All Classes

When A Couple Feels Safe, They Can Celebrate their DifferencesThis text-based class is the fourth and last in a series on the Chassidic discourse "V'shavti B'sholom," published in Torah Or Vayeitzei, and presented by the Alter Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 11 Kislev, 5568 (1807). This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 21 Kislev, 5786, December 11, 2025, Parshas Vayishlach, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9828

The Secret Diamond Factory of Lubavitch: Learning How to Embody the Divine Presence Inside of YouYud-Tes Kislev Farbrengen on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 8:30 pm ET, at the Ohr Chaim Shul, 20 Forshay Rd, Upstairs, Monsey, NY.

Your Soul Craves Authentic Tranquility; That’s When Things Begin to Fall ApartThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 19 Kislev, 5786, December 9, 2025, Parshas Vayeshev, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. The class explores the reason for the name of the parsha, "Vayeishev," which means "settling down," when the entire portion records the collapse of the first Jewish family. And how can one grasp the words of the Midrash and Rashi that Yaakov was supposedly punished for craving to enjoy tranquility in his life? It seems so cruel. The class is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, forty years ago, Shabbos Vayeishev 5746 (1985). We discover the meaning of authentic serenity and how to achieve it in life. Sometimes, when your life and family begin to unravel, healing has begun.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9827

As We Approach the Finish Line, We Can Experience the Divine Ecstasy in the Work of Transforming Our DarknessThis text-based class is the third in a series on the Chassidic discourse "V'shavti B'sholom," published in Torah Or Vayeitzei, and presented by the Alter Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 11 Kislev, 5568 (1807). It was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 14 Kislev, 5786, December 4, 2025, Parshas Vayishlach, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9822

"And Yaakov Remained Alone:" As You Heal, Some Will Shun You While Others Will Embrace YouThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 12 Kislev, 5786, December 2, 2025, Parshas Vayishlach, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9823

Are Trauma and Ego-Death Jewish Words? Are Music Sheets Dead or Alive? How About the Universe?This text-based class is the second in a series on the Chassidic discourse "V'shavti B'sholom," published in Torah Or Vayeitzei, and presented by the Alter Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 11 Kislev, 5568 (1807). This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Monday, 11 Kislev, 5786, December 1, 2025, Parshas Vayishlach, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9821

Retreating into Fear and Ego, I Block the Flow of Infinity; Can You Open Yourself to the Stream of CreativityThis text-based class is the first in a series on the Chassidic discourse "V'shavti B'sholom," published in Torah Or Vayeitzei, and presented by the Alter Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 11 Kislev, 5568 (1807). It was given by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 7 Kislev, 5786, November 27, 2025, Parshas Vayeitzei, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9816

I Want to be Attached to You, but I Want to be Authentic to Myself. How do I Navigate the Paradox?Moshe Zev Lamm, LCSW,  a couples therapist, presented this talk in November 2025 on the fundamentals of how to understand, build, and maintain emotional intimacy in marriage. This lecture was given as part of the creation of a broader curriculum for couples in their first year of marriage.

