating insight into the Torahs appreciation of the subconscious personality and its impact on our behavior. The Freudian Slip originates in Vayikra.
This radio show aired on March 7, 2015. What is the best way to deal with mistakes we have made in life? How to rid ourselves from paralyzing guilt? How do we forge ahead knowing how much damage we wrecked?
Henry Kissinger may have been the worlds most famous Jewish diplomat, but he certainly was not the first.The Purim Megillah, named for Queen Esther, paints a picture of a smart, resourceful, courageous woman of faith. But a close reading of the story, and a proper analysis of her actions in the story also reveal her to be a masterful tactician and diplomat that even Kissinger would be blown away by. The simple question is the purpose of Esthers two banquets. What was the point of the first? And why wasnt one enough? Why couldnt she have asked what she needed the first time?These questions are answered in the Megillah by the change of a single word. According to the Maharil, the main Purim miracle took place when Achashverosh had trouble falling asleep, yet his insomnia seem to have had no really influence on the Purim story. What actually happened that night? Why could he king not fall asleep? The classexamines the relationship between Joseph Stalin and the ruthless Lavrentiy Beria, and uses it as a parallel for that of Achashverosh and Haman. Understanding this relationship and an in-depth analysis of Achashverosh will help expose the brilliant maneuvering of Queen Esther and the purpose of her two banquets. This class was presented on Sunday morning, 10 Adar, 5775, March 1, 2015, at Beis Medrash Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.
The partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge transformed the vocabulary of the human race. Prior to the sin of the tree, the prism used by man to classify cravings, events and ideas was whether they were false or true. If they were true he embraced them; if they were false, he rejected them. In the aftermath of the sin, a paradigm shift occurred in the psyche of man: Now the primary barometer of the significance of things became dependent upon them being bad or good, not true or false. The class explores three ways of dealing with our addictions, bad habits and immoral instincts: Subjugation, repression and transformation. It also explains the true meaning of Tznius, or modesty.
A speech given to mental health professionals at the Amudim Conference on February 18, 2015.
An informal workshop presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson to a group of single moms, on February 12, 2014, at the Jewish Children Museum, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY. (To protect the privacy of the attendees, many questions and comments were deleted, and only the answers were left.)
The beginning of this discourse maps out the route one takes in confronting instant gratification, addiction, and destructive behaviors.
How To Talk To Your Children- The Power the Words You Use Have on Your Children. Class 1 of 4
Chayei Sarah Class: Eliezer was sent by Abraham to Charan (modern day north-Syria) to bring back a wife for his only son Isaac. In this monumental marriage, the first Jewish shidduch, the entire Jewish future lay. Eliezer is given only one requirement: The girl must be a relative of Abraham. It is here that Eliezer is torn, because he too has a daughter, and as Abrahams faithful and devoted servant, he can dream of nothing greater than Isaac becoming his son-in-law. But Eliezer is not a relative of Abraham; on the contrary he is a descendant of Canaan, the son that Noah who was cursed. However hope is not lost. Abraham tells Eliezer that if the girl in Charan refuses to return to Israel, the condition is off, he is not responsible to fulfill his oath and bring a girl from Charan." Thus, it is with mixed emotions that Eliezer embarks on his mission. His profound devotion to Abraham wants him to succeed, but his own selfish hopes for his daughter undermine his mission. Yet, unlike Lot, Eliezer overcomes his inner inhibitions and succeeds in the mission placed upon him. Whereas Lot became paralyzed and had to be dragged out of Sodom, Eliezer smoothly and confidently succeeds remarkably well. It is clear that unlike Lot, Eliezer has resolved his own ambivalence and overcame his inner inhibitions. How? We learned last week about the ambivalence and deep psychological conflict expressed by the cantorial shalsheles note. There is a shalsheles in Vayeira, and now there is another one in Chayei Sarah. In Vayeira, the torn character, the owner of the shalsheles, was Lot, in Chayei Sarah it is Eliezer, the servant of Abraham. A powerful Chassidic insight teaches us the key to this type of self-transcendence. It also allows us to discover the patterns of psychoanalysis so prevalent in the book of Genesis.
