8:00pm: Is It Acceptable to Ask Forgiveness via Social Media & Other Intriguing Yom Kippur Questions

The topics in this week’s 371st episode of the highly acclaimed MyLife: Chassidus Applied series, with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, will include: 

  • Lessons from Vov Tishrei 
    • Why is respecting parents such a great mitzvah?
    • What is the connection with the Ten Days of Teshuvah?
    • Why did the Rebbe honor his mother by analyzing and explaining Rashi?
  • What can we learn from 9/11?
    • How crumbling structures lead to greater growth
  • Chassidus applied to Yom Kippur
    • Why is it the holiest day of the year?
    • On the high holidays who serves as our lawyer to defend us in the heavenly court? 
    • Can we follow a Yom Kippur service via zoom?
    • What is the connection between Yom Kippur and the golden calf?
    • Why was only the kohen gadol allowed to enter the kodesh kadoshim and only on Yom Kippur?
    • Who cleaned the Holy of Holies, and could they tell us what it looked like inside?
    • How does throwing a goat off a cliff to its death atone for our sins?
    • If Moshiach comes before Yom Kippur will we need to fast?
  • Laws and customs
    • Is it acceptable to ask forgiveness via social media?
    • If all our actions are predetermined, why are we responsible to ask forgiveness for sins?
    • What are the origins of the kapparot ritual? 
    • Why did the Rebbe distribute honey cake before Yom Kippur and how can we maintain this tradition after Gimmel Tammuz? 
    • Why do we wear a white tunic (kittel) on Yom Kippur?
    • Why do we fast over 25 hours on Yom Kippur, when a day is only 24 hours?
    • Why are marital relations forbidden on Yom Kippur?
    • Is using a caffeine suppository on Yom Kippur cheating?
  • Prayers
    • Why is Al Cheit said in the plural?
    • Why do we read the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur?
    • If singing Napolean’s March signifies that we have won the war even before the battle has begun, why don’t we sing it at the beginning of the day, before Kol Nidrei?
  • Chassidus question: What is the connection between Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av?

MyLife: Chassidus Applied is a weekly video webcast candidly answering questions from the public about all life matters and challenges, covering the entire spectrum of human experience. 

This hour-long dose of insights, broadcast live every Sunday night 8-9PM EDT, is meant to provide people with inspired guidance and direction, empowering them to deal with any issue they may face. 

In what has become a staple in so many people’s lives, MyLife: Chassidus Applied has provoked a significant reaction from the community, with thousands of people viewing each live broadcast and hundreds of questions pouring in week after week. 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?

MyLife demonstrates how Chassidus provides us with a comprehensive blueprint of the human psyche as a microcosm of the cosmos, and offers us all the guidance we need to live the healthiest possible life and build nurturing homes and families, bringing up the healthiest possible children, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. MyLife is brought to you by the Meaningful Life Center as a public service, free of charge.

Questions may be submitted anonymously at chassidusapplied.com/ask.