There are few things more daunting than a blank page staring back at you. Especially when there’s $10,000 on the line.
If you’re thinking of entering the MLC MyLife Essay Contest—but wondering where to even begin (What contemporary challenge do you focus on? How do you filter that idea through the lens of Chassidus?), you’re not alone. “This question of ‘Where do I start?’ is the most common one that comes to the MyLife inbox,” says Rabbi Simon Jacobson.
There are many ways that one could approach writing an essay for MyLife Essay Contest. Some start from a personal experience or challenge. Others start from a particular academic field of study that interests them. Some are inspired by current news or events. They then connect their chosen experience or subject to ideas in Chassidus.
“All of these approaches,” says Rabbi Jacobson, “have produced extraordinary essays. It just proves that anyone with a personal interest in any idea who can connect that idea to Chassidic teaching can write an essay and win. Every single person, regardless of background and level of knowledge, can truly win $10,000 or the other monetary prizes in this contest.”
Another equally valid approach is to come from the opposite direction: Rather than begin with a personal experience or subject, you begin with a piece of Chassidus and apply its ideas or methodology to a subject, phenomenon, or experience relevant to your life.
“For those who wish to take that approach, it can sometimes be challenging to bring a Chassidic text ‘down to earth’ and understand it in the most practical and relevant sense. However, the Rebbe taught that this is certainly always possible and indeed, necessary,” says Rabbi Jacobson.
In fact, in a recently discovered yechidus edited by the Rebbe, the Rebbe says: “From every idea and chapter [in a maamar Chassidus] one can and should derive a practical application. Applying the idea will have far more impact than just studying the words.”
[See attached images of the edited yechidus of the Menahel/Mashpia of the central Chabad yeshiva and head of Lubavitch Youth Organization, Rabbi Dovid Raskin obm, on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5710 (1950), when he was a yeshiva student at 770. This is an excerpt from a book being prepared about Rabbi Raskin. First published in the kovetz haaros of the yeshiva at the Ohel. Thanks to his family for making this available.]
How do you apply the message of Chassidus to one’s life? Reflecting the sentiment of many, one shliach writes, “Many of us have studied and are quite familiar with Chassidic ideas. But we don’t feel capable of taking an abstract idea — say about Atzilus, or about Tohu, or about the divine light prior to the tzimtzum — and apply it to daily life.”
Here are four steps, based on the teachings of the renowned mashpia, Rabbi Chaim Shalom Deitch, which can help anyone studying Chassidus, in its original text or a translation, to truly internalize and apply a piece of Chassidus to your life:
1. Know the flow.
Knowing the text (be it a ma’amer or sicha) doesn’t simply mean that you can explain the basic or general facts being conveyed. Rather, it means knowing it intimately; knowing your way through it like someone knows their way to work, or how to find their bedroom light switch in the dark. Only after you have this level of clarity on the structure and content and flow of the text can you move beyond the details to think about what it’s really telling you.
2. Open yourself up to discovering a new truth.
If you are questioning the truth of the text, you will not be able to internalize it. Rather than absorbing its content, you will be filtering the ideas to suit your belief system and worldview. While and after you’re learning, remind yourself that it’s time to internalize a new perspective based on G-d’s wisdom.
3. Visualize how a person would act if he or she lived according to the principles set forth in the text.
Don’t let the ma’amer remain in the realm of theory, as a nice concept. Imagine a person whose everyday behavior is totally compatible with the message of the text. How would they speak? How would they make decisions? What would their attitude and approach be to life?
4. Determine an aspect of that person’s behavior that you can integrate into your own.
Now that you’ve imagined how a person would behave if they lived according to the truth of the text, pick one aspect of that person’s behavior that you think you can practically attain in your own behavior or thoughts. Think about real situations that you encounter in your life, and imagine how you will apply the ideas in that situation.
Taking the time for integrating Chassidus by following these four steps can exponentially increase the impact that any piece of Chassidus has on your life—and, if you choose to write your essay on it, considerably up your chances of winning the MyLife Essay contest.
The timing of this contest—all essays must be submitted by February 16—is particularly powerful in connection to Yud Shvat. In a letter the Rebbe writes: “In connection with the 10th of Shvat coming upon us, it should be suggested …that each one should write an essay about some topic related to the work (avodah) of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, his talks, etc. etc.” (Igros Kodesh, vol. 10, pp. 238-239)
“Writing an essay,” explains Rabbi Jacobson, “compels you to express and apply Chassidus with your unique approach and voice. The objective and focus of the essay is to demonstrate how Chassidus addresses the most fundamental human needs, from the emotional to the psychological and the spiritual, from finding happiness, inner peace, and passion to alleviating anxiety, fear, and other impediments.”
The first place winner of the MyLife Essay Contest will be awarded $10,000. Second place wins $3,600, third place $1,000. Additionally, this year a new student track was introduced—students ages 14-21 who submit an essay will be entered into an additional contest, in addition to the main contest, to win $500.
For more information and to view previous year’s winners, go to www.meaningfullife.com/contest.
Special thanks to simplychassidus.com for The Four Steps to Deep Contemplation. www.simplychassidus.com provides a translated ma’amer of Chassidus every month.
Rabbi Jacobson thank you for bringing the importance of studying and writing chassidus to the forefront and offering such incredible prizes. I highly encourage everyone to write something and inspire the people who read it!
We need more people like you and more initiatives like these.