"Every Liar Has a Teacher:" Why Yaakov Had to Marry LeahThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 5 Kislev, 5786, November 25, 2025, Parshas Vayetzei, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. The Medrash describes a hidden scene on the wedding night of Yaakov and Leah. Throughout the night, Yaakov kept calling the bride “Rachel,” and Leah answered each time. In the morning, when the deception was revealed, Yaakov confronted her: “How could you answer to the name Rachel? You are just like your father, Lavan—a deceiver!” Leah replied with the shocking line: “Is there a barber without students? Didn’t your father call for Esav, and you answered ‘I am Esav’?” At first glance, Leah appears to justify deception with deception—but that cannot be the message. The matriarch of Klal Yisrael wouldn’t base righteousness on revenge or moral equivalence. To understand her words, the shiur introduces a profound idea. The Torah writes “הִיא לֵאָה” (“she is Leah”) but spells it “הוּא לֵאָה” (“he is Leah”), hinting that Yaakov’s shock that morning was not simply discovering who Leah was, but discovering who he was. Leah became a mirror. When Yaakov deceived Yitzchak by dressing as Esav, he spiritually adopted the role of Esav—not in wickedness, but because Hashem needed him to carry both types of Jewish souls: those of pure light (Rachel) and those who struggle, fall, rise, and wrestle their way to greatness (Leah/Esav archetype). The moment Yaakov declared “I am Esav,” he entered the world of struggle—which meant the soulmate for that part of him was no longer Rachel alone, but Leah, who embodies exhaustion, complexity, and inner confrontation. Thus, Leah’s response was not defensive sarcasm but a deep revelation: “I didn’t merely deceive you; I stepped into the place you created. You became Esav for a holy purpose—and therefore, your Esav-part must marry its counterpart. I am the mirror of the struggle inside you.” In this view, the switch under the chuppah wasn’t random trickery. It was a continuation of Yaakov’s own spiritual journey. Rachel represents his light, innocence, and clarity; Leah represents his darkness that can be transformed into light—the hard inner work, the exhaustion, the buried pain, the shadow that must be redeemed to access deeper strength. Ultimately every Jew descends from both Rachel and Leah—both the part of us that feels aligned and luminous and the part that feels heavy, complicated, and exhausted. True wholeness comes only when both are embraced. That is why Yaakov is buried with Leah, not Rachel. His life’s completion came not only from the parts that felt easy and beautiful, but from the parts that demanded courage, mirroring, self-confrontation, and transformation. The message of the Medrash is that our “Leah moments”—our struggles, shadows, and discomfort—are not punishments but invitations to greatness. And that is the deeper meaning of the badeken: by veiling the kallah, we declare, “I am ready to marry not only the parts of you that I see now, but also the hidden parts I cannot yet see — and this commitment is only possible if I am also willing to meet, accept, and marry the hidden parts within myself.”View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9817

Chava Craved Selfhood; Noach Wanted to Forgo It; Sarah Mastered Integration Through SurrenderThis text-based class is the fifth class in a series on the Chassidic discourse (Maamar) "Vayehu Chayei Sarah," said by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, 25 Cheshvan, 5712, November 24, 1951, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Monday, 4 Kislev, 5786, November 24, 2025, Parshas Vayetzei, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. This class sums up the structure of the Maamar and continues to explore the deeper meaning behind Chava eating from the Tree of Knowledge and the snake having "intimacy" with Chava. We explore the meaning of true Bitul, in which surrender is not hijacked by the ego, and how wanting to be remembered is a subtle form of idolotry, created by the trauma of separateness.   View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9815

What’s the Worth of Paradise If It’s Not on Social Media? When I Begin to "Own" the Compliment, I’m Stealing from G-dThis text-based class is the fourth class in a series on the Chassidic discourse (Maamar) "Vayehu Chayei Sarah," said by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, 25 Cheshvan, 5712, November 24, 1951, and was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 29 Cheshvan, 5786, November 20, 2025, Parshas Toldos, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. This class sums up the structure of the Maamar and continues to explore the deeper meaning behind Chava eating from the Tree of Knowledge and the snake having "intimacy" with Chava. We explore the meaning of true Bitul, in which surrender is not hijacked by the ego, and how wanting to be remembered is a subtle form of idolotry, created by the trauma of separateness.    View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9812

When You Grasp the Dynamics of Your Two Souls, You Liberate Yourself from ShameThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 27 Cheshvan, 5786, November 18, 2025, Parshas Toldos, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9813

In Complete Surrender We Experience Bliss; But It Is Not Our OwnThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Monday, 26 Cheshvan, 5786, November 17, 2025, Parshas Toldos, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9811

Our Journey from Miserable Self-Consciousness to Humble Joy and GratitutdeThis text-based class is the second class in a series on the Chassidic discourse (Maamar) "Vayehu Chayei Sarah," said by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, 25 Cheshvan, 5712, November 24, 1951, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 22 Cheshvan, 5786, November 13, 2025, Parshas Chayei Sarah, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. This class sums up the structure of the Maamar and continues to explore the deeper meaning behind Chava eating from the Tree of Knowledge and the snake having "intimacy" with Chava. We explore the meaning of true Bitul, in which surrender is not hijacked by the ego, and how wanting to be remembered is a subtle form of idolotry, created by the trauma of separateness. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9792

