This lecture was presented to the Ida Crown High School in Chicago on Thursday, December 21, 2017

Is Halacha a Manual for Repression or a Blueprint for Self Actualization?

Chicago Lecture to Teenagers

Why Does Torah Impose So Many Limits on My Life?

This class was presented at Ohr Chaim, Monsey, NY, on Sunday Parshas Vayakhel Pekudei, 21 Adar, 5777, March 19, 2017.
It is a strange story. Moses seemingly distorted what G-d told him, telling the craftsman of the Sanctuary to first build the furniture and only afterward the outer structure. It was Betzalel who reminded him of the simple truth that you first build a house before you furnish it. Upon deeper reflection, this incident captures the story of our lives.
Many great thinkers, writers, and artist, produced extraordinary works. Their content was great, their message potent, and their talent exceptional. What they lacked was the exterior structure for their souls lavish output. Sadly, in our world &ldquo;art&rdquo; needs a proper &ldquo;frame.&rdquo; Lacking the frame, the art may remain in its corner and melt into oblivion.
The great argument between Moses and Betzalel was which came first&mdash;the energy or the container, the vision or the structure? Moses was a visionary; Betzalel was a man of action. In conclusion, we discover, they were both right: In the world of thought and strategy, art precedes the frame; in the world of action and implementation, the frame precedes the art. In the world of light, vision takes precedence. In the world of shadows, your dreams must follow your actions, not the other way around.
The class continues to explore another perspective by Reb Tzadok of Lublin. Judaism consists of two components&mdash;what G-d gives us and what we give G-d. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. One is Divine; the other is filtered through human creativity. But are they really different? Depends from whose perspective.

What Comes First, the Frame or the Art? The Debate between Moshe and Betzalel

Class Terumah/Vayakhel/Pekudei

How Do I Know When to Trust a Rabbi?

The Story of the Oral Tradition 

The Emunah Series

Basics of Emunah #8: How Judaism Developed Over the Ages -- Part Two

How Judaism Developed Over the Ages

Basics of Emunah #7: Can an Intelligent Person Believe the Oral Tradition is Divine?

Is there a rational basis to accept that some 3300 years ago G-d revealed Himself to our ancestors at Sinai? Why was Maimonides, a rationalist par excellence, so convinced of the historicity of this event? And in what way is the Jewish claim of divine revelation any different from the many thousands of claims made by various other religious groups.

How Do We Know That We Heard G‑d at Sinai?

Basics of Emunah #6: Can An Intelligent Person Believe That Torah Is Divine?

In this week&rsquo;s Torah Portion, the Jews are charged with mission impossible: Build a finite home for an infinite G-d. Yet, G-d chooses to &ldquo;rest&rdquo; in this relatively humble abode, and most intensely in the Holy of Holies, the location of the Ark.
The Ark was a gold-plated box containing the Tablets, the Torah, given to Moses at Sinai, and had two poles, one on either side, which enabled the Kohanim, the priests, to carry it during travel.
In this class, we will analyze the timeless spiritual meaning behind the enigmatic prohibition forbidding the removal or dislodging of the Ark&rsquo;s two carrying poles.

The Secret of the Ark’s Immobile Poles: Seven Perspectives on One Mitzvah

Class Parshas Terumah

What the Jews Did Not Tell the Dalai Lama

The Forgotten Souls - When Rabbi Akiva showed Moses how to appreciate the alienated Jews

When Rabbi Akiva Showed Moses How to Appreciate the Alienated Jews

The Forgotten Souls

This lecture presented at the A-Time Shas-A-Thon on Sunday, Shevat 26, 5775, February 15, 2015, when hundreds of Jews completed Shas together. A journey into the story of the Jewish nation, the power of Torah, and how to view the future of our children and our nation.

A Nation Continuously in Question: The Future of the Jewish People

Siyum Hashas A-Time  Lecture

Parchment Burning, Letters Soaring

There is only one portion in Torah, Tetzaveh, where Moshe&rsquo;s name is not mentioned. Why?

King David dispatched three worriers to obtain information from the Sanhedrin, yet he refused to associate this halacha with their name. Why?

A sword was etched in the study hall and as a result, nobody could dispute the eighteen edicts issues forth on that day. Why? And why will the Megilah of Esther never be nullified?&nbsp;&nbsp;

The story of the Cantonists dancing on Simchas Torah with their shirts removed captures the truth that there are some people whose very I becomes aligned with the Divine I. They don&rsquo;t teach Torah; they are Torah.

The Day that Moshe and Torah Became One

Class Tetzaveh/Sisa/Purim

Why Was Moshe’s Name Deleted from Tetzaveh?

On 27 Adar 5775, March 18, 2015, Rabbi YY Jacobson addressed Chabad Chassidim at 770 Eastern Parkway, broadcast to communities the world over. The address called on the audience to realize their true inner beauty, to see themselves as the blue sky, not as the black clouds, and to reestablish Torah as the supreme value in our lives.

Reestablishing Torah as the Supreme Value in Our Lives

To See Yourself as the Blue Sky, Not as the Black Cloud

Please Pass the Salt - A Journey into the Five Layers of Torah Study, and the Five Layers of Human Identity

A Journey into the Five Layers of Torah Study, and the Five Layers of Human Identity

Please Pass the Salt

Why No Blessing on the Thinking of Torah? The View of the Alter Rebbe - What Does It Mean to Truly Study Torah?

Why No Blessing on the Thinking of Torah? The View of the Alter Rebbe

What Does It Mean to Truly Study Torah?

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