Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Zayin Adar I and Tetzaveh 0:28 • What is going on with all the recent tragedies? 13:59 • Should I be concerned over an ominous chain letter I received? 22:52 • Are their guidelines for using hypnosis to treat mental health? 26:58 • Will we be able to have children in the world to come? 30:17 • When a yeshiv...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 16 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Adar I and Terumah 0:38 • Are there lessons from the Rebbe about the recent bitter cold? 9:20 • How do you explain Chassidim violating the Rebbe’s limit on drinking? 13:26 • How do we balance parental influences with finding our own path? 19:15 • Why in our prayers is mention made only of males, and not fem...
Feb 05, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to 22 Shevat and Mishpatim 0:14 • Please explain the mitzvos of slavery in this week’s Torah portion. How could the Torah sanction slavery? What eternal relevance does it have? 10:07 • How do I choose between personal spiritual growth and commitment to home and family? 23:35 • What do the Rebbeim say about a f...
Jan 28, 2019•1 hr 19 min
• Chassidus Applied to Tu B’Shevat and Yisro 0:31 • How do you answer this question: If G-d gave the Torah today, would it be very different than the one given 3300 years ago to primitive people? 13:05 • Does a Torah abiding Jew need therapy? 20:31 • How do we even begin relating to a G-d that seems so beyond us? 29:13 • How should we be promoting the Seven Noachide laws? 36:54 • After a major life crisis, how do you begin living again? 43:15 • Explain a seeming contradiction whether the Holocau...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Yud Shevat and chapter 9 of Basi L’Gani 0:09 • Chassidus question: What lessons do we learn from chapter 9, especially in connection with it being the beginning of the 70th Year of the Rebbe’s leadership? 5:01 • Why does Abraham get credit for discovering and promoting one G-d? 24:17 • I’m having difficulti...
Jan 14, 2019•1 hr 4 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Shevat and Parshas Bo 0:17 • How should we react to the recent Mezuzah controversy? 21:45 • Is there an intrinsic value to keeping Chassidus in its pristine state and not trying to apply it to specific situations? 37:28 • What did the Rebbe mean by calling someone a “plain-clothed chassid”? 43:05 • Mazel: D...
Jan 07, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to 24 Teves and Parshas Vaeirah 7:18 • What do you say to a teenage girl who refuses to accept tznius guidelines because she finds it degrading to cover yourself in order not to be objectified? 18:11 • What defines a Chabad Chosid? 26:54 • Is it wrong to listen to and enjoy classical music? 36:59 • J-screen: A...
Dec 31, 2018•1 hr 14 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to 20 Teves and Parshas Shemos 8:11 • How can we understand and want to emulate Yaakov Avinu’s troubling life? 19:29 • How would the Rebbe approach the current issue of government trying to change our education system? 30:46 • Is it appropriate to sing niggunim in the restroom? 36:47 • Is it proper for a chosi...
Dec 24, 2018•1 hr 13 min
• Chassidus Applied to 10 Teves and Parshas Vayechi 0:21 • Why has Chalukas haShas not gained traction in Chabad? 24:04 • What aspect of a Jewish mother determines the Jewishness of her child – conceiving, carrying or both? 33:22 • Should we insist that our 8-year-old son go to Shul on Shabbos? 39:50 • What should be our goals when we go on mivtzoim? 50:28 • How should we speak to non-Jews about sheva mitzvos? 45:29 • Follow-up (episodes 238-239): o Empowering women 55:52 o Buying a car 01:03:01...
Dec 17, 2018•1 hr 17 min
TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Zos Chanukah and Parshas Vayigash 0:17 • Are we doing all we can to empower women today? 22:57 • How does someone know what he’s capable of? 36:19 • If one’s “containers” are not aligned with their spiritual “light” (due to a chemical imbalance, as an example), can the container be trained to regulate and adjust itself to its spiritual capacity? 42:45 • Is there a difference how one would treat depression in a Jew and in a non-Jew? 47:44 • What can I do about same g...
Dec 11, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Chanukah and Parshas Miketz 0:11 • What does Chassidus teach us about darkness and its illumination? 12:12 • Is Judaism democratic? What is the Torah view on forced observance? 26:19 • Am I still a Lubavitcher if I learn Daf Yomi? 37:02 • Why is Taharas HaMishpacha so obsessed with details? 47:02 • What kin...
Dec 03, 2018•1 hr 15 min
• Chassidus Applied to the 19th of Kislev and Vayeishev 0:18 • What can we do to help speed up Moshiach’s coming? 21:02 • What did the Rebbe mean when he said that avodas habirurim has concluded? 30:41 • Will we be able to converse with G-d after Moshiach comes? 37:22 • After Moshiach comes how will understand all the Torah verses and references that address a pre-Moshiach golus world? 39:46 • Why don’t revealed miracles happen today as they did in earlier generations? 49:46 • Follow-up (episode...
