This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Tetzaveh, 11&nbsp;Adar I, 5784, February 20, 2024, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

The class explores the end of the Code of Jewish Law on the availability of constant bliss, the joy of the month of Adar, and the grief of the month of Av. We explore the enigmatic Talmudic story of Reb Akiva&#39;s visit to Rome and why he laughed, the explanation of the Alter Rebbe on bliss and pain, and the exchange between the Rebbe and Eli Wiesel on the question of the Holocaust, and why Jews have not lost their faith, even in the face of such adversity.

We finally explain how pain and joy merge together in the profoundest experience of the soul&#39;s bliss.

&nbsp;

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21_9232_women_class_tetzaveh_5784.4fc9.mp4

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eli wiesel

pleasure

bliss

reb akiva

Why Didn’t Jews Lose Their Faith? Reb Akiva, Eli Wiesel, and the Rebbe

Adar/Purim Katan Women's Class/Joy

How to Live in Bliss: If I Can’t Feel the Pain, I Can’t Feel the Joy 

Rabbi YY Jacobson addressing a live Instagram chat on 19 Tammuz, 5781, June 29, 2021. Hosted by Sarah Guigue&nbsp;(&quot;Hasidic Hipster Girl&quot; @hasidic.hipster.girl), joined by Joseph Dahan, (co-founder and director Hatzalah of South Florida @hatzalahsouthflorida),&nbsp;Steve Eisenberg&nbsp;(speaker &amp; educator,&nbsp;local resident of Bal Harbour/Surfside). Arranged by Zalman Herz.

This conversation explored the recent tragedy in Surfside, Florida, the collapse of the&nbsp;Champlain Towers&nbsp;on Thursday, June 24, 2021, and the theological issues connected with the tragedy. Are we allowed to ask questions on G-d? What is the Jewish approach? What are&nbsp;the lessons we can all learn when so many structures are crumbling in our lives?

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faith

eli weisel

structures

pain and suffering

surfside tower collapse

Can We Question G-d?

Surfside Tower Collapse

When Structures Are Crumbling, What’s the Message?

This zoom lecture to the South Africa Jewish Community, organized by the Arch and the Base,&nbsp;was presented on Wednesday Parshas Balak, 13 Tamuz 5781, June 23, 2021.

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lion

bilaam

mendel futerfas

edith eger

victor frankl

Reb Mendel Futerfas, Viktor Frankl, Edith Eger, and Balaam Teach the Path to Fortitude

Lecture to South Africa Community

The Secret of Jewish Resilience

On Sunday, Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim, 6 Iyar, 5781, April 18, 2021, Rabbi YY Jacobson presented a special class,&nbsp;in the loving memory of his cousin, Yocheved Tova bas Avraham and Nechama Dina Gourarie.

The class tells the story of Reb Mordechai of Chernobyl and a pack of wolves; explains why Aaron had to go back to space where his sons passed away, and how each of us must face our shame and pain, as the Baal Shem Tov about facing Egypt; and the meaning of the name of the portion &quot;Acharei Mos, after the death,&quot; how we must learn to appreciate and accommodate souls like Nadav and Avihu, who are traumatized by the very experience of existence and fragmentation so that they can create fusion.

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reb mordechai of chernobyl

yocheved gourarie

Let's Create Space for Sensitive Souls Traumatized by Existence

Tribute to a Young Woman Yocheved Gourarie

Hearts with No Hate

&quot;If Everything Is So Beautiful on the Outside, Why Are We So Miserable on the Inside?&quot; A Zoom conference with Rabbi YY Jacobson, on Sunday, 27 Tammuz, 5780, July 19, 2020,

This is part of &quot;Let&#39;s Get Real&quot; series, Sunday Nights Live conferences, with Asher Parnas, and life coach Menachem&nbsp;Bernfeld.

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interviews

lakewood

coach menachem

happiness

anxiety

Live Questions & Answers With Rabbi YY 

Lakewood Zoom On Joy in Life

Beautiful on the Outside, Miserable on the Inside

In May 2015, John Nash, one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, was killed with his wife in a devastating car accident in NJ. It is hard not to shed a tear when you read the biography &ldquo;A Beautiful Mind&rdquo; about the tragic and triumphant life of Mr. Nash. Promising to become one of the most promising mathematicians in the world, Nash was struck by the mental illness of schizophrenia. When Nash was offered a prestigious chair at the University of Chicago, he declined because he was planning to become Emperor of Antarctica. John believed that all men who wore red ties were part of a communist conspiracy against him. 

