This class was presented to women on Tuesday Parshas Toldos, &nbsp;Nov. 29, 2016, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.&nbsp;In this class, Rabbi YY Jacobson answers the big question, how can we call Eisav a Rasha if his fate was predetermined in the womb of his mother? As it turns, out Judaism creates special space for struggle, and so should we. What G-d wants from you is not what He wants from me.&nbsp;Children should ever be compared to each other.&nbsp;

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21_womans_toldos_2016_11_29.mp4

21_womans_toldos_2016_11_29.mp3

toldos

eisav

likkutei sichos toldos

rivkah

yaakov eisav

The Torah Text Compels Us to Empathize with Eisav

Women's Toldos 5777 Class

The Innocent Eisav: How We Destroy Many a Child

This women's class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Toldos, 25 Cheshvan, 5778, November 14, 2017, at Beis Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

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22_women_toldos_5778_.cf65.pdf

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21_womens_class_toldos_5778_11_14_17.41bc.mp3

water

unconditional love

isaac

esau

reb meir

neshamah vs. angel

yitzchak's love of eisav

oneness of jew with hashem

digging wells

How the Man Who Never Ceased to Dig Wells Taught Us and G-d How to Love

Toldos Women’s Class

Why Did Yitzchak Love Eisav? Because That’s what a Father Does

Rabbi YY Jacobson delivered the keynote address at the Kesher Nafshi retreat,&nbsp;Motzoai Shabbos Parsha Chayei Sarah, 27 Cheshvan, 5781, November 14, 2020, at the&nbsp;Raleigh Hotel, South Fallsburg, NY

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21_7820_rabbi_yy_jacobson_kesher_nafshi_motzei_shabbos_2020_r02.6153.mp4

21_7820_rabbi_yy_jacobson_kesher_nafshi_motzei_shabbos_2020_r02.6153.mp3

yitzchak

education

kids at risk

kesher nafshi

megilah

twisted parenting

teens at risk

Dealing With Children Who Have Chosen Other Paths

Keynote Kesher Nafshi Melave Malka

It’s the Children Who Challenge Us Who Teach Us What Judaism Is

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Toldos, 28&nbsp;Cheshvon, 5780, November 26, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY.

It is one of those seemingly bizarre and absurd Talmudic tales. The king and queen&mdash;they were from the Hasmonaean dynasty, ruling during the Second Temple era&mdash;sat and debated which food is preferable, the sheep or the goat. The king said, &ldquo;Goats are better.&rdquo; The queen said &ldquo;No! Sheep are better.&rdquo; They decided to seek the judgment of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest of the Temple, because of his familiarity with these animals which regularly served as sacrifices. The High Priest was the man who cooked and consumed the most lamb and goat in the entire Jewish world; he would be the expert. 

They summoned the Kohen Kadol, Named Yissachar, who came from the town of Barkaei. He insolently waved his hand in a gesture that demonstrated disdain to the king. How can the king even consider such a foolish idea that goat meat was superior, said the High Priest, when the daily communal sacrifice was brought from sheep? Yissachar was arguing, if lamb was not superior to goat meat, why would G-d ask for a daily feast of lamb, rather than goat?

The king was furious at the insult and the denigrating wave of the hand. The king declared: Since this man, the High Priest, has no reverence for the king, his right hand should be chopped off, making him unfit to serve at all in the Holy Temple (the Temple service was done primarily with the right hand). The Kohen Gadol bribed the executioner to cut off his left hand instead. When the king found out, he had his remaining hand chopped off as well. 

The Talmud then goes on to explain how the High Priest erred. For both the Torah and the Mishnah intimate that, from the Torah perspective, sheep and goats are equal. 

What are we to make of this apparently absurd tale? Should we laugh or cry? Is this a humorous tale? A parable? Or a reflection on the monstrous behavior of the monarchs of yore? 

