What Takes Precedent – Mental Health or Religious Commitment?

What Takes Precedent – Mental Health or Religious Commitment? What Should Be Our Focus as We Begin the Month of Elul? How Can We Benefit From the Thirteen Divine Attributes of Mercy? What Did the Rebbe Suggest We Do During Elul to Ensure We Have a Sweet and Successful New Year? What Is Ahavas Hashem and How Is It Expressed in Our Daily Lives? What Is Zionism? How Should We Relate to People of Other Faiths?

MyLife: Chassidus Applied Episode 557, with Rabbi Simon Jacobson
Sunday, August 24, 2025 / 1st Day Rosh Chodesh Elul 5785 – 8:00-9:00PM ET

Podcast YouTube Chassidusapplied.com

The topics in this week’s 557th episode of the highly acclaimed MyLife: Chassidus Applied series, with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, will include:

What should be our focus as we begin the month of Elul?

· What is unique about this month?

· What journey did Moshe take on Rosh Chodesh Elul?

· How do we recreate that journey in our lives?

· Why does the name Elul, adopted from Babylonian, carry so much weight?

· Is there a connection between Elul and hilula?

· What are the thirteen divine attributes of mercy, how are they more revealed in this month and how can we benefit from them?

· Why do we blow shofar during this month?

· Why don’t we begin on the 15th of Av?

· What did the Rebbe suggest we do during Elul to ensure we have a sweet and successful new year?

Shoftim

· What personal and global lessons can we learn from the judges and law enforcers we appoint at our gates?

· What are these gates referring to?

· Why did the kohen speak to the troops before they went to war?

· Why is sorcery prohibited?

· What can we learn from eglah arufah?

· Can it be applied to the responsibility of those that allowed October 7th to happen?

Is Chassidus impacting our lives?

· How can we learn Chassidus not just conceptually but as a practical guide for life?

· What is Ahavas Hashem and how is it expressed in our daily lives?

What takes precedent – mental health or religious commitment?

What is Zionism?

How should we relate to people of other faiths?

MyLife: Chassidus Applied is a weekly video webcast candidly answering questions from the public about all life matters and challenges, covering the entire spectrum of human experience.

This hour-long dose of insights, broadcast live every Sunday night 8-9PM ET, is meant to provide people with inspired guidance and direction, empowering them to deal with any issue they may face.

In what has become a staple in so many people’s lives, MyLife: Chassidus Applied has provoked a significant reaction from the community, with thousands of people viewing each live broadcast and hundreds of questions pouring in week after week. At the root of every question and personal challenge tackled by the series is the overarching question: Does Judaism have the answers to my personal dilemmas?

MyLife demonstrates how Chassidus provides us with a comprehensive blueprint of the human psyche as a microcosm of the cosmos, and offers us all the guidance we need to live the healthiest possible life and build nurturing homes and families, bringing up the healthiest possible children, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. MyLife is brought to you by the Meaningful Life Center as a public service, free of charge.

Questions may be submitted anonymously at chassidusapplied.com/ask.

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