This class will travel into the world of some of Judaisms greatest geniuses, Maimonides, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and see how they understood some of lifes deepest truths from textual halachik nuances. What is freedom is it merely the absence of slavery and oppression? What is rest is it merely the termination of work? Maimonides says that the obligation to remember and recount the story of the Exodus on Passover is the same as the obligation to remember Shabbos. Why does he make this comparison? But how is rest different than refraining from work? How is freedom from slavery differ from active freedom? Indeed, the Hebrew language offers us two words to describe liberty: Chofesh and Charus. The difference between them is dramatic: One is freedom defined by what we are not; the other is freedom defined by what we are. The famous Rogachover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, teaches an extraordinary and innovative law based on Maimonides: It is not enough to refrain from work on Shabbos, but one must actively engage in rest. This then is Maimonides point. It is not enough to be released from slavery, one must actively live free.
How Flattery Destroyed a People. The last Judean-Roman king, Agrippa, read the Torah during "Hakhel" and wept, but the Jews assured him that he was their brother. According to the Rabbis, this spelled their end.
Yud Tes Kislev Farbrengen 5774 (2013), in the home of Reb Abish Mandel, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY. Can You Love G-d If You Hate Yourself? Understanding the Conflict Between Yehuda and Yosef; Tools to Build an Intimate Relationship with G-d. Yud Tes Kislev Farbrengen, Celebrating the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism"
3 Stories of the Lubavitcher Rebbe: 1) The Fold on the Page. 2) Thank You. 3) The Photo & the Painting. A presentation of music & inspiration at a children's rally.
Yud Shevat 5773 Webcast : Why We Need G-d In Our Schools. Can We Turn Our World Into a Garden? How Do We Educate Children? Is Man Inherently Good or Bad?
24 Teves 5773 : A Day with the Alter Rebbe (1) -- 200 Years From His Passing- 1) The Majesty of Friction. 2) How To Deal with People Who Hurt You
The Majesty of Friction: The Light Unleashed Through Tension- Maamar Lo Tov Heyos HaaAdam Levado By Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi
24 Teves 5773: How to Deal with People Who Hurt You? The View of the Alter Rebbe. Can a Person Choose to Harm You?
The Wrestling Match -- Part 2: The Root of Narcissism. Torah Or Vayishlach -- Maamar Yayeavek. Class 2 of 2
The Tension between Selfhood and Selflessness- A Journey into the Biblical Prohibition Against Offering Yeast or Honey
For well over a millennia, Jewish spiritual life revolved around the myriads of ritualistic services conducted in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Temple. The Torah describes in minute detail each item, artifact, garment, service and sacrifice that was part of Temple worship." "Today, many of these methods of worship seem foreign, ceremonial, and outdated. Yet nothing can be further from the truth. In Jewish tradition, the heart of man is the Temple of G-d; every rite and ritual performed in the Temple exactly parallels a spiritual journey in the psyche of the human being. In this class, we will analyze the cleaning of the Menorah, the daily animal sacrifice, and the burning of incense, and discover the profound spiritual and psychological implications of a Talmudic debate regarding their order in the daily service of the Temple.
Class Parshas Mishpatim: A Journey Through the Four Talmudic Categories of Damagers and Their Psychological Application. The Torah is not only the history and development of early Judaism; not only an ethical and moral code; not only the philosophy of Monotheism; but also contains hundreds of cases of criminal, civil, and corporate law. One of the six orders of Talmud -- the order of Nezikin, Damages -- is entirely devoted to the Jewish judicial system and all of its intricate details. It analyzes and dissects hundreds of practical, as well as theoretical cases, and was organized later into one of the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law. This class will analyze these Four Fathers of Damage psychologically and spiritually, and show how they are the fathers and roots of all spiritual stagnation, emotional paralysis, and self-destructive behavior. The class concludes with the Torah approach of how to deal with these four challenges. Nezikin begins by listing four fathers of possible methods of damage: Ox, Pit, Human and Fire. These are four prototypes of damagers that include multitudes of children, the legal offspring, as it were, of these fathers."
Four Guardians and their Psychological Application- Are You a Parasite? A Party Animal? An Employee? Or a Soldier?