And how about the story itself? Do kings and queens have nothing better to do than argue if lamb chaps are superior to goat meat? Anyhow, how can you argue about the taste of a meal? As we say in Hebrew, &ldquo;Al taam viraich, ain mah lhitvokaich.&rdquo; You cannot argue objectively about taste or smell. 

And what are we to make of the Kohen Gadol&rsquo;s strange answer? The king and queen were ostensibly arguing about physical taste; how does that get resolved from the daily sacrifice in the Temple? Did the High Priest of Israel really believe that G-d consumed and enjoyed the meat of the offerings? 

It was the Maggid of Mezrich, Rabbi Dov Ber, one of the greatest spiritual masters of Judaism, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, who suggested that this story served also as a parable for life. The debate between the king and the queen about sheep and goat represented the debate between Isaac and Rebecca about their sons Esau and Jacob, in this week&rsquo;s portion.

Yet, as fate would have it, the student of the Maggid who transcribed this teaching of his master, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz from the city of Lantzut, Poland, known as the Seer of Lublin, forgot the details. It was he, and the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, who suggested what the Maggid might have meant. It provides us with one of the most empowering lessons on educations and leadership in our world today.

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22_sheep_and_goats_sermon_ac_monsey_class_women_5780_.1f06.pdf

21_7241_rabbi_yy_jacobson_toldos_women_class_5780.0382.mp4

21_7241_rabbi_yy_jacobson_toldos_women_class_5780.0382.mp3

yaakov

sheep

rebecca

lamb

baal teshuvah

tzaddik

yitzchok

goat

struggling child

yanai hamelech

struggling children

alexander janious

A Mother and Father Debate Their Two Sons -- Yaakov & Eisav

Women's Toldos Class

A King and Queen Debate Lamb Chops & Goat Meat

This women&#39;s class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Toldos, 1 Kislev, 5781, November&nbsp;17, 2020, live from Rabbi Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY&nbsp;

Why would you name a child &ldquo;Yaakov&rdquo; because he is holding on to his brother&rsquo;s heel? Why would Eisav speak of tithing salt and straw, and not any other food? Why did the vision of a destroyed Beis Hamikdash inspire Yitzchak&rsquo;s blessings? Why did he want to bless Eisav? Why did Yitzchak begin his blessings, &ldquo;And G-d will give you,&rdquo; meaning that the first giving is insufficient?

The class explores to models of leaders, mentors and teachers. It addresses to dimensions to life: when you are a student of life, and when you become a creator, finding the courage to reinvent yourself, and turning chaotic sounds into a symphony.

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21_7818_rabbi_yy_jacobson_womens_class_toldos_5781.6f4d.mp3

wells

elazar ben arach

plowing

eliezer ben hurkenus

Why Would Yitzchak be Inspired by the Destruction in Our History?

Toldos Women's Class

Does Religion Welcome Creativity?