What Is Bliss? Feeling in My Body That Hashem Is Celebrating MeThis text-based class is the first class in a series on the Chassidic discourse (Maamar) "Vayehu Chayei Sarah," said by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, 25 Cheshvan, 5712, November 24, 1951, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Monday, 19 Cheshvan, 5786, November 10, 2025, Parshas Chayei Sarah, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. This class sums up the structure of the Maamar and continues to explore the deeper meaning behind Chava eating from the Tree of Knowledge and the snake having "intimacy" with Chava. We explore the meaning of true Bitul, in which surrender is not hijacked by the ego, and how wanting to be remembered is a subtle form of idolotry, created by the trauma of separateness. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9791

Don't Run from Your Mistakes: Why the First Jewish Child Was Named LaughterThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 13 Cheshvan, 5786, November 4, 2025, Parshas Vayera, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. Why would Sarah deny the truth that she laughed? The Torah says, “because she was afraid.” Afraid of whom? Why was she afraid to tell Abraham that she laughed? After all, she was 89 years old, and Sarah stood her own in the presence of Abraham.  Maybe the Torah means she was scared of G-d. But that is senseless. Did she believe that you can hide from G-d?  Even more strange is the response to her denial. “But He said, ‘No, you laughed indeed.’” What was this all about? A he said/she said game in the therapist’s office? She said I never laughed; he says: No you did laugh! Okay great. Now what?  The biggest question is this: When this miracle child is actually born, the name he receives is Yitzchak, which means LAUGHTER! Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me!” Strange. When Sarah hears she will have a child, she laughs. G-d gets upset over the fact that she is laughing. He confronts Abraham about her laughter. She denies it. Then Abraham, or G-d, says: No, you did laugh, Sarah! And then when the baby was born, they gave him that very name—laughter! There seems to be some strange theme unfolding here. One of the Chassidic masters, the Sefas Emes, provides a marvelous commentary. It was the moment that created the eternal and legendary Yiddishe Mamme, who will stop for nothing to protect and to believe in her children, and offer them the maternal holding, the fit of inner regulation, peace, and self-love. Cynicism undermines our feminine energy in very profound ways. It buries our trust. Our mother Sarah needed not only to avoid it, but to transform it. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9789

Why Could the Baal Shem Tov Not Sleep with Money in His House?This text-based class is part 2 of a two-part series on the Maamar of the Alter Rebbe V'lo Yikare Od Simcha Avram, published in Torah OR Lech Lecha, which he said at the bris of his great-grandson, Reb Boruch Sholom, the oldest son of the Tzemach Tzedek, on Thursday, 29 Cheshvan, 5566, November 1805. This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Friday, 9 Cheshvan, 5786, October 31, 2025, Parshas Lech Lecha, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9788

Reality as a Series of Endless Veils; With Each Veil I Feel More FragmentedThis text-based class is part 1 of a two-part series on the Maamar of the Alter Rebbe V'lo Yikare Od Simcha Avram, published in Torah OR Lech Lecha, which he said at the bris of his great-grandson, Reb Boruch Sholom, the oldest son of the Tzemach Tzedek, on Thursday, 29 Cheshvan, 5566, November 1805. The class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Thursday, 8 Cheshvan, 5786, October 30, 2025, Parshas Lech Lecha, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9785

The Journey from Trauma to Trust; When I Need to Cover My Eyes In Order to SeeThis class was presented on Tuesday, 6 Cheshvan, 5786, October 28, 2025, Parshas Lech Lecha, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9784

Noach Before Toldos: Showing Up for Our Children and the World from a Space of Internal CalmThis class was presented on Tuesday, 29 Tishrei, 5786, October 21, 2025, Parshas Noach, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9781