Nov 26, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Lessons from the 10th of Kislev and Vayishlach 1:07 • Chassidus Applied to the 90th anniversary of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin on Yud Daled Kislev 15:20 • What are the most vital things to look for in a potential shidduch? 28:36 • What was the Rebbe's view on dealing with the Arabs? 36:38 • Am I allowed to attend an Orthodox shul w...
Nov 19, 2018•1 hr 13 min
• Chassidus Applied to Vayeitzei and Tes Kislev 2:35 • What attitude should one have to Conservative and Reform Judaism? 20:36 • What is the Rebbe’s opinion about creating an endowment? 35:36 • Homosexuality: How can it be prohibited if it is innate? 40:23 • Why does Judaism reject the messiah that other religions have embraced? 49:47 • Follow-up (episode 230-234): o Stuck in marriage 56:35 o Shlichus 01:01:57 • Chassidus question: Does Abraham have the power to refine kelipah? A seeming contrad...
Nov 12, 2018•1 hr 18 min
• Tragedy in Pittsburgh – follow-up 15:33 • Chassidus Applied to Rosh Chodesh Kislev and Toldos 8:44 • Lessons from the Kinus HaShluchim 0:52 • What can I do about my fears and anxieties? 37:58 • How much to reveal about a potential shidduch? 43:28 • Can we erase negative memories? 51:30 • What is the Rebbe’s approach to celebrating a bas mitzvah? 55:30 • Chassidus question: Does the concept of shlichus have a source in Chassidus? 01:01:19 • My Life 2018 essays: o The Land of Israel, 71, Bitzale...
Nov 05, 2018•1 hr 11 min
TOPICS • Tragedy in Pittsburgh: How should we react? 0:18 • Chassidus Applied to Chof Cheshvan and Chayei Sarah 10:27 • What is the Rebbe’s view on buying a lottery ticket? 24:04 • Is there a spiritual significance and lesson to be learned from a huge amount of wealth offered in a lottery? 26:23 • After finishing Yeshiva I am not sure what I should be doing? I am feeling resentful that I was not trained to make a living? What would the Rebbe say about first making a living and then getting marri...
Oct 29, 2018•1 hr 11 min
• Chassidus Applied to Vayeira 0:35 • Do we need secular sources to teach us how to understand and raise our children? 11:52 • What should our attitude be to “non-official” shluchim? 26:10 • How do you explain the blessing of “she’lo osani isha” (not making me a woman)? 37:56 • Hiding Sarah in a… box? 49:35 • Are controversial verses in the Torah being taught to our children in the proper way? 49:28 • Chassidus question: What is the attitude of Chassidus Chabad to the Ramchal and his Mesilas Yis...
Oct 22, 2018•1 hr 10 min
• Chassidus Applied to Lech Lecha and 7th of Cheshvan 0:13 • We are a happy and loving family. Yet, for some unknown reason, every time we come back from somebody's house, or an event, or after hosting guests, my spouse and I start a fight. What could be the reason for this? 14:35 • How do I find myself when I feel lost? 21:28 • Why is there more focus on chitzoniyos (externals) in the dor ha’shevii? 26:46 • Is learning and teaching Chassidus Chagas considered “spreading the wellsprings”? 36:59 ...
Oct 15, 2018•1 hr 9 min
Chassidus Applied to the Post-Holiday season Lessons from Parshas Noach Do fathers have to ignore their families on Simchas Torah? I feel stifled in my ultra-religious home. What can I do? Can I balance my secular interests with my spiritual/religious life? How can I get beyond a past relationship and move toward marriage? How do I return to Chabad after being away? What is the Rebbe's view regarding a prenup? Follow-up: Another Chassidus project thanks to this MyLife program Chassidus question:...
Oct 08, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Chassidus Applied to Yom Kippur and Sukkot How can I show G-d that I truly repented? What exactly is simcha? Naïve faith vs. skepticism: Can we ask about the “whys” and the “hows” of Torah and mitzvos, or do we have to accept it all without questions? Why should one be observant? What if I feel like I don’t want Moshiach? Follow-up: Rigidly doing mitzvot by rote (episode 228) Chassidus question: Do we need someone outside of ourselves to build our self-worth, just as G-d’s romimus is stimulated ...
Sep 17, 2018•1 hr 10 min
Chassidus Applied to Re’eh and Mevarchim Elul Rambam study: End of 37th cycle (Elul 20) and beginning of 38th (Elul 21) Chassidus Applied to the 25th of Elul and Rosh Hashana Lessons from the last and 7th Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta Standing in the month of Elul when we increase in prayer, what can we practically do to pray a bit better? Should I be concerned about speaking loshon hora when I am working through with my mentor the hurt I have experienced at the hands of another? For the sake of ...
