MyLife: Chassidus Applied Episode 171, with Rabbi Simon Jacobson
There are many issues challenging our communities. We have young couples having to pay rent above their means. They are hurting. We have couples with children struggling to pay an enormous amount of tuition for schools and camps. They are hurting. And it doesn’t get easier as the children grow older. Lately it has become almost mandatory for a girl to spend a year in seminary in Eretz Yisroel. That is a $20,000 bill without a question. The parents of these girls are hurting. The Rabbonim put out a magazine this past week. The first article is about tznius. With all the hurting going on in our community, is tznius our only issue? Complaining about tznius at a time like this seems to be insensitive and the wrong battle to choose.
Free will is a basic principle in Judaism. Yet, it is no simple phenomenon. Doesn’t free will complicate matters and throw in a measure of unpredictability into an otherwise deterministic universe? Without free will wouldn’t the world be able to fulfill its purpose in a certain, defined and attainable fashion, risk free? Don’t the creatures of the plant and animal kingdom have it far simpler without free will? Man, on the other hand, who has the choice to choose wrongly, can do irreversible damage. So why is man at the top of the pecking order?
Are there methods to achieve happiness under all circumstances? When someone is unhappy and cannot identify the reason for their despondence, how can they find happiness? It seems very difficult to break out of a situation we seemingly don’t understand or have control over? What tools does Chassidus offer to help someone overcome their propensity to see things in a dispirited light? How can one have strong and good relationships with friends and family when he/she is stuck in a gloomy rut for no apparent reason?
How can one know when it’s a necessary step to move on from a particular position and job and when it may be abandoning the post that was destined for him?
Rabbi Jacobson will address these relevant and controversial issues in this week’s 171st episode of MyLife: Chassidus Applied. He will also continue discussing the following topics: waiting around idly for marriage, spiritual time zones and missing a Rebbe that one never knew.
Rabbi Jacobson will also review the following essays submitted in the last MyLife: Chassidus Applied essay contest: “Four Languages of Growth” by Yakov Wagner; “Beneath the Surface: True Feminism” by Chaya Engel; and “Restoring Normalcy through Prayer” by Batsheva Segal. These and other essays can be read online at meaningfullife.com/essays.
And finally, the Chassidus question of the week: Please explain the Alter Rebbe’s statement regarding Hashem’s desire for a dirah bitachtonim, nisaaveh HaKodesh Boruch lihiyos lo Yisborech dirah b’tachtonim: “On a taaveh there is no questions?” How can we apply the idea of a taaveh (lust/desire) to G-d? Isn’t taaveh derogatory? And what is the Alter Rebbe adding by saying that a taaveh is not subject to questions – isn’t it obvious that Hashem precedes and transcends logic?
This hour-long dose of insights is meant to inform, inspire and empower us by applying the teachings of Chassidus to help us face practical and emotional challenges and difficulties in our personal lives and relationships. To have your question addressed, please submit it at meaningfullife.com/mylife.
The topics in this Sunday’s hour-long broadcast will include:
· Chassidus Applied to Matos-Maasei
· With all our challenges is tznius the most pressing?
· How can I be in control of my happiness?
· Is free choice an evolutionary disadvantage?
· When is it appropriate to leave one’s post?
· What is the significance of a gematria?
· Follow-up:
o Waiting for marriage
o The Rebbe I never knew
o Spiritual time zones
· Chassidus Question: What is the meaning of the Alter Rebbe’s statement: “On a taaveh [G-ds desire for a dirah b’tachtonim] no question can be asked”?
· MyLife Essays: Four Languages of Growth, Beneath the Surface: True Feminism, Restoring Normalcy through Prayer
VIDEO:
Questions may be submitted anonymously at meaningfullife.com/mylife
My you tube is blocked for safety reasons, is there another way to watch it?