This text based class, on Likkutei Sichos vol. 11 Parshas Vayakhel, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Parshas Vayakhel 5772 (2012). It explains why Rashi does not answer a few difficult items in the opening of Vayakhel, where Moshe speaks to the Jewish people about Shabbos and the construction of the Mishkan. It goes on to show how all of these difficulties are self-understood from a thorough reading of the text. &nbsp;

Why Shabbos Is Introduced Before the Building of the Mishkan

You Can't Welcome G-d by Breaking His Rules: Likkutei Sichos Vayakhel

<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The Shabbos Davening: Why Don&rsquo;t We Ask for Our Needs? Why do we change the text of prayer on Shabbos? Two&nbsp;types of prayers, representing two types of connections to Hashem.</div>

The Shabbos Davening:  Why Don’t We Ask for Our Needs?

The Structure of Davening #3

&ldquo;I will terminate (v&#39;hishbati) evil beasts from the land,&rdquo; the Torah states in Bechokosei. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word hashbatah, rendered here as &ldquo;terminate,&rdquo; is debated by our sages.

According to Rabbi Judah, the term implies the utter cessation of a thing&rsquo;s existence. Thus, Rabbi Judah understands the divine promise to &ldquo;terminate evil beasts from the land&rdquo; to mean that in the harmonious world of Moshiach all destructive creatures and forces will be &ldquo;removed from the world.&rdquo; Rabbi Shimon disagrees: in his opinion, hashbatah implies only the termination of a thing&rsquo;s particular characteristics&mdash;in this case, the destructive nature of &ldquo;evil beasts.&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;wild animals?&rdquo; How do we deal with our ego and arrogance? And how do we view the essential nature of the world?

Reb Yehuda and Reb Shimon Debate Rome, Shabbos, Chametz, the Ego, and Moshiach

Class Bo/Bechokosei/Lag Baomer

To Be Or Not To Be? Two Paths Diverged in Judaism

On&nbsp;the&nbsp;Struggle&nbsp;between&nbsp;Good&nbsp;and&nbsp;Evil,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Drama&nbsp;of&nbsp;History,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Meaning&nbsp;of&nbsp; Shabbos -- Torah Or Hosafos Ki Sisa Maamar Lehavin

On the Struggle between  Good and Evil, the Drama of  History, and the Meaning of Shabbos

The Fox & the Wolf -- Torah Or Hosafos Sisa Maamar Lehavin

This class will travel into the world of some of Judaism’s greatest geniuses, Maimonides, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and see how they understood some of life’s deepest truths from textual halachik nuances.
What is freedom – is it merely the absence of slavery and oppression? What is rest – is it merely the termination of work?
Maimonides says that the obligation to remember and recount the story of the Exodus on Passover is the same as the obligation to remember Shabbos. Why does he make this comparison?
But how is ‘rest’ different than ‘refraining from work’? How is ‘freedom from slavery’ differ from active ‘freedom?’ Indeed, the Hebrew language offers us two words to describe liberty: Chofesh and Charus. The difference between them is dramatic: One is freedom defined by what we are not; the other is freedom defined by what we are.
The famous Rogachover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen, teaches an extraordinary and innovative law based on Maimonides: It is not enough to refrain from work on Shabbos, but one must actively engage in rest. 
This then is Maimonides’ point. It is not enough to be released from slavery, one must actively live ‘free.’

Let freedom ring! But what does it mean to be free?

Is Judaism Stifling or Liberating?

How the Alter Rebbe Resolves the Enigma of Shabbos Hagadol

Shlchan Aruch HaRav

Stocks, Vending Machines & Internet Sites On Shabbos. The Laws of The "Shabbos Goy" Part 7

Stocks, Vending Machines & Internet Sites On Shabbos

The Laws of The "Shabbos Goy" Part 7

Calculating the Benefits

The Laws of The "Shabbos Goy" Part 5

Shabbos: Objective or Subjective? The Alter Rebbe&rsquo;s Unique Approach

“Amirah Lenachri:” When a Gentile Works for You on Shabbos

24 Teves 5773

Shabbos: Objective or Subjective? The Alter Rebbe’s Unique Approach

How We Eat; Why We Eat - Eating During the Week Vs. Eating on Shabbos. Torah Or Chayei Sarah -- Maamar Yegaleh Lan Taamei

The Laws of The "Shabbos Goy" Part 1

The Shabbos Goy - Solution or Illusion?

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