Miketz/Vayigash Class: How Joseph Brought Healing to His Broken Family- A Tale of Three Experiments
Vayalech Class: Moses end was drawing near. G-d had commanded him that he was to pass on the mantle of leadership to his devoted disciple Joshua, the man who never left Moses tent. The Midrash tells us that it is at this historic moment that Moses turns to G-d with a surprising request. I know that I am not destined to lead the nation into Israel. But let me enter not as a leader but as a follower! Let Joshua take my place, but let me live! G-d, the Midrash continues, granted Moses request. What happens next is astonishing: The Midrash tells us that Moses became jealous of Joshua. He could not bear being deprived of the Divine revelation that was now exclusively his student's! Moses tells G-d: I prefer one hundred deaths over one pang of jealousy! G-d again grants his request, and Moses passes away. We have to understand: What does it mean that Moses became jealous? Moses was the one who had declared, If only all the people would become prophets! And of his dearest student Joshua? The Talmud tells us that one can be jealous of anyone except his own son or his own student!? We find that Elijah happily granted his student Elisha double his prophetic spirit? And from all people Moses, the most humble human being on earth! This class will explore the spiritual and psychological roots of jealousy and its results, and show the deeper perspective on just what it was that Moses was refusing. We will understand the real difference between the leadership of Moses and the leadership of Joshua, and how this was reflected in their personalities and in their generations.
If not dealt with, molestation can ruin marriages, and affect one's functioning -- Lecture 1 of 6
Farbrengen 11 Nissan, 5771/2011, honoring the 109th birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Talk One The Beilis Trial: One hundred years ago, in April 1911, a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy Andrei Yushchinsky was murdered. In one of the most infamous blood libels in history, Mendel Beilis, a Jew from Kiev, was charged with the murder, supposedly motivated by the desire to use the boys blood for matzah. The Bailis trial brought forth a truth about the Jewish people, articulated long ago in the Midrash, and embodied in daily life by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose birthday is commemorated tonight. Talk Two The Meaning of Freedom: 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln cast his Inaugural Address as a last-ditch effort to win back the South. A single thorny issue divided the nation, he declared: "One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute." Civil war broke out and it cost 600,000 lives. Slavery in the US was abolished. The slaves experienced their Passover. Many a Muslim nation battle today to acquire their freedom from tyranny. But freedom in Judaism is more than the absence of slavery and oppression. A reflection on two forms of liberty, one called chofesh, the othercharus. One is negative freedom; the otherpositive freedom." Talk ThreeThe Challenge of the Ego: The difference between the egotist and the humble human being is the difference between Chametz and Matzah, the inflated dough vs. the humble dough. It is the difference between the letter Hay and the letter Ches. Both types of people fall. One knows how get back into the circle of life; the other remains stuck in the abyss. This Passover, try an exercise. Talk Fourthe Crisis of Ignorance: Why is the rebellious child, the Rasha, counted as number two in status, right below the wise son, while the ignorant child is on the bottom of the list? Because ignorance is in many ways far worse than rebelliousness. How the four sons represent the four generations of Jewish immigrants to the free and open countries.
Rewriting the Script of Your Life: Labels Make Us Feel that We Are All of Whatever the Label Says We Are. But We Are Not All of Anything. Class 3 of 4
The Story of My Life -- How To Build Your Child's Self Esteem- We Are the Stories That We Tell, and the Stories Others Tell About Us. Lecture 2 of 4
An Ode to the Ego -- Torah Or Megilas Esther Maamar Vayikach Haman. Part One: You Cant Start Serving G-d If You Dont Believe In Yourself
Vayeitzei Class: It is one of the great visions of the Torah. Jacob, alone at night, fleeing from the wrath of Esau, lies down to rest, and sees not a nightmare of fear but an epiphany: He came to a certain place and stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream. He saw a ladder resting on the earth, with its top reaching heaven. And behold! There were Angels of G-d going up and down the ladder. And there above it stood G-d. Just what exactly were the angels doing? Were they going up or going down? It sounds like both. But why? For what purpose? The Talmud tells us: The angels ascended to gaze upon the visage of Jacob above; then they descended to gaze upon the image of Jacob below. What is the meaning of this cryptic Talmudic interpretation? What are these two images? Why were the angels scrutinizing them? The image of Jacob observed by the angels surfaces in the story of Joseph, his son. Joseph, sold as a slave to an Egyptian nobleman, attracts the lustful imagination of his master's wife. She desperately tries to engage Joseph in an immoral relationship. As the union between them was about to materialize, the visage of his father, Jacob, suddenly appeared to Joseph. This caused him to reject the urge and flee outside. What was it about Jacob's visage that inspired Joseph to deny such an intense temptation? Each of us, the Talmud is suggesting, professes two imagestwo faces, two personalities, two identities, a heavenly image and an earthly one. There is who you are, and who you can be. There is the you experienced in your own mind, and the you the way it is envisioned by G-d. But only in Jacob were both images one: the image below was an authentic reflection of his image above. It is here that the Torah is eloquently portraying one of the greatest tragedies of Darwinism: the loss of true self-esteem.
