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The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has jolted the nation and the world. Whether you're his supporter or not, the shocking scene witnessed by millions on television—of a 20-year-old with an unknown motive, just a few hundred feet away, shooting at the President's head—has become an iconic image.

Many are wondering: was this divine intervention? A small turn of the head, a split second, and the outcome could have been very different. Tragically, one attendee lost his life, and two others were injured. The entire country is now gripped by these scenes.

Is this incident a blip on the screen -- another tragic, violent act we see periodically, which in time will become a distant memory, or is this a watershed moment in history? Can and will this shooting change things? Not just for Mr. Trump and the presidential election, but for our society as a whole, and not just temporarily but permanently? Amidst today's social unrest, polarization and unprecedented vitriol, can this fateful event lead to meaningful and decisive change?

Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this critical discussion as he presents a case of how Trump's shooting can and should serve as a global wake-up call, and become a defining moment that will shape and create a better future.

Let's talk about the state of leadership today. Our modern world is blessed in many ways. Unprecedented success and prosperity, breathtaking breakthroughs in science and medicine, revolutionary technology that is dramatically raising our standard of living. The list goes on. Yet we also face many profound challenges. Our society is deeply polarized. We are witnessing a deterioration of personal values, with a foreboding sense of feeling lost at sea, without a clear moral compass to guide us. 

At times like this we are in desperate need for leadership. 

But where are our leaders? Throughout history, true leadership has been a guiding force, offering direction, instilling confidence, empowering individuals, and helping us tap into our inner resources. Today, there is a stark absence of such leadership. While we all possess innate strengths, the pressures and demands of our subjective lives often blind us to the broader picture. This is why we look to leaders for vision.

Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in a timely and crucial discussion on the nature of leadership and why our current leaders appear to be failing us. Explore what we can do to change the status quo. When we are unable to impact things from the top down, we need to work from the bottom up -- by us becoming the leaders we seek, and creating standards that demand true leaders to rise.

With July 4th, Independence Day, upon us, it's a good time to ask: What exactly is freedom and independence? What does it really mean?

When the American Founding Fathers declared independence 248 years ago, it was straightforward. They felt the overbearing control of King George of Great Britain and that compelled them to throw off the shackles and declare their independence from that sovereignty. So, is that what freedom means—to not be under someone else's control? Does it simply mean not being in prison? Or is there a deeper meaning?

You can be physically free—no shackles, no prison—and still be enslaved to your passions, addictions, your fears and insecurities, and other forces that inhibit your free expression. What about emotional freedom, psychological freedom, spiritual freedom? As a very wealthy individual once told me, "I can do anything I like in this world, but I live in a gilded cage. I am not free. I have no idea why I am here and where my life should be headed."

It's important to think about this because it's not just a general or hypothetical question—it’s about who you are. Are you truly free? 

Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this special July 4th program to explore the meaning of freedom. Discover ways to free yourself from the many pressures that trap us from realizing your full potential, allowing you to spread your wings, be the best you can possibly be, and reach the heavens and beyond.

Do Real Men Cry?

There's a pervasive myth that real men don't cry, implying that tears are reserved for women. This notion is not only demeaning, suggesting women are emotional and weak while men are tough and stoic, but it's also untrue.

Is vulnerability a weakness? Is expressing emotions wrong? Where did this stereotype originate, and why does our culture view honesty and fragility as problems? Why do we idolize toughness and machismo? What does this say about our society?

Our perceptions of men and women, and their roles, are confusing and disturbing. Women are criticized for being too tough when they play by men's rules, and men are told to suppress their emotions. There's much to unpack here.

Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this special program to explore how to reclaim our true masculine and feminine personalities in a healthy way. It's about improving our personal lives, educating our children properly, and ultimately transforming our society.

We are always looking for miracles in our lives, seeking out extraordinary moments within our ordinary routines. Those aha moments that affect, inspire and transform who we are.

I'd like to share with you some miracles I recently experienced.

Life is filled with paradoxes. Joy, pain, tears, celebration... the roller coaster of the cycles and vicissitudes of life. Nowhere is this captured more than in the biblical Promised Land, the Holy Land of Israel.

I have just returned from a trip there and I personally experienced - as so many others have I'm sure in their own way - these paradoxes; witnessing real miracles and joy while also seeing pain, tears and suffering. What can we learn from these moments? What lessons can we apply to our personal lives?

The Holy Land, as Jacob called it in the Bible, is a gate to heaven; an interface between heaven and earth, a bridge between spirit and matter, that allows us all to experience deeper states of transcendence in our very material and physical world. There are thus many lessons that can be learned from the miracles and paradoxes manifest in the Promised Land of Israel.

I, Rabbi Simon Jacobson, invite you to please join me in this special discussion as I take you through a journey of my personal diary from Israel.