Sep 03, 2018•1 hr 10 min
Chassidus Applied to Chai Elul, Parshas Ki Tavo and the 6th Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta Lessons from Elul 15: Establishment of Tomchei Temimim 121 years ago How can I balance hiddur mitzvah without becoming obsessive compulsive? Are the Rambam’s dietary directives the proper halachic and chassidic way to eat? As a ger I wonder at times whether my mitzvos have any effect Follow-up: Writing pidyon to other Rebbes (episode 223) Zionism (episode 225) Snoring (episode 226) Learning with your wife (e...
Aug 28, 2018•1 hr 11 min
Chassidus Applied to Parshas Ki Teitzei and the 5th Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta Marriage lessons from Elul 13 Did the Rebbe say anything about free speech when it offends others? How do we know that Judaism is the true religion? My mother is constantly harassing my wife - what to do? Is there any advice about snoring? How to be a good parent? Continued Chassidus question: What is the difference between the Kabbalah of the Rama”k and the Kabbalah of the Arizal? Part IV My Life 2018 essays: How t...
Aug 20, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Lessons from the 2nd day of Rosh Chodesh Elul Chassidus Applied to Parshas Shoftim and the 4th Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta If Adam and Eve are the ancestors of all mankind, how do we explain all the diversity of their descendants’ physical appearance? Is the Rebbe’s position on Zionism different than that of the Rebbe Rashab and the Rebbe Rayatz? How to deal with loss? Why does the Torah speak only of Yaakov's devastation and inability to recover from losing Yosef, and not his applying the less...
Aug 13, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Chassidus Applied to Rosh Chodesh Elul Lessons from the 3rd Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta How to turn the experience of being bullied into a positive? Art therapist asking: Which psychological streams are aligned with Judaism? What is the Rebbe’s opinion on buying life insurance? Follow-up: Off the derech (episodes 220-221) Can we establish policy based on a chassidishe hergesh? (episode 219) Writing pidyon to other Rebbes (episode 223) Chassidus question: What is the difference between the Kabba...
Aug 06, 2018•1 hr 16 min
• Chassidus Applied to Chof Av 7:28 • Lessons from the 2nd Week of the Shiva D’Nechemta, Parshas Eikev and Shabbos Mevorchim Elul 18:30 • Can I write a pidyon to other Rebbes, or only to my own Rebbe? 22:31 • If a school is doing things counter to the Rebbe's directives, is it considered a Lubavitch school? 28:55 • If my soul is Jewish (born to a Jewish mother), does that automatically make my body Jewish, even if my father is not Jewish? 35:44 • Follow-up: o Lunar eclipse (episode 222) 40:51 o ...
Jul 30, 2018•1 hr 17 min
Chassidus Applied to the Tisha B’Av Nidche and the 15th of Av What is the significance of the longest lunar eclipse of the century? Lessons from Parshas Vaetchanan and Nachamu What are practical tools and techniques for growing through negative experiences Loneliness: How can I find friends? Grieving sisters seeking comfort: Can we do anything to extend the “allotted time” given to an individual in this lifetime? Understanding Hashem in light of tragedies: Why do we praise G-d for taking us out ...
Jul 24, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to the Nine Days, 5 Av and Shabbos Chazon 0:20 • Do I need to say the entire kinus on Tisha B’Av when I don’t understand it and it’s uninspiring? 17:36 • What can a person do when his dignity (malchus) was broken in childhood? 26:04 • Can we say that trauma is a cause for people to become Baalei Teshuva and dr...
Jul 17, 2018•1 hr 10 min
Chassidus Applied to Rosh Chodesh Av and the Nine Days Lessons from Parshas Matos-Masei Summer tznius: Until what age is it acceptable for a boy to wear open shoes without socks? What's our role and goal with summer camp? What are reasons why one would "go off the derech" and how can we influence him/her in a positive way?Is Yiddish a lost language? Do we celebrate our English birthdays? What does the Rebbe and Chassidus say about climate change and environmentalism? Follow-up – Episode 219: Pus...
Jul 09, 2018•1 hr 15 min
Addressing the Personal and Emotional Needs of Our Community and Answering the Most Pressing Questions of Our Lives -- from the Perspective of Chassidic Thought. TOPICS • Chassidus Applied to Shiva B’asser B’Tammuz Nidche • Lessons from the Three Weeks and Parshas Pinchas • Did the Rebbe say anything about July 4th? • Can we establish policy based on a chassidishe hergesh? • As converts we feel isolated in our community and can’t find a mashpia. What can and should we do? • What can we say to pa...
Jul 02, 2018•1 hr 8 min
