This class was presented on Tuesday, 21 Elul, 5784, Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech, September 24, 2024, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

I Can Live My Entire Life with a Superficial Identity; Teshuvah is Realignment

Women's RH/YK Class

Stepping Into Your Highest Soul Frequency: No Rupture, No Void, No Need for Logic

Does Yom Kippur Cause You Anxiety? -&nbsp;Live Blunt conversation with Rabbi YY, Motzai Shabbos, Parshas Haazinu, September 23, 2023.

How Can We Experience the Bliss of Yom Kippur?

Rabbi YY in Conversation with Trauma Victims

Yom Kippur Without Anxiety

This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Haazinu, 4 Tishrei, 5784, September 19, 2023, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

A Seven-Step Program Toward Finding Serenity & Purpose

Women's Yom Kippur Class

Tuesday Women's Class - Like Clay in the Hand of the Potter

Rabbi YY Jacobson&nbsp;on the 10th of Elul, 5782, September 6, 2022, addressing&nbsp;Chabad of Aventura, Florida.

Is G-d Present in My Pain and My Mistakes? Reb Tzvi Pesach Frank and the Hebron Massacre

Lecture at Chabad of Aventura

When Your Sins Become Holy

This lecture was presented at &quot;A Night of Inspiration&quot; by A Meaningful Minute, on Thursday, 19&nbsp;Elul, 5779, September 19, 2019, at The White Shul, Far Rockaway, NY.&nbsp;

The Secret of Kol Nidrei: Don’t Die in Utero

Five Towns Lecture for Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur

The Courage to Be You 

Rabbi YY Jacobson presents a&nbsp;Teshuvah Derasha to the Yavneh community, Los Angeles, on Monday, 25 Elul, 5780, September 14, 2020.

People Loved to Be Judged When It's Done the Right Way

Teshuvah Derasha Yavneh community, Los Angeles

Why Is G-d So 'Judgmental'?

This weekly women&#39;s class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday Parshas Ha&#39;azinu, 8 Tishrei, 5781, September 14, 2021, live at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

My Greatest Sin Is Not Believing How Good I Am

Yom Kippur Women's Class

The Teshuvah of Our Generation

This lecture was delivered at the National Jewish Retreat of JLI, in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. on Thursday, August 16, 2019 (15&nbsp;Av, 5779).

Sometimes You Think You've Been Buried, but You've Actually Been Planted

Lecture in Washington D.C. on Forgiveness

How to Forgive if You Can't Forget

This lecture was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson, at Torah Ohr Community Center, Great Neck, NY, on Motzaei Shabbs Shuvah, 6 Tishrei, 5779, September 8, 2018, pre-midnight Selichos.

"Did Your Soul Travel So Many Miles to Fix Buttons?"

Great Neck Yom Kippur Lecture

The Secret Of Kol Nidrei: You're An Eagle, Not A Chicken

Of all the Rabbis cited in the Talmud, only one became a heretic. His name was Elisha ben Avuya. He was, by all accounts, one of the outstanding Jewish sages of the second-century, a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and the teacher of Rabbi Meir, the leading scholars of his generation.

Elisha moved so far from Jewish tradition that his colleagues stopped referring to him by his name, but rather called him Acher, &ldquo;the other&rdquo;, the outcast, the renegade. Only his student Rabbi Meir remained loyal to the man who had once been his master, sought out his company and still believed that he might one day repent.

Against this backdrop we find a deeply moving scene in the Talmud. It is Shabbat, and Elisha ben Abuya is publicly desecrating the holy day by riding on a horse. Walking alongside him is Rabbi Meir. Heretic teacher and faithful disciple travel together along the road arguing and debating Jewish law. Rabbi Meir, the pious Jew, has become so immersed in the conversation that he has not noticed they are nearing the limits beyond which one may not walk on Shabbat. &ldquo;Acher&rdquo;, the apostate, realizes this and says: &ldquo;Meir, turn back. I have measured the distance we have walked by the paces of my horse, and we have reached the Shabbat limit. Beyond here, you are forbidden to walk.

Meir replied: &ldquo;You too turn back.&rdquo;

&ldquo;I cannot turn back,&rdquo; says Elisha. &ldquo;One day I was riding on my horse. It was Yom Kippur, which in that particular year fell on Shabbat. I was roaming behind the Holy of Holies, when I heard a heavenly voice saying: &lsquo;Turn back to me, O lost children, except for Acher... &rsquo;&rdquo;

What is the message of this story? That G-d indeed does not forgive all humans who want to repent? That some must truly be condemned forever? This would contradict a fundamental idea in Judaism that nothing stands in the way of repentance.

Furthermore, if G-d did not want Elisha to repent, why did He communicate with him at all? Why did the heavenly voice begin with words of love and encouragement &ldquo;Turn back to me, O lost children,&rdquo; and end with the fearful decree &ldquo;except for Acher&rdquo;? And why did Rachel name her long-awaited-for son Joseph, so that &ldquo;G-d may grant me yet another son!&rdquo; Why not celebrate this child?

This class will analyze the tragic story of Acher, the mysterious call to him on Yom Kippur, and his misinterpretation of it. It will teach us about the pain and destiny of our own lives, often lost and fragmented.

The Story of the Greatest Heretic in Jewish History: Elisha Ben Avuyah

The Holy Heretic

This lecture, organized by Mercaz Torah V&#39;Chesed in&nbsp;Denver, Colorado, was presented on Sunday, 7 Tishrei, 5780, October 6, 2019.

Seeing the Holiness in Your Sins

Denver Yom Kippur Lecture

The Jewish Approach to Guilt

This lecture by Rabbi YY Jacobson, at the Ner Mordechei/Shaarei Torah Center in Queens, NY, was organized by Chazaq, and was presented on Thursday, 4 Tishrei, 5779, September 13, 2018.

&nbsp;

6009_s984000100_07_27_16still002.d659.jpg

6009_s984000100_07_27_16still002.d659.webp

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_the_modern_jewish_marrano.3383.mp4

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_the_modern_jewish_marrano.3383.mp3

yom kippur

teshuva

forgiveness

chazaq

paraplegics

paralympics

avaryanim

ludwig guttman

kol nidrei

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year.  It is a day of fasting and repentance, affording a person the opportunity to cleanse himself of his sins and renew his relationship with our Creator.

Yom Kippur

Subcategory Filter

The final month of the Jewish year is dedicated to introspection and repentance. Selichos, special prayers, and supplications are recited.

The Modern Jewish Marrano

The Incredible Story of Paraplegic Olympics

Class Summary:

Tags

Categories

Classes in this Series

Please help us continue our work

Sign up to receive latest content by Rabbi YY

Ways to get content by Rabbi YY Jacobson