8:00pm: 20 Years Since Our “Sun Was Silenced”

This week’s edition of MyLife: Chassidus Applied with Rabbi Simon JacobsonEpisode 22, will air tonight, Sunday, here on CrownHeights.info beginning at 8:00pm. This week’s class will feature a special edition answering many questions surrounding Gimmel Tammuz.

As we approach Gimmel Tammuz, twenty years since our “sun was silenced,” we bring you a Special Rebbe Edition of MyLife: Chassidus Applied. Rabbi Jacobson will respond to many questions surrounding the day and the Rebbe that have been submitted to the MyLife forum since its inception in January.

MyLife demonstrates how to practically apply the teachings of our Rebbeim and Chassidus to the challenges in our personal lives and relationships.  This evening, the MyLife forum will be dedicated to addressing the challenge of “observing” Gimmel Tammuz.

Some of the topics in this Sunday’s hour-long broadcast will include:

  • What does Gimmel Tammuz represent? What emotions should it conjure up?
  • What is the appropriate way to observe the day?
  • Must/should one go to the Ohel on Gimmel Tammuz? If yes, why?
  • Other than going to the Ohel, is there anything else I can do to feel close to the Rebbe?
  • How do I cope with the feeling of defeat and hopelessness that after twenty years, Moshiach hasn’t yet come?
  • How do I explain to my children why we don’t have a physical Rebbe?  And how we connect with the Rebbe without seeing him?
  • Is there more I can do to hasten the coming of Moshiach?
  • If Moshiach doesn’t come soon, how are we to understand the Rebbe’s words about the Geulah being imminent?

MyLife: Chassidus Applied addresses questions that many people are afraid to ask and others are afraid to answer. When asked about the sensitive topics he has been addressing, Rabbi Simon Jacobson commented, “I understand that the stakes are high, but the silence and lack of clarity on matters plaguing the community can no longer go unaddressed. The stakes of not providing answers are even higher.”

The on-going series has provoked a significant reaction from the community, with thousands of people viewing each live broadcast and hundreds of questions pouring in. At the root of every question and personal challenge tackled by the series is the overarching question: Does Judaism have the answers to my personal dilemmas?

In inimitable “Jacobson-fashion”, the broadcast answers people’s questions in simple, clear language while being heavily sourced. Each episode is jam-packed with eye-opening advice from the Rebbeim, gleaned from uncovering surprising gems in their letters, sichos and maamorim that address our personal issues with disarming relevance. Simultaneously, Rabbi Jacobson is able to crystallize a concept quickly, succinctly, and poignantly for any level of listener.

All episodes are immediately available for viewing in the MLC’s archive and can be downloaded as MP3’s for listening on the go.

Questions may be submitted anonymously at www.meaningfullife.com/mylifelive.

5 Comments

  • miss the Rebbe

    very much….however was a mistake to paint oneself into a corner with 7th gen prediction,,,now what do we do ?? also if Rebbe himself said that he has done all he can makes no sense to claim that today others should just performing and not question,,,ben Dovid willarrive one day but not from among some part that is not a unifying in its structure

  • CR

    The biggest problem is that an entire generation is now coming of age that never saw the Rebbe, never heard him speak and was never addressed by him concerning matters that directly impact the unique circumstance of today. Recycled messages from 25-40-65 years ago are not relevant, no matter how much we want them to be. The Rebbe was speaking to a very different crowd amid a different environment.

    Living leadership has to emerge to shepherd us today. Our communities cannot continue to function like a body without a head. And make no mistake; between OTD youth, political infighting and overt criminality among the big machers, the absurd “lite” vs. “heavy” debate and all the handwringing about what makes a “real Lubavitcher” reveals quite clearly that we are decaying.

  • Rivky

    You mentioned that the sun did not set on gimmel tamuz….so how do you say we are in a state of night? at the time of Yehoshua the sun literally did not set. So how do we connect that to the Rebbe? I think it is more than just saying the sun shines through the moon because that is the normal pattern of things but gimmel tamuz is the inyan of the sun did NOT set. So i think the Rebbe has to still be here, although concealed from our perspective. And therefore yes, perhaps the Rebbe shines through us because he is giving the job over to us…but the sun did not set. so the Rebbe has to still be here physically just like the sun was physically still there on gimel tamuz.

  • Nothing new here

    With all due respect to Rabbi Jacobson, I didn’t hear anything here that I haven’t already heard for the last 20 years from every Mashpia at every Farbrengen.

    There isn’t a single Yeshiva Bochur today who has seen the Rebbe in real life. In fact, even most Yungerleit haven’t seen the Rebbe in real life.

    It’s twenty years already. TWENTY YEARS. That’s two full decades. More and more of our youth are looking in other directions.

  • to 4

    not neccessary to look in other directions ..the Rebbes sichos still will guide klal yisroel as well as the un believable mesiras nefesh of all the shlichim today…this will continue the focus on mitzvos and Torah life regardless of the circumstances