Education by Rabbi YY Jacobson

A lecture, presented at a JCW event in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, NY.

Ronnie Kohen's Alway Our Kids organization sponsored a breakfast on Sept 21, 2014. The event took place in Kahal Torah's Chaim on Ave. L, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY. Rabbi YY Jacobson was the keynote speaker. The topic was "Who is Really at Risk?"

Class Ki Seitzei/Haftorah Miketz: In the very first recorded decision in the history of legal jurisprudence, in the Book of Books (Kings II 3:16), we read about King Solomon's brilliance and how it endeared him at such a tender age to the entire nation of Israel, who willingly accepted him as their monarch. Two women gave birth, one of the children died. Both women came before King Solomon, each one claiming that their child was the living one. The king decreed the child be cut in half, to which one woman agreed to give up the baby, while the other insisted on the verdict. Solomon rewarded the baby to the first woman. The Tanach says that as a result of this, the entire nation saw the Divine wisdom in the king. The story is filled with riddles and questions. This fascinating class analysis the thought process behind the kings decision, the behavior of the two women, one of them obviously lying, and what so impressed the people about this decision. It also explains the story from a psychological and spiritual perspective.

A live radio show on June, 27th 2015 on The Nachum Segal Netwrok.

Live on the Nachum Segal Network June 13, 2015

On May 14, 2015, A-Time hosted a radio show. Rabbi YY Jacobson responded to questions on parenting and education.

Class Bo/Bechokosei/Lag Baomer: I will terminate (v'hishbati) evil beasts from the land, the Torah states in Bechokosei. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word hashbatah, rendered here as terminate, is debated by our sages. According to Rabbi Judah, the term implies the utter cessation of a things existence. Thus, Rabbi Judah understands the divine promise to terminate evil beasts from the land to mean that in the harmonious world of Moshiach all destructive creatures and forces will be removed from the world. Rabbi Shimon disagrees: in his opinion, hashbatah implies only the termination of a things particular characteristicsin this case, the destructive nature of evil beasts. It is this feature of their being that G-d will eliminate, while they continue to exist in their new harmless and gainful cast. The class explores that this is the root of several other debates between Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Shimon, concerning the elimination of Chametz, rest on Shabbos, Moshiach, the nature of the Roman Empire, and many other themes in Jewish law. The class goes on to explore the debate on a physiological and spiritual level. How do we deal with children who are wild animals? How do we deal with our ego and arrogance? And how do we view the essential nature of the world?

This advanced text-based class, a Sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Likkutei Sichos vol. 17 Parshas Emor), presented in 5771 (2011), explains the argument among the Chachmei Yisroel, the Scholars of Israel, if the prohibition to eat the new grain till the Omer offering was brought applies outside of the Holy Land. The Sicha sees the divergent views as stemming from two approaches to what we might call the psychology of inspiration. In the void of holiness, how do we effect a person? Do we try to recreate the holy reality in a diminished form? Or do we allow the person to experience the fullness of the void and thus create a new reality based on his imagination and yearning?

This radio show, on the Nachum Sigel Network, was aired Motzaei Shabbos, 6 Iyar 5775, April 25, 2015. Advice to teenagers on sexual boundries; modesty in dating; sensitivity to your body; speaking to your children and students about sensitive topics relateing to their body.

At a dinner for the Klausenburg School Kulam Ahuvim, 30 Nissan, 5775 (April 19 2015), Rabbi YY Jacobson presented (in Yiddish) four vital principles in educating our children and students.