This class was presented on Tuesday, 25 Cheshvan, 5784, November 26, 2024, Parshas Toldos, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

The Moment I Realize That I Carry Two Souls, It Changes Everything

Women's Toldos Class

Rivkah's Identity Crisis: Am I Fake and Inauthentic?

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

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

Rashi says that in trying to impress and deceive his father Isaac, Esau would ask his father, "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;
<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;">This class is based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. 20 and Vol. 25 Parshas Toldos.

The Struggle Against Evil is Not Evil

Class Parshas Toldos

The Majesty and Tragedy of Eisav

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.

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

A King and Queen Debate Lamb Chops & Goat Meat

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

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 text-based class on Sefas Emes Parshas Vayeitzei, was&nbsp;presented on Thursday, Parshas Vayetzei, 10&nbsp;Kislev, 5781, November&nbsp;26, 2020, live from Rabbi YY Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY&nbsp;

3 Ideas of Sefas Emes: 1. Why Yaakov Needed Exile. 2. How Yaakov Removed the Rock. 3. How a Tzaddik Impacts His Environment

Chassidus: Sfas Emes Vayetzei

How Can the Midrash Accuse Yaakov of Killing His Brother?

This lecture was presented in Tenafly, NJ, to parents who are part of the &quot;Twisted Parenting&quot; program (under the leadership of Reb Avi Fishoff), to help children struggling with addiction and depression, on Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Toldos, 29 Cheshvan, 5778, November 18, 2017.

It Is Our Struggling Children Who Allow Us to Experience True Judaism; Yitzchak and Eisav

Lecture to Parents with Struggling Children/Toldos

"Thank You for Breaking the Luchos!"

This class was presented on Tuesday, 20 Shvat, 5785, February 18, 2025, Parshas Mishpatim, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

Did You Unknowingly Harm Your Children? What Should You Do Now?

The Emotional Demise of Your Brother: An Examination of the Murder Laws in Mishpatim Through the Narratives of Yaakov and Eisav

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