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How Much Longer Will I Hide? The Splitting of the Sea and the Death of the Ego.This class, exploring the deeper meaning of passing through the sea after leaving Egypt, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 6 Nissan, 5786, March 24, 2026, Parshas Tzav, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. Why do we say "Dayanu" if G-d would have split the sea but not taken us through it? How would that help anyone? A profound explanation of living in two states of consciousness simultaneously, in the state of infinite oneness, and in the state of a fragmented ego, represented by the sea vs. the dryland. We tell the story of Raba bar bar Chana, who went to BBQ on an island, which turned out to be a whale, and turned over on him. Living in times when G-d is expediting consciousness, many of us are falling apart. It is time to let go! Just let it all go.  As the sea splits in our lives, and we experience ego-death, some of us come to life; some of us perish. The death of the Egyptians by the sea came from the very experience that saved the Jews. When oneness is revealed, some parts of us live; others wither away.  View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9887

Hashem Didn't Make a Miracle in Iran; He Did Something Much BiggerThis class, dissecting the war of America and Israel against Iran, which began on Feb 28, 2026, Shabbos Zochor, 11 Adar, 5786, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 28 Adar, 5786, March 17, 2026, Parshas Vayikra, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9879

Is My Loneliness Serving Me? When My Nervous System Felt that Hitler Controlled the WorldThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 30 Shevat, 5786, February 17, 2026, Parshas Terumah, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. It explores the reason we announce about Shekalim and Kilayim on the first day of Adar, and the fascinating Talmudic story about the man who would complain about his marriage, how when the love was potent, even a narrow bed did the magic, yet now when the love is not strong, even a large bed does not suffice. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9872

How Do I Know Why My Soul Came Down? Liberating Myself from Social StereotypesThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 16 Shevat, 5786, February 3, 2026, Parshas Yisro, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9864

Pharaoh and His 3 Henchmen: When You Know Your Nervous System, You Can Live with Agency, Presence, and RegulationThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 2 Shevat, 5786, January 20, 2026, Parshas Bo, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9855

Pharaoh Was Searching for a Miracle that Would Blow Away Moshe and AaronThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, Parshas Vaera, 24 Teves, 5786, January 13, 2026,  at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.

A Peek Into Moshe's Mind: The Day You Stop Living for Others and Go Into Flow with Your Own EnergyThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, Parshas Shemos, 17 Teves, 5786, January 6, 2026,  at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9849

Refusing to Live Behind Walls: When Jerusalem and My Soul Are Under SiegeThis class, explaining the historic story behind the fast of the 10th of Teves and its psychological relevance in our lives today, was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 10 Teves, 5786, December 30, 2025, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9839

Why the Chanukah Struggle Is