Isaac grows old and his eyes dim. He expresses his desire to bless his beloved and eldest son Esau before he dies. While Esau goes off to hunt for his father's favorite food, Rebecca &ndash; his wife &ndash; dresses Jacob in Esau's clothes, covers his arms and neck with goatskins to simulate the feel of his hairier brother, prepares a similar dish, and sends Jacob to his father with the food. Isaac suspects that something is amiss and insists on feeling his son. He concludes that the &lsquo;voice is the voice of Jacob, and the hands are the hands of Esau.&rsquo; Isaac also mentions that the smell of Jacob&rsquo;s garments are like the smell of &lsquo;the field that G-d has blessed.&rsquo; Isaac then blesses Jacob with &lsquo;the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land&rsquo; and mastery over his brother.'
The questions cannot be ignored: If Rebecca had a good reason as to why Esau was undeserving of his father's blessings, why couldn't she communicate directly to Isaac? Why couldn't Rebecca ""follow"" the glorious old tradition of Jewish wives who commonly explain to their husbands how wrong they are?
Indeed, Rebecca had a good argument against granting the blessings to Esau, one that Isaac would certainly understand. Jacob is ""a wholesome man, a dweller of the tents of study,"" whereas Esau is described as a ""skilled hunter, a man of the field."" Jacob's descendants became the nation of Israel, who granted the world the vision of ethical monotheism, while Esau fathered Roman civilization with its culture of ruthless power and great material achievement. Couldn&rsquo;t she explain this to Isaac?"
Also, what was the uniqueness of the smell of Jacob&rsquo;s garments? Goatskins actually have a terrible stench! The Talmud tells us that Isaac did not smell &lsquo;Jacob&rsquo;s garments&rsquo; (begadav) rather he smelled &lsquo;Jacob&rsquo;s traitors&rsquo; (bogdav). And this is the fragrance he so enjoyed. This, too, is deeply disturbing. What is so pleasant about the &ldquo;aroma of traitors?&rdquo; And why would they inspire Isaac to bless their grandfather Jacob?
The great souls and spiritual giants that would emerge from Jacob&rsquo;s seed throughout history did not suffice to entice Isaac to confer the blessings upon the wearer of the garments; it was only the traitors that moved him so deeply. Why?" "A penetrating insight by Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter of Ger (1799-1866) reveals the depth of Rebecca&rsquo;s wisdom and foresight. Rebecca was seeking a blessing not for Jacob himself, but for Jacob as he was dressed in Esau&rsquo;s garments. Rebecca knew of the state of many a Jew today: A Jacob who presents himself to the world as an Esau. It was Isaac&rsquo;s blessings to even this type of &lsquo;betrayer&rsquo; that has made the Jewish identity so deep and unshakeable in even the most distant and self-hating Jew. The incredible Midrashic stories of Yosef Meshisa illustrate this point unforgettably.

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22_toldos_5771.pdf

toldos5771.360p.mp4

toldos5771.mp3

jacob

issac

esav

blessings

isaac's blessings

dressing up like esau

Why Did Rebecca Dress Jacob in Esau's Clothes? Because She Was Thinking About the Jew Who Would Say Goodbye to the Shtetl

The Story of the Modern Jew

The narrative of Jacob dressing like Esau is a complex one, &quot;a riddle&nbsp;wrapped in a&nbsp;mystery&nbsp;inside an&nbsp;enigma.&quot; When Jacob entered Isaac&rsquo;s chamber, and his father felt him, Isaac declared: &quot;The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.&quot; Clearly, Isaac identified this man as having Jacob&rsquo;s voice. So why did he give him the blessings? Why did he not investigate who is the person standing before him? 

Dozens of interpretations have been offered. Today I wish to present one possible perspective, based on an insight presented by Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik.

Isaac was the first person to be born a Jew. At the most defining moment of his life, he lay on the altar, bound up, about to be sacrificed. He was moments away from death. Only in the eleventh hour did the angel command Abraham: &ldquo;Do not lay your hand on the lad.&rdquo;

It was, at that moment when he lay on the altar, that Isaac understood the magnitude of sacrifice that Jewish existence would require. He knew that to be a Jew would be far from a simple feat. His people will endure fire and water. That may be one reason Isaac, the man who understood sacrifice, had a special affinity for Esau. Isaac understood that for the Jew to survive he will need not only to &ldquo;dwell in the tents&rdquo; of study and scholarship, not only to reside in the citadels of the spirit, in the mansions of moral contemplation and ethical explorations, but also learn how to hunt in the field, how to take a weapon in his hand and battle with viscous aggressors in the killings fields of a harsh terrain; he must learn to take his Divine truth and enter into the open fields of society and live proudly as a Jew. He must integrate heaven and earth.

What is the role of Israel today? What is the role of the Jewish people today?