"The Torah differentiates between two categories of husband: an arus, a betrothed husband, and a baal, a full husband. Under Torah law, marriage consists of two distinct stages. First is the betrothal (erusin), by which the bride becomes ""forbidden to the rest of the world."" From this point on, for another man to have relations with her is tantamount to adultery, and to dissolve the betrothal requires a get (writ of divorce), as for a full-fledged marriage. The betrothal, however, only establishes the prohibitive side of marriage (the exclusion of all other men from the relationship), but not the substance of the relationship itselfthe two still cannot live together as man and wife. This is achieved through the second stage of marriage, the nissu'in, which renders man and wife ""one flesh.""" "In the 30th chapter of Numbers, the Torah discusses the laws of the annulment of vows. If a married woman makes a vow (I promise I will not eat meat), her husband has the authority to veto it, and declare his wife's vows null and void." " In Biblical and Talmudic times, the eirusin and the nissu'in were held on two separate occasions, so that for a certain period of time (usually a year) the bride and groom were bound by the prohibitions of marriage but had not yet begun their actual life together. In this period, the groom is called an arus, and only following the nissu'in, the second stage, he assumes the status of a baal." "Regarding the annulment of vows, the arus and the baal differ in two respects. The baal has the sole authority to annul his wife's vows, while the arus can do so only in conjunction with his bride's father. On the other hand, there is also an area in which the authority of the arus is greater than that of the baal: the baal can only annul vows made by his wife after their marriage (nissu'in), while the arus can revoke earlier vows, including those made by his bride prior to their betrothal." "The Talmud explains that these two laws are interdependent. Because the baal's ability to annul his wife's vows derives solely from the relationship between them, he has no authority over vows made before this relationship came into being. And because the aruss authority is in partnership with the father, it extends as far back as that of the father." "Every law in Judaism, we know, has a psychological and emotional counterpart. This class explores the relevant personal ramifications of this law by examining two profiles of people: the human being who has made full peace with G-d, and the person who still struggles with G-d, and is never fully integrated with Him. At first glance it would seem the former is in a superior state, but in essence, it is the other way around." "This class gives unique comfort to those of us who never seem to get there and are always enmeshed in a struggle against our demons, addictions, and inner challenges."
Shavous -- Yartzeit of the Baal Shem Tov: Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), the founder of Chassidism, granted Judaism a sophistication, depth, and richness, which allow us to appreciate Torah with a new light. One of his most fundamental teachings was that G-d was not a force above the world manipulating and controlling it, but rather G-d was the name we use to describe the very truth and essence of Reality; the core and backdrop of all existence. Therefore, in every thought there was meaning, in every experience there was joy, in every encounter there was energy of the Divine. You can find G-d in all. This class takes us on a journey into one of the Baal Shem Tovs teachings on how to deal with alien and destructive thoughts that inundate us during prayer and meditation. 150 years before the birth of psychoanalysis, the Baal Shem Tov taught us how the external manifestation of a thought may eclipse its inner meaning. Every thought needs healing and sublimation. Yet there are exceptions.
Why Was Moses Afraid to Gaze at G-d?- In His Greatest Moment Moses Chose Earth Over Heaven
The Raven & The Dove: The Flood Recedes and Noah Sends Out a Raven Followed by a Dove. Why These Two Birds? And What Does This Story Tell Us of the Journey Necessary for people Recovering from Personal Floods? When Cynicism Replaces Innocence.
The Art of Transformation- On Rosh Hashanah we go to the water to cast away our sins; on Sukkos we return to the water to reclaim our sins
Four Perspectives On Sin: An evening of song & inspiration with Rabbi Jacobson and Cantor Berel Zucker singing stirring high-holiday melodies. The lecture explores a "panel discussion" between wisdom, prophecy, Torah and G-d on sin.
