This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shlach, 24&nbsp;Sivan, 5783, June 13, 2023, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

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22_5783_source_sheeets_shlach.e769.pdf

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How Do I Lose Touch With Reality? When I Ignore the Inner Rhythm

Women's Class Parshas Shlach

Where Is Paradise? Why Women Don't Grasp the Sin of the Spies

This class was presented at Ohr Chaim Shul in Monsey, NY, on Sunday Parshas Shlach, 20 Sivan, 5775, June 7, 2015.
The Jews are poised to enter the ancient land of Canaan. Finally, the journey that began with the Exodus and stopped at Sinai is to reach its final destination. Moses will lead them and usher in a new dawn for civilization. Moses sends twelve spies, handpicked from the best and brightest men of the nation, to bring back a report on the land and strategic military information. But then disaster strikes. Ten of the spies return with a terrifying report: The cities are fortified, the people are mighty. Even the produce is fearful. The people panic, and refuse to continue. They are ultimately punished to spend the next forty years in the desert, and only their children will enter Israel, under the leadership of Joshua.
Many interpretations are offered to explain the grave mistake of the spies -- how such great men could make such a terrible and costly mistake. The Talmud says they questioned G-d&rsquo;s abilities. The Zohar says they were afraid of losing their status as leaders if they entered the Promised Land. Both explanations seem absurd. They have witnessed the greatest miracles of mankind; and would they really jeopardize the future of the entire nation because of their craving for power?! The most remarkable of all the commentators on the episode of the spies was Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi. His insight turns the conventional understanding of the spies upside down. They were, in his view, not afraid of defeat. They were afraid of victory. What they said to the people was one thing, but what led them to say it was another entirely. We come to discover why the day of their death, 17 Elul, is a day of mourning in Jewish law; why the concept of a Minyan is derived from the spies. We also gain an understanding of the mitzvos following the story of the spies, the mitzvah of wine libations, Chalah and Tzitzis.

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22_yyj shelach- english source sheet 5775 monsey.pdf

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spies

meraglim

They Were Not Afraid of Defeat; They Were Afraid of Victory

Class Shlach

The Noble Sin of the Spies: Craving a Heavenly Life

This weekly women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shlach, 21 Sivan, 5781, June 1, 2021, live from Rabbi YY Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY.

How do we understand&nbsp;Moshe&#39;s strange argument to Hashem:&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t kill Your children because of what the neighbors will say?!&nbsp; And why didn&rsquo;t repentance work after the story of the spies?&nbsp;

The class is based on Sefas Emes and a talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Perhaps G-d was not punishing the Jews, only help them confront their reality.

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Why Didn’t Repentance Work for the Spies? Why Did Moshe Argue Not to Kill Jews Only Because of the Neighbors?

Women's Class Shlach

If You Believe You Can't, You Really Can't

The Flax, the Window and the Rope: The Story of Rachav. All the World&#39;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

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shelach

shlach

rachav

addiction

All the World's a Play of Three Scenes

Shlach Women's Class

The Flax, the Window and the Rope: The Story of Rachav

This class was presented on Sunday Shlach, 16 Sivan 5777, June 11, 2017, at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, New York

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22_ac.bb83.pdf

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hotayos

kelal perat

rogatchover gaon

chemical compound

klal prat

tzafnas panaach

individuality

moshe chafetz

collective

kahal

par heelem davar

harkavah

In the Divine Space, We Are Indivisible, Even As We Are Distinct

Sunday Morning Shlach/Tzafnas Paanach

Are Jews a Spiritual Mixture Or a Chemical Compound?

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Shlach, 22&nbsp;Sivan, 5779, June 25, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

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fear

challah

challa

confidence

nesachim

success

A Different Reading on the Story of the Spies

Women's Shlach Class

Don't Be Afraid of Success

This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shlach, 22&nbsp;Sivan, 5782, June 21, 2022, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

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22_5782_sheets_women_class_shlach_r02.bc36.pdf

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21_8599_women_class_shlach_5782_r02.84ef.mp3

You’re Not a Grasshopper; You’re an Angel

What Most People Don’t Get About Trauma

This women&#39;s class was presented Tuesday,&nbsp;Parshas Shlach, 24&nbsp;Sivan, 5780, June 16, 2020, streaming live from Rabbi Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY.