His poor wife divorced him, then remarried him, and in 1994 he won the Noble Prize for Economics. But right after the Noble ceremony, there is a scene that represents the profound human triumph of John Nash.

There is something strange about the way we count sefirah&mdash;the 49-day count between Passover and Shavuos. The Torah instructs us to count both the days and the weeks. But why is the Torah adamant that we count both the days and the weeks simultaneously? One of these counts is superfluous. What do we gain by counting the week after we have already counted the days? What would be missing if we left out the weeks, or conversely, if we left out the days? 

Even more perplexing is the view of the 13th century French and Spanish sage, Rabbeinu Yerucham. He says that it is a biblical mitzvah to count the days also when the Beit HaMikdash is not extant, but the mitzvah to count the weeks applies only when the omer is offered, and is thus today only a rabbinical commandment.

Strange it is. Counting is counting. What exactly is the difference between saying &ldquo;Today is twenty-eight days of the Omer&rdquo; and saying &ldquo;Today is four weeks of the Omer&rdquo;? How can we make sense of the notion that counting days is a biblical mandate and counting weeks is a rabbinic mandate?

Let&rsquo;s excavate the mystery of the days and the weeks and the view of Rabanu Yerucham, from the deeper emotional, psychological and spiritual vantage point. This explanation was offered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe during an address, on Lag B&rsquo;Omer 5711, May 24, 1951.

How did Winston Churchill deal with his depression? How do we define the meaning of Jewish identity? As part of the natural historical process, or as supernatural? Are we part of the natural cycle, embracing its rhythm and changes, or are a chip off another block, governed by a different system, steeped in a reality which is unchangeable? The story of the Nazi desecrating a Torah scroll, which then ended up on the Holy Land.

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sefirat haomer

mental illness

sefirah

depression

counting of omer

trauma

counting days

schizophrenia

john nash

counting weeks

Counting Days and Weeks: Confronting Mental Illness, Trauma, and Depression

Essay Sefirah

It’s a Beautiful Heart

This special program for children was&nbsp;presented on Thursday, Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei, 23&nbsp;Adar, 5780, March 19, 2020. Rabbi YY Jacobson shared three stories and responded to questions of children during this coronavirus pandemic.

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fear

serenity

yerucham of mir

kovner rav

quarantine

yitzchak elchanan spektor

quarantined

coronavirus

3 Stories & Words of Inspiration for a Virus Out of Control

Coronavirus: Children's Program #1

Rabbi Jacobson Responds to Children's Questions

This class was presented on Thursday Parshas Vayigash, 5&nbsp;Teves, 5780, January 2, 2020, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY&nbsp;

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yosef

broken people

broken

shviras hakelim

evil

confronting darkness

dealing with trauma

loneliness

baruch

When You Can Align Your Own Brokenness With the Story of Creation, You Can Find Healing

Chassidus: Torah Ohr V'hinei Anachnu Mi'almim #6

To Live Is to Confront Trauma

The opening of the thirtieth chapter of Genesis relates a small but disturbing scene. The infertile Rachel tells her husband: &quot;Give me children, and if not, I am dead.&quot; And Jacob became angry with Rachel, and he said, &quot;Am I instead of God, Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?&quot;

Jacob&rsquo;s 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. Jacob&rsquo;s response is baffling and disturbing.

Today we will present four approaches&mdash;one 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 &ldquo;from where will my salvation come?&rdquo; Jacob despaired. The Midrash says: Jacob said to himself: &ldquo;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!&rdquo;

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 Isaac&mdash;did he really forget about G-d? Also, his words seem repetitious: &ldquo;What? I will give up hope from my Creator? I will never give up hope!&rdquo; He should have just said: &ldquo;I will never give up hope!&rdquo; 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&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Vayetzei, 5 Kislev, 5780, December 3, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

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yaakov

rachel

despair

yitzchak mordechai altar

sholom mordechai rubashkin

first gerer rebbe

hopelessness

chidushei harim

infertility

How the Cracks In Your Life Can Become the Gate of Heaven

Women's Vayetzei Class

Why Did Yaakov Get Angry at his Beloved Wife Rachel? 4 Perspectives

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.

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What is the Balance Between Hope and Acceptance?

Lecture & Q and A with Couples Struggling with Infertility

Infertility: Confronting Fear, Pain, Loneliness

Infertility: Confronting Fear, Pain, Loneliness

What is the Balance Between Hope and Acceptance?

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