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israel and hamas

yaakov and eisav

yitzchak and rivkah

Maybe Rivkah Didn't Want to Deceive Her Husband, She Just Wanted Jacob to Display Another Side

Hamas-Israel War/Essay Parshas Toldos

We Fed the Crocodile for Too Long: Israel's Mission Today

Rashi says that trying to impress and deceive his father Isaac, Esau would ask his father: &ldquo;How does one tithe the salt and the straw?&rdquo; 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 levels&mdash;the literal and the mystical. In the first we discover the intelligence and depth of Eisav&rsquo;s 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.
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: HE;">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.&nbsp;

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22_yyj toldos monsey 5776 - english source sheet.pdf

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21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_sunday_class_11082015.mp3

struggle

salt

moral struggle

straw

The Struggle Against Evil is Not Evil

The Majesty and Tragedy of Eisav

The Diplomat and the Digger- Does Our Need for Public Relations Compromise Our Inner Core?

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22_toldos_5770-1.pdf

toldos5770.360p.mp4

toldos5770.mp3

yitzchak aveinu

philistines

grar

beer shava

avraham avinu

avimelech

Does Our Need for Public Relations Compromise Our Inner Core?

The Diplomat and the Digger

<div class="gmail_default" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">This class, presented to woman, was given&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;Parshas Vayishlach, 12 Kislev 5777; December 13, 2016, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.8px; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The class explores the fateful encounter between Yaakov and his adversary, and how that explains why Eisav could make peace with his long estranged brother. As it turns out, if I do not learn how to wrestle with myself I need to wrestle with everyone else.</div>

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22_וישלח לב.pdf

21_womans_shiur_vayishlach_12_13.mp4

21_womans_shiur_vayishlach_12_13.mp3

yosef

vayishlach

When I Embrace Myself for Real, I Can Embrace You for Real

I Can Only See My Brother's Face When I See My Own

Why Deceive Your Husband? - How Our Matriarch Rebecca Initiated the Outreach Revolution

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22_program-0.pdf

jacob stealing blessings

pintele yid

jewish soul

How Our Mother Rebecca Initiated the Outreach Revolution

Essay Toldos

Why Deceive Your Husband?

"If a man will have two wives, one beloved and one unloved, and both the loved and unloved wives have sons, and the firstborn son is that of the hated one; on the day that this man wills his property to his sons, he cannot give the son of the beloved wife birthright preference above the son of the hated wife, the firstborn. Rather, he must recognize the firstborn, the son of the hated one, to give him the double portion in all his property."
These verses are perplexing and enigmatic on many levels. The most disturbing question: Why present such an unfortunate scenario to tell us a simple law? The class explores a fascinating story and commentary by the Vilna Gaon, denied emphatically by the Netziv. We explore an identical verdict by Reb Chaim of Volozhin and the objections of Reb Shlomo Kluger. We discover the brilliant defense of the Klei Chemdah, and at last, the psychological interpretation of this mitzvah in the writings of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi, exploring the romantic vs. the struggling soul.
&nbsp;
This class was presented Sunday, 8 Elul 5776, 9-11-16, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY.

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22_ac.pdf

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21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_sunday_class_09112016.mp3

reuven

reuben son of jacob

rachel

shlomo kluger

leah

two wives

bechor

reuben

firstborn

ki seitzei

vilna gaon

teitzei

The “Loved” and “Unloved” Spouse in the World of the Vilna Gaon, Reb Chaim Volozhiner, Reb Shlomo Kluger & the Alter Rebbe 

A Tale of Two Wives

Torah Or Reah Reiach Benee #4: Why Deceive Yitzchak?Teshuva means going beyond what is normal, doing extreme things, 'much more than is the custom' (for example 200 times rather than 'just' 'a bit more than is the habit, 101 times.) Yaakov the Tzadik was made a baal teshuva; the powers of teshuva were extracted from him by yitzchak thinking he was Eisav.

Torah Or Reah Reiach Benee #4: Why Deceive Yitzchak?

How Yaakov Became a Baal Teshuvah through Eisav

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