8:00pm: Having Standards without Being Judgmental
This week’s edition of MyLife: Chassidus Applied with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Episode 90, will air tonight, Sunday, here on CrownHeights.info, beginning at 8:00pm. This week Rabbi Jacobson will address the topics: Chassidic Dress Code; High Standards without Being Judgmental; Validity of Conversion; Are Other Religious Practices Legitimate? Colors of the Sefiros.
MyLife is now available as a podcast and can be streamed or downloaded from iTunes.
How can we balance unconditional love and acceptance of every person, regardless of their behavior, with not compromising the Torah’s high standards that we attempt to live up to? How can we to teach our children that we expect more of them without belittling others who are not there yet? For example: How do we explain to our children unequivocal importance of observing Shabbos, while not being condescending about our Jewish neighbors who are not yet observing Shabbos?
Other topics that will be addressed in this episode of MyLife: Chassidus Applied, include: Questions about conversion, doubts about one’s Jewishness, as well as the difference between Torah spirituality and secular spirituality. How is a Jewish woman lighting Shabbos candles different than a non-Jewish Indian woman lighting her tribal candles? Are other forms of religious or spiritual expression legitimate?
Rabbi Jacobson will also review the following essays submitted in the MyLife: Chassidus Applied contest: “Obstacle or Opportunity?” by Chaya Mushka Ezagui; “Forgiving the Unforgivable” by Libi Astaire, “Effective Giving” by Leigh Hershkovich. These and other essays can be read online at meaningfullife.com/mylife/contest/.
And finally, the Chassidus question of the week: In Tanya (Iggeres HaKodesh 12) the Alter Rebbe discusses the colors of the sefiros, specifically, tiferes being made up of white and red, presumably white being chesed and red (אודם maybe being more correctly translated as ruby) being gevurah. In a brief search of the internet, I found some sites that assigned a color to each sefira, with tiferes being violet. Gevurah was described as copper, as opposed to red. What is the significance of various colors representing the sefiros? What about the other sefiros? Are their colors mentioned somewhere in chassidus? What can we learn from this?”
This hour-long dose of insights is meant to inform, inspire and empower us by applying the teachings of Chassidus to help us face practical and emotional challenges and difficulties in our personal lives and relationships. To have your question addressed, please submit it at www.appliedchassidus.com.
The topics in this Sunday’s hour-long broadcast will include:
- Chassidus Applied to Vayeitzei
- How important is the dress code for a chossid?
- Maintaining high standards while not being condescending
- Doubts about the validity of a conversion
- The difference between Kedusha and secular spirituality
- Are other religions and spiritual expressions legitimate?
- Israel follow-up: Are we Zionists?
- Chassidus question: colors of the Sefirot
- MyLife Essays: Obstacle or Opportunity? Forgiving the Unforgivable; Effective Giving
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.appliedchassidus.com
