ESSAY CONTEST | published essays

MyLife: Chassidus Applied Essay Contest

The MyLife: Essay Contest invites people of all ages from around the world to submit an original essay applying a concept or idea in Chassidus to solve a contemporary life issue or challenge. Essay Contest 2020. See 2019 winners.

 

Can You Make Chassidus Practical?

MLC is dedicated to presenting Chassidus as a blueprint for life. The Rebbeim invested their entire lives to teach us Chassidus. They left us with hundreds of volumes of treasures –a comprehensive blueprint of our spiritual DNA and the building blocks of existence. The world’s best kept secret.

As the first anniversary of MyLife: Chassidus Applied drew close in 2015, we challenged ourselves with the ultimate question: How can we engage and motivate a new generation of leaders and thinkers to demonstrate the life changing methodologies found in Chassidus? What can we do provoke the public to invest energy and creativity in presenting these teachings in ways that address the real challenges men and women face today? How can we tap Chassidus for practical tools to live the most fulfilling life possible?  And with that, the essay contest was born!

Now 5 years later, over 1,000 essays have been submitted by people of all ages from around the globe, addressing every topic under the sun! These essays showcase how Chassidus provides, even for a secular person, powerful tools for personal transformation and how Chassidus addresses the most fundamental human needs, from the emotional to the psychological and the spiritual.

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Essays 2020

Creative 2020 / Finalists

A Soul; A Flame

After my father’s passing at a young age, darkness seemed to surround me from all sides and made me wonder about the purpose of life and the meaning of something as holy as the soul; a piece of G-d himself, enclothed in a physical body. 

Shaina Rochel Goldstein

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Essays 2020 / Finalists

“Just Not Feeling It”

In today’s world, where self-help books sell in the millions and every other blogger or social media star offers inspiring tips for a better life, can we glean some insight from the Torah and Chassidus to really better our lives and feel genuinely happy? 

Chani Herzog

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Essays 2020 / Finalists

A Journey from Fear and Suffering to Control and Serenity

In this essay, we will explore OCD, first from a medical vantage point and then as illuminated by the teachings of Chassidus, specifically the Tanya and Igros (letters) of the Rebbe.

Countess Rivka Elkaim

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Essays 2019

Essays 2019 / Personal Growth

אם לא אכשיו אימתי

This essay will list the underlying causes of procrastination, and ways to solve the issues according to  Chassidus.

Malki Lavie, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Essays 2019 / Self Esteem

To Be or Not To Be and Why It Matters

Developing humility is the key to replacing depression with an inner joy and self worth allowing for one to go beyond his reality and cultivate a relationship with G-d and the world accordingly.

Shaina Ezagui, Palm Beach Garden, Florida

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Essays 2019 / Personal Growth

Help! What Should My Title Be?

How can one go through the process of making a decision properly, followed by a feeling of calmness and surety of your decision after it was made?

Mushka Majeski, Cincinnati, Ohio

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Essays 2018

Essays 2018 / Joy and Happiness

The Power of a Chassidic Melody

A Chassidic melody touches the deepest part of one’s soul and is a tool to reach the highest degree of self nullification to G-d.

Levi Goldstein, Postville, Iowa

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Belief in G-d / Essays 2018

How to Ride a Roller Coaster: Discussions from the PICU

There are many a roller coaster rider out there for whom a Chassidus outlook would be of immense benefit as it has been for me.

Mushky Naparstek, Brooklyn, NY

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Concepts in Chassidus / Essays 2018

Finding G-d in the Empty Spaces

Throughout life’s challenges, by continuing to trust the ‘Ayin,’ the ‘empty space,’ one can access that eternal ‘pilot light’ of the soul.

Yehudis Fishman, Boulder, Colorado

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Essays 2017

Essays 2017 / Student Winners / Winning Essays

How to Deal with Difficult People

Tension in close relationships can strain mental and emotional well-being. Thousands of books have been written on the topic. A Chassidic discourse from 1899 offers a unique path to healthier relationships.

by Hadassah Silberstein

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Essays 2017 / Student Winners / Winning Essays

Trees and Maps: How to Stop Being a People Pleaser

A people pleasing personality can be deeply unhealthy, borne of fear of rejection. Chassidus offers a comprehensive approach to transcending these fears.

by Moishe Chakoff

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Essays 2017 / Student Winners / Winning Essays

ADD: The Key to Living A Productive Life

Chassidus offers a master-key for unlocking a productive, functional life in spite of depression, anxiety, lust, loneliness, doubts etc.

By Sara Blau, Brooklyn, NY

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Essays 2016

Essays 2016

“SET” for Success: Life-Changing Chassidic Tools

Chassidus empowers us by defining success and prescribing the appropriate method to achieve it. The key is shifting our perspective from self-centered to G-d centered.

By Nechama Dina Hendel, New Haven, Connecticut

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Essays 2016

אורות בכלים
Maintaining and Salvaging Relationships

The esoteric is relevant to daily life and provides a powerful framework for sustaining healthy relationships, and salvaging those that are on the rocks.

By Chaim Heber, Be'er Sheva, Israel

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Essays 2016 / Student Winners

The Soul: A Source of Inherent Self Worth

Understanding the true nature of the Neshamah – a Jewish soul, and its relationship with Hashem, provides profound insight into CBT – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

By Shaul Wolf, Brooklyn, NY

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Essays 2015

Essays 2015 / Finalists / Winning Essays

Getting Past Depression by Getting Past Yourself

Developing humility is the key to replacing depression with joy. Read first place winner of the global MyLife: Essay Contest 2015.

by Aryeh Gurewitz 

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Essays 2015 / Finalists / Winning Essays

Failure: The Key To Success

Fear of failure holds so many people back from pursuing the things they truly would like to accomplish. Imagine how different life would be if we could overcome this fear!

by Yossi Grossbaum 

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Essays 2015

Chassidic Solution To Overeating

Through applying the Chassidic idea of being mindful of G-d and acting with conscious intent, a person can use their eating experience and pleasure of food as a way to draw closer to G-dliness.

by Rivka Johnson 

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