Pain & Suffering
The real question we must ask is not just why we sometimes feel such acute pain, but what we are meant to learn from it.
What have I done to deserve this? And how can I make it stop? Sometimes the pain seems to be insurmountable, the suffering cruel in its intensity. But why – I am a good person! I try so hard and yet I am hit again and again with such hurt – the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, a suffering child. Why would a good G-d allow something like this to happen? Does G-d not cry, as I do? Does G-d not feel pain, as I do? What can I do to make it go away?
Good Grief
Chassidic teaching differentiates between two types of sorrow: merirus, a constructive grief, and atzvus, a destructive grief. The first is active, the second—passive. The first one weeps, the second’s eyes are dry and blank.
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Loneliness
The excitement to jump out of bed knowing that you have a mission to do, something that you’re needed for today, is ultimately the solution to any type of sense of deep loneliness.
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What is Pain?
What is the purpose of pain? Why do good people suffer? Are there any benefits to pain? How can we alleviate our pain?
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Vayeirah : G-d’s Mysterious Ways
Our relationship with G-d is a two-way street: The more we immerse ourselves in our calling and the more dedicated we become to our mission, the more access we gain to the deeper mysteries of life.
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Mattot: World War III
Rabbi Jacobson discusses the tragic murder of Leiby Kletzky, and calls for a war against cruelty to children.
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Purim: An Open Letter to a Concealed G-d
We have lived in the dark long enough. It’s high time to take off Your mask and cloak, and show us Your face.
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Time To Sing
I realized and continue to realize the deep grief of so many tormented souls; children whose lives were forever altered because of a self-indulgent, sick adult.
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Vaeira: Haiti
Rabbi Simon Jacobson reflects on the humanitarian response to the Haiti disaster, and how it reflects a shift in global spiritual engagement.
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Vayechi: 2500 Seekers
Let us always remember that whomever you meet in the coming year will not be an accident. It will be an opportunity – a dual opportunity: For you to illuminate, inspire and warm that person’s soul, to inspire encourage that person to add and extra good deed; and for you to be illuminated and inspired in return.
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Shemini Atzeret: The World and You
We dwell in Sukkot, made of vegetation of the world, we pray and commit to improve and refine the nations of the world, we dance and celebrate in public, we engage, connect and unite with others.
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