Rabbi YY Jacobson

Your 15-Step Program toward inner liberation

This year, Let Your Seder Year be Transformative!

A cover-up of Biblical proportions

The story presented in the Torah is one of a holistic, pure, and ideal experience. No glitches, no politics, no accusations, no problems; a perfectly smooth ride. The Mdrash tells us the problems. So where is the truth?

Parashat Ki Tisa:

When G-d learned not to take His people for granted

In a daring interpretation, classic to the Chassidic approach toward Judaism, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak becomes the great "advocate" for the Jewish people, as he always was.

Why did Esther not refute Haman’s accusations against the Jews?

Stop arguing, just take a look at me!

Be who G-d meant you to be and you will set the world on fire

Start the Party: Learning from an uncouth dictator How to celebrate Life.

The Hassidic definition of trauma

When my reptilian brain goes wild, I need to help it see its owner.

Understanding the war against the Jews

Seventy-five years since Auschwitz and after two decades of incessant Islamic terrorism, the mountain is hanging over our heads once again. Wiill the world accept "I am the Lord your G-d/You shall not murder"?

The Song of the Sea:

The day the women sang

Why does Jewish Law oppose men listening to a female singer? And why, then, did Miriam and the Israelite women sing at the Red Sea?

When you discover who Is behind your anxiety and fear

G-d's life changing message to Moses as he was afraid to confront Pharaoh.

Stop tolerating abuse

Redemption begins when I stop making peace with the lies.

The path to greatness:

The psychological Burning Bush

The Rabbis in the Midrash, always sensitive to nuance, focus our attention on the enigmatic words: "G-d saw that Moses turned to see, so He called out to him from amidst the bush." What does that symbolize?

Reuben and Judah: A psychological profile

What true leadersship looks like.

Letting go of expectations on what life was supposed to be like

"I Am Who I Am, Because You Sold Me."

"I have become small:" What does it mean to be the Chosen People?

Why the insane obsession with Israel and Jews?

Thanksgiving During Challenging Times:

How Rachel taught her child-and the World-the secret to happiness

These are challenging times for our people, and for all good people.

Israel's Mission Today:

We fed the crocodile for too long

Rivkah didn't want to deceive her husband, she Just wanted Jacob to display another side.

What comes first: Love or marriage?

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: The Morning, Dusk, and Night of Judaism.

The simple people's hero:

Thank goodness, Noach was no saint

Why do the Sages feel compelled to denigrate Noach?

It's not good for a couple to agree (always)

The Majesty of Debate.

The energy of the Sukkah:

Lean In to the Divine embrace

My love will be stronger than your defiance.

Yom Kippur Essay:

A small step for man; A giant step for G-d

It's never all or nothing. G-d is the ultimate loving parent. When he sees that a Jew makes even the slightest movement of Teshuva, regardless of how much he has left to go, G-d immediately embraces this movement.

Teshuva:

When G-d wants you to compliment yourself

Before I Confess My Sins, I Must Confess My Greatness.

Pain and disappointment: Can you forgive your child?

Dealing with children who put you through the wringer.

A Tale of Two Torahs: The timeless and the timely

If Judaism is immutable, how can it be relevant?

Before you "slaughter" another Jew be sure this is what G-d wants

A strange Talmudic insight into a Biblical verse captures the sense of Jewish Unity.

Parashat Eikev:

The chips of your life will make you rich

Why would Moshe make money from carving the Second Tablets?

The 20th of Av:

The thundering noise of silence:

When Ruth walked alone and Reb Leivik danced alone. And in between on the time line, the Pachas-Moab family kept the Temple fires burning.

As one home was being destroyed, another was being built

When cracks appear in your life, surrender to the new light.

Until we heal our sense of worthlessness, we can't grow

What a heretic learnt in the Court of the Maggid about self-esteem.

The secret of the greatest artists & Judaism's mission statement

How one strange Biblical verse came to capture the success of the Jewish People.

Why this insane obsession with Jews and Israel?

On the ultimate meaning of Jewish existence.

The pain does not disappear but it can heal

Have you ever been bitten by a "venomous snake"? Poisoned by harmful people, burnt by life, or by abusive situations? These are good questions that cannot be answered easily. But one perspective is presented in the story of the serpents.

Parashat Korach:

The test of the staffs

The primary quality of a Kohen Gadol, of a High Priest, of a man of G-d, is his or her ability to transform lifeless sticks into living orchards. In tribute to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, for His 31st Yartzeit.

The lion has risen

Israel did not ask "whether" but "how." And with reliance on G-d's help, that question was answered by its brave fighters, with President Trump giving the final hammer blows. Reading parashat Shlach, we can see that this is what the spies did not do.

Our light, not our darkness, scares us most

Fear not your power.

Shavuot:

The Crown of Aleppo - holding on to the Torah

The incredible loss & recovery of the most authoritative Tanach manuscript, the Aleppo Codex (Keter Aram Tzova).

How do I find true calm and inner serenity?

A single letter in Torah captures the story of five millennia.

For Lag Ba'Omer:

Life Is a Wedding: The finite as a portal to the infinite

Why Reb Shimon ben Yoachai's passing came to be known as a "Wedding,"

The university crisis provides a historic opportunity

The danger when my comfort zones and fears become my god.

When religion Is based on lies, it becomes meaningless

Better an ugly truth than a beautiful lie.

Seudat Mashiach:

Julius Caesar, Moshiach, and the state of the world

We are ready for a new-old consciousness.

The 4 Sons—and the 4 Big Questions on Judaism

The Rational Child, the Depressed Child, the Selfish Child, and the Apathetic Child. G-d believes in the youth. You must too!

The Spring of Civilization:

Moses changed the vocabulary of humanity

Where would we and humanity be without the spirit awakened in the Exodus? What can your future look like with it?

Athens vs. Jerusalem

G-d Craved to Dwell in Your Nervous System and Heart,

Rabbi YY Jacobson:

Stop arguing, just take a look at me!

One question: Why Did Esther Not Refute Haman’s Vile Accusations against the Jews?

Parashat Zachor:

The truth about antisemitism is hard for Jews to accept

If October 7 didn't wake you up, what will?

In a dark exile, whispering trees

A father plants saplings 210 years early, offering solace to his children.

Mishpatim:

We all have an inner thief

When your inner thief steals your dignity, make sure he pays you double.

The War of Hamas and the Radical Left on the Jews

The Two Great Evils of History: The Islamists and Hitler. For their kind of religion, "I am the Lord your G-d" has nothing to do with "You shall not murder."

Three Versions of a Song:

Are our leaders afraid to empower their students?

Do you know how to make your disciple shine?

Depressing Time, productive Time, and redemptive Time

Is Time a storm in which we are all lost?

The First Commandment: Find the courage to heal

"Let My People Go!" But Can They Let Themselves Go?

The Burning Bush and the Tanya

To experience bliss even within our challenges.

Concluding Genesis:

Why does Genesis end on such a low note?

The transformative power of holding space for the pain of another.

"I am who I am because you sold me"

Letting go of my expectations. Letting go of the notion that life must look a certain way.

Miketz:

Why was Pharaoh blown away by Joseph?

The State of the Jewish Nation means navigating paradox.

The Jewish heart is beating stronger than ever

No, we have not betrayed our mission: Yehudah, Tamar and a Hanukkah Drama.

Rachel's last lecture

Why did Jacob and Rachel argue about a name moments before her death?

Vayetze:

The omission of a blank space in the Torah-the Story of a People

No missing links.

We fed the crocodile for too long: Israel's mission today

Rivkah didn't want to deceive her husband, She Just wanted Jacob to display another side.