"You shall not see your brothers ox or his sheep go astray and ignore them; return them to your brother... So shall you do with his ass, so shall you do with his garment, and so shall you do with every lost thing of your brother... -- Deuteronomy 22:1-3 " "Obviously, the duty to return a lost object to its owner is not limited to oxen, sheep, asses and garments, but appliesas the verse concludesto every lost thing of your brother. The Talmud explains that the Torah cites these examples because each of them teaches us another of the laws regarding lost objects. However, while it deciphers the laws to be derived from ox, ass and garment, it does not succeed to do so in the case of the sheep. The lost sheep is a difficulty, it concludes the Talmud, meaning that the legal significance of the word sheep in the verse proved difficult for the sages. " "Accordingly, the mitzvah of returning a lost object applies not only to the physical property of ones fellow but to his spiritual possessions as well. If you encounter a life gone astraya confused mind, a dysfunctional heart, a soul that has lost its moral compass or spiritual sensitivityrestore it to its owner. You may not remain indifferent to the spiritual plight of a brother any more than you may ignore his wayward ox. " "The Zohar tells us that the Torah has both a body and a soul. The body of the Torah is its physical partthe historical events it recounts and the laws it legislates. But implicit in this body is a soul, a mystic dimension in which every story has its sublime analogy and every legal nuance its spiritual counterpart." "Specifically, the four examples of lost objects enumerated by Torah correspond to four prototypical maladies of the human soul. Join us on a fascinating journey into the psychology of aggression, passivity, treachery and meekness. "
"The simple reading of the story goes like this: After the Jews created a Golden Calf, Moses smashed the stone tablets created by G-d, engraved with the Ten Commandments. Moses and G-d then ""debated"" the appropriate response to this transgression and it was decided that if the people would truly repent, G-d would give them a second chance. Moses hewed a second set of stone tablets; G-d engraved them also with the Ten Commandments, and Moses gave them to the Jewish people." "Yet a few major questions come to mind. 1. Moses, outraged by the sight of a golden calf erected by the Hebrews as a deity, smashed the stone tablets. He apparently felt that the Jews were undeserving of them, and that it would be inappropriate to give them this Divine gift. But why did Moses have to break and shatter the heavenly tablets? Moses could have hidden them or returned them to their heavenly maker?" "This seems strange. Why would they place the broken tablets in the Holy of Holies? After all, these fragments were a constant reminder of the great moral failure of the Jewish people. Why not just disregard them, or deposit them in a safe isolated place?" "2. The rabbis teach us that ""The whole tablets and the broken tablets nestled inside the Ark of the Covenant."" The Jews proceeded to gather the broken fragments of the first set of tablets and had them stored in the Ark, in the Tabernacle, together with the second whole tablets. Both sets of tablets were later taken into the Land of Israel and kept side by side in the Ark, situated in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem." "3. In its eulogy for Moses, the Torah chooses this episode of smashing the tablets as the highlight and climax of Moses achievements. Why does the Torah choose this tragic and devastating episode to capture the zenith of Moses life and as the theme with which to conclude the entire Torah, all five books of Moses?! " "This class, using as a springboard two seemingly superfluous words in Eikev, will examine this entire episode from a deeper vantage point. It tells the story of all forms of brokenness in the human journey."
Class Parshas Matos: The Music of Intoxication: The Kabbalistic story behind a rare musical note in the Torah
It was the worst crisis in Moses' life. Incited by the 'mixed multitude', the Israelites complain about the food: 'If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost; the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna. It was an appalling show of ingratitude, but not the first time the Israelites had behaved this way. Three similar episodes occurred previously and are recorded in the book of Exodus. Yet Moses' reaction this time is dramatically different: I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me! If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now - if I have found favor in Your eyes - and do not let me face my own ruin. What triggered this despair? And how did G-d respond and comfort him? And if Moses felt that the burden of leadership was unbearable, what gave him the strength to continue? One possible answer to these questions provides a simple but moving lesson in the importance for a student or disciple to give feedback and express appreciation to his mentor, even when the student thinks that his successes are completely insignificant in the shadow of his teachers greatness. A fascinating encounter between the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson, and Dr. Sigmund Freud in 1903.
The five challenges of living: Loss, illness, moral Impurity, finances & uncertainty. How the five Jewish holidays address the five most painful experiences of the human condition
This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim, 6 Iyar 5777, May 2, 2017, in Monsey, NY. How do you maintaining your identity during stressful times? What an agricultural Talmudic law about fruit teaches us about psychological serenity and historical endurance.
Please Pass the Salt - A Journey into the Five Layers of Torah Study, and the Five Layers of Human Identity