The Human Menorah - Can we fashion a menorah out of our own flesh and blood?...
Can we fashion a menorah out of our own flesh and blood? …It takes eight steps.
View ArticleWhere Does a Soul Go When Someone Dies?
Imagine a discussion between a refrigerator and electricity. The refrigerator is plugged in and it's cooling food. Now, suddenly, the plug is pulled and the refrigerator says to the electricity, "Where...
View ArticleSoul Inscription
The opening word of the Ten Commandments sets the tone and captures the essence of all the commandments and of the entire Torah.
View ArticleWhat Is a Biography?
Rabbi Simon Jacobson discusses the definition of biography in Judaism, and what it means to write a biography of a Rebbe, in the context of three biographies published recently.
View ArticleThe Jewish Month of Elul: I-My Beloved-Me
Every month has its own unique energy and power. Elul is the month of love and relationships.
View ArticleJew of the Millennium
Looking back fifty years to the beginning of the leadership of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, we explore his unbelievable impact and continuing influence throughout the world. (From a...
View ArticleA Vote of Confidence, Part I
Rabbi Simon Jacobson recalls the visit of the controversial Israeli writer, Natan Yellin-Mor, to his home one Rosh Hashanah, and the fateful exchange the writer shared with the Rebbe at the conclusion...
View ArticleA Vote of Confidence, Part II
Rabbi Simon Jacobson relates that a few years after his father introduced the writer Natan Yellin-Mor to the Rebbe, he received an envelope from the ailing writer. Inside was a request that its...
View ArticleFusion
When did humankind begin to see – experience – the universe as one unified entity, instead of a composite of myriad pieces?
View ArticleMarriage: Destiny or Chance - Who is the Ultimate Matchmaker?
Does everyone have a bashert? If yes, why is it so difficult to find one's mate, and why do many never succeed? Is bashert an inevitable absolute, or are there exceptions? To what extent a role does...
View ArticleWhere Death Meets Life
Talk about surreal. On a recent Thursday evening, just before midnight, an elderly woman passed away, a few minutes after the "seven blessings" were said concluding the wedding of her grandson, the son...
View ArticleExplaining Corruption to Children
What should we say to our little ones when they are exposed, for the first time, to immoral educators, abusive parents, religious corruption and the basic inconsistencies they witness...
View ArticleWhere are the Revolutionaries? - Would Abraham Recognize His Children?
When I was around six years old, I vividly recall – in a type of frozen image, the type that results only from a childhood experience forever etched in our memories – a fistfight that took place in my...
View ArticleHow to Intervene When You Witness a Wrong
If your intervention will not help solve the problem, and possibly will even exacerbate it, do you intervene? If you are not positive that a crime has been committed, can you pass judgment? Can you act...
View ArticleOne Heart
Sinai unequivocally states that you do not have to resign yourself to a life of duality
View ArticleThe Lonely G-d - Rest For a Weary Traveler
We may distract ourselves, party away, get carried off by all types of stimulation and entertainment; but at the end of the day, that silent, isolated center beckons from within...
View ArticleLove the Stranger - Lessons Learned from a Special Child
More powerful than all his pain was the refined light shining out of this young but old man. He was simply an exquisite human being. With a special charm, clearly the result of years of struggle, he...
View ArticleA Mother’s Tears - Rachel weeps for her children
We all hope and pray for a biological mother (in addition to Rachel) who will protect and nurture us. Everyone deserves as much. But even when blessed with a healthy mother, we must always remember...
View ArticleMoshiach Myths and Misconceptions - What Does Judaism Really Believe?
Rabbi Simon Jacobson dispels various popular misconceptions about Jewish belief in Moshiach and clarifies some of the basic ways in which the advent of the Messianic Era is brought about.
View ArticleRevelation and Concealment - Compassion is imbued into the very fabric of...
Compassion is imbued into the very fabric of existence.
View ArticleMy Rebbe - Personal Reflections on the Teachings of the Rebbe
Rabbi Simon Jacobson shares his personal reflections on the teachings of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, on the occasion of the anniversary of his passing. (filmed at Chabad of Brooklyn...
View ArticleThe Roots of Trauma - The first step to healing and growth is humbly...
The first step to healing and growth is humbly recognizing that you are broken.
View ArticleRadicalism Today - A Shaking World
How will a Western world, complacent with its comforts, ever face the violent passion of thousands of religious zealots?
View ArticleCrime of Passion - Whether the soul’s fire will be a constructive or...
Whether the soul’s fire will be a constructive or destructive force is dependent on the person’s motivation.
View ArticleCircle and Squares in Marriage - In some Chasidic circles, the wedding band...
In some Chasidic circles, the wedding band is round on one side and square on the other.
View ArticleKislev, the Third Month: Being Beautiful - The energy of the Jewish month of...
The energy of the Jewish month of Kislev is the power of harmony.
View ArticleIntegration of Man and Environment - Appreciating the environment is not...
Appreciating the environment is not merely another Cause; it reflects awareness of the Divine in all.
View ArticleEnvironmental Sensitivity - Every leaf of a tree was created by G-d for some...
Every leaf of a tree was created by G-d for some predesigned purpose.
View ArticleAn End to Limping - Mordechai’s unwavering stand repaired a 1214-year wound...
Mordechai’s unwavering stand repaired a 1214-year wound and changed the course of history, affecting us until today.
View ArticleThe Seder Plate: A Microcosm of Your Psyche - One purpose of the Seder is to...
One purpose of the Seder is to provide us with tools to experience emotional and spiritual freedom.
View ArticleThe True Feminist Revolution - What is male and female energy according to...
After thousands of years of male dominance, the time has come for the feminine era to emerge when feminine energy is appreciated.
View ArticleWhy Date for Marriage?
Q&A with Rabbi Simon Jacobson on the Jewish perspective on relationships and marriage, from an event hosted by Met@Chabad, which educates and facilitates dating and marriage with Jewish values for...
View ArticleWhy Do We Fall in Love?
Is the mystique and the romance, the music and the moonlight, just nature's way of hoodwinking men and women to reproduce?
View ArticleIs G-d Religious?
If G-d transcends all limitation and definition, and religion is a set of laws and rituals and a list of things that one must or must not do, why would the way to relate to G-d be to impose further...
View ArticleFlying West
The center is not our creation, but the circle is. The paradox today is this: one cannot create a circle without a firm center, yet the center is invisible until we create our circle
View ArticleToday the World Trembles; Today the World is Born
The world has trembled and we are all traumatized. As Jews who have seen the abyss and not only survived but flourished, we are behooved to lead and show the way to deal with horror and grow through...
View ArticleNine, Eleven and Ten
Where have I heard the numbers 9/11 before? Then it comes to me. In Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest Kabbalistic text, a cryptic phrase states: Ten sefirot of nothingness; ten and not nine, ten and not...
View ArticleDifferent But Equal - A Jewish Perspective on Men and Women
Before we can understand the differences between men and women, we must first understand the differences between masculine and feminine.
View ArticleBlackout
People in New York are speaking about the eerie silence around us. I wonder which is more eerie: the sound of air conditioners and subways or the sound of our souls?
View ArticleNine, Eleven and Ten - 9/11 reminds us of a lesson from an ancient...
9/11 reminds us of a lesson from an ancient Kabbalistic text.
View ArticleA Spiritual Guide to the Counting of the Omer - Forty-Nine Steps to Personal...
The 49 days from Passover to Shavout have always been a period of spiritual elevation and self-fulfillment. The Counting of the Omer comes alive in all its mystical poetry in this accessible day-by-day...
View Article
