Pandemic-Induced Delay of Chassidus Contest Creates 12 New Winners
After a long pandemic-induced delay, the winners of the 5780/2020 MyLife Essay + Creative Contest will be announced during the MyLife: Chassidus Applied broadcast this Sunday evening, 17 Elul, September 6, 8-9 pm EDT.
This highly anticipated annual event has gained a new level of urgency this year as it comes in the wake of the global disruption, impacting us all. The contest winners are usually announced around Yud Alef Nissan. But due to the Covid outbreak after Purim, the ceremony had to be postponed.
But, in the true spirit of Chassidus, which teaches us that darkness leads to greater light, this year’s contest has now yielded twelve (instead of usual three) monetary winners. Says Rabbi Simon Jacobson, dean of The Meaningful Life Center and founder of the contest, “When faced with challenges and upheavals, Chassidus empowers us to dig deeper and find even more powerful resources. And that is exactly what we have done. The delay has now created the opportunity to award many more people across the spectrum for presenting, in all sorts of innovative ways, the relevance of Chassidus to our lives today.”
Over the last six years since the inception of the MyLife Contest, thousands of entries have poured in from around the world, and from people of all backgrounds — students, laypeople, Rabbis, shluchim, educators and professors. Due to its wide appeal, this year we determined expand the contest into six tracks, including a Hebrew track and creative and artistic track (for music, poetry, sculpture, tapestry and other art forms), awarding 13 monetary prizes, totaling $33,500:
1. English essays – 3 top winners: $10,000 1st prize. $3,600 2nd prize. $1,800 3rd prize.
2. English student prize: $500
3. Hebrew essays – men: 3 top winners: $5,000 1st prize. $1,800 2nd prize. $1,000 3rd prize.
4. Hebrew essays – women: 3 top winners: $5,000 1st prize. $1,800 2nd prize. $1,000 3rd prize.
5. Hebrew male student prize: $500.
6. Hebrew female student prize: $500
7. Creative/artistic presentation: $1,000.
“Witnessing the sheer diversity and quality of these essays has been absolutely fascinating,” says Contest Director Mendy Tubul. “From deeply moving personal experiences, to highly innovative methodologies, each essay has a life of its own. It’s intriguing to see the many unique styles and approaches used — and the wide array of topics covered — toward applying Chassidus to life.”
“We are all excited about the outcome of this contest,” says Rabbi Jacobson, “but its greatest accomplishment is the fact that hundreds of people from all walks of life have been motivated to bring Chassidus alive in a very personal way. This contest was launched in order to galvanize a new generation of leaders and thinkers to apply the works of our Rebbeim to the challenges we face today. Reviewing these essays and creative works, originating from young students to seasoned educators, and seeing the public’s enthusiasm palpably grow from year to year, makes it clear that we are achieving our goal.”
The winners of this year’s contest will be announced during a special edition of MyLife: Chassidus Applied honoring the upcoming auspicious day of Chai Elul, the birthday of the two great Chassidic luminaries, the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe. “What better way to honor Chai Elul than to celebrate the efforts by so many to apply Chassidus to our personal lives!” explained Rabbi Simon Jacobson.
Tune in to the broadcast at www.chassidusapplied.com, this Sunday night, Sept. 6, 8:00PM EDT for the announcement of the contest winners.
The MyLife: Chassidus Applied Essay and Creative Contest is made possible by a grant from The Meromim Foundation.