There is a sequel to the story of the spies, recorded in the second chapter of the book of Joshua, and it is read in the haftorah of Shelach. 39 years after the first episode with the spies, Joshua&mdash;the successor of Moses, and one of the original 12 spies sent by Moses&mdash;sent his own two spies to scout the land of Canaan. This time, though, the mission ended in success. They returned to the people with an optimistic message, encouraging and empowering the people to reach their destination.

What was the difference? Moses was the greatest prophet and leader of Israel. Yet his spies failed miserably. Joshua was a disciple of Moses, and not on the same level of his master. Yet his spies were successful. Why?

It is all captured by one strange word employed in this narrative: Cheresh.

What does it take to be sent on a mission, a risky mission, and remain focused, optimistic, confident and faithful? It takes&mdash;Joshua intimated&mdash;two qualities: 1. You must be an earthenware vessel. 2. You need to be deaf. &nbsp;

What do you do when you go to a family event and always come home in a bad mood? What do you do when you have a life&#39;s dream and people call you insane? What do you do when you are plagued by fear or other debilitating emotions? What do you do when criticism kills you?

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joshua

cheresh

deaf

Why Were Joshua's Spies Successful, Unlike Moses' Spies? Can You Own Your Energy & Suspend Your Ego/Insecurity?

Two Secrets to Fulfill Your Life's Mission

Ten Spies Obsessed with Love. But Sometimes Love Is a Sin

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22_ac shelach.pdf

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shlach5770.mp3

love

transjordan

But Sometimes Love Is a Sin

Ten Spies Obsessed with Love

This lecture by Rabbi YY Jacobson was presented on Sunday, 3 Av, 5778, July 15, 2018, for the Chazaq organization, in Queens, NY.

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child bed fever

tisah beav

chazaq

The Incredible Story of How Child Bed Fever Stopped Killing Mothers

Lecture Chazaq Queens

The Destructive Power Of Fear

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday 2 Av, 5777, July 25, 2017, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY

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self esteem

self worth

dignity

malchus

When Our Dignity Is Gone, We Fall Apart

9 Days/Shlach Women's Class

I Matter

The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.&nbsp;-- General Montgomery

The Hole in the Roof

A rabbi stands before his congregation and reports to them that a massive hole has been found in the roof of the synagogue.

"Now I have good news and bad news for you," the Rabbi continues. "The good news is that we have the money to repair it; the bad news is that the money is in your pockets."

If We Win?

It's an old anecdote. Years ago, the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, convened an emergency session to figure out a solution for the Israeli economy.

One brilliant minister said, "Let's declare war on the U.S., and then, in the wake of the utter destruction America will bring upon us, we will receive billions of dollars for reconstruction, like Germany and Japan."

"Sounds great," responded another member of the Knesset. "One problem: What will we do if we win the war?"

Twelve Jews on a Mission

This week's portion, Shlach, tells the story of 12 men who were dispatched by Moses from the desert to go and survey the Land of Canaan and its inhabitants. The purpose of their journey was to prepare the Jewish people for the subsequent conquest and settlement of the Land.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" name="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>

Upon discharging the spies on their mission, Moses presented them with a list of questions they needed to answer. "See the Land," Moses said to them. "How is it? And the nations that dwell in it—are they strong or weak? Are they few or numerous? And how is the land in which they dwell—is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they dwell—are they open or are they fortified?"

When the twelve&nbsp;spies returned from their 40-day tour of Israel they presented to the people a report of their findings.

"We arrived at the Land to which you sent us," the spies said, "and indeed it flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit. But the people that dwell in the land are powerful, the cities are greatly fortified and we also saw the offspring of the giants.&nbsp;We cannot ascend to that people for it is too strong for us," they&nbsp;proclaimed.

The report demoralized the Jewish nation and drained it of the motivation to enter the Land. As a result, the spies died, and much of the generation died in the desert, never making it into the Promised Land. Only 39 years later, in the year 1276 B.C.E., did the children and grandchildren of this generation cross the borders and settle in the Promised Land.

Kill the Messenger?

One of the many questions raised by biblical commentators <a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" name="_ednref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a> concerns the reason for the spies being condemned to punishment. Moses gave them a detailed list of questions about the Land; he instructed them to make their own observations as to what will await the people upon their arrival.

This is exactly what the spies did. They came back with an answer to all of Moses' questions and reported what they perceived to be the reality. If Moses expected them to cover up their observations -- that the Land was inhabited by mighty men and its cities were greatly fortified -- he should have never sent them in the first place!

Why were the men faulted for relating what they had seen? Is this not a case of "kill the messenger?"

Introducing Paralysis

The answer is that if the spies had merely related to Moses and to the people the reality of the situation as they saw it, everything would have been fine. But they did more than that. They used the difficulties they observed as an excuse to capitulate&nbsp;in the face of fear.

Had the spies returned and said, "Hey guys, we have seen a mighty people and well-protected cities in the Land, so now we need to devise an effective strategy of how to go about our challenging mission," they would have fulfilled their task flawlessly. The moment they responded to the obstacles by saying "We cannot do it anymore," they swayed an entire people to abandon their G-d-given destiny.

The spies are condemned for substituting the legitimate and important question "How will we do it?" with the despairing and helpless conclusion,&nbsp;"We can never do it!"

Conquering Your Darkness

Each of us has a domain in our life that needs to be conquered, a terrain that needs to be transformed into a "holy land." Some of us need to confront&nbsp;trauma, fear, insecurity, temptation, addiction, or shame. We must confront&nbsp;challenges within our psyches, our marriages, and our families. Since the challenges that lay in recovery's path are at times frightening, we are naturally tempted to believe that we are incapable of overcoming our darkness and we surrender to the obstacles.

The feeling is understandable, but if you surrender to it, it will rob&nbsp;you of the opportunity to liberate your life and arrive at your personal "Promised Land."&nbsp;The option of resignation compels you&nbsp;to remain stuck in a barren desert made up of the stuff of shame and despair.&nbsp;

The question ought not to be, "Can I do it?" Because that's the question coming from my inner sense of incompetence. G-d conceived you in love, and the day you were born is the day He declared that the world is incomplete without you. As the saying goes, sometimes when you find yourself in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.&nbsp;The resources to repair the "hole in our personal roof" are present. I am empowered to leave my wilderness and discover my light, joy, and wholeness.&nbsp;G-d has sent me&nbsp;into each of my life's journeys with the power to bring light into my darkness and discover my&nbsp;own inner infinity, as a&nbsp;Divine ambassador of love, light, healing, and hope.

The story of the spies is our personal story. My trauma tells me, "I can't," and I have all the emotional evidence and data to support my conclusions. But with lots of empathy and faith in my inner Divine self, I can discover a deeper untarnished, unfearful core that has the power to say: I can, and I will; now let me figure out how. I want to dance to the beat of creativity and connection, not despair to the beat of survival and loneliness.

Ask not "whether," but rather "how."<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" name="_ednref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>

_______________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" name="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a>Numbers chapters 13-14. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" name="_edn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Nachmanides in his commentary on the opening verses of the portion. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" name="_edn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> This essay is based on an address I heard from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbos Parshas Shlach, 21 Sivan,&nbsp;5749 (June 24, 1989),&nbsp;published in Sefer Hasichos 5749 vol. 2. Cf. Likkutei Sichos vol. 13 pp. 39-41. For other answers to the above question, see Likkutei Sichos vol. 18 Shlach 1, and many references that are noted there.

Ask not whether, but how -- kill the messenger? Why were the spies condemned for reporting the facts?

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Why Were the Spies Condemned for Reporting the Facts?

Essay Parshas Shlach

Dance to the Beat of Creativity

Why did Joshua and Caleb disobey Moshe's instruction to bring back fruits from the Promised Land? In this class, presented to women, Parshas Shlach 5773 (June 2013), Rabbi Jacobson analyzes different ways of understanding the nature of Moshe&rsquo;s instruction, the difference between the Talmud&rsquo;s interpretation and the way Rashi explains it in Chumash. We ultimately discover how the manipulative intentions behind an otherwise kosher action can contaminate and undermine it completely.

When Manipulative Intentions Corrode a Holy Act

Why Did Yehoshua and Kalev Disobey Moshe's Instructions to Bring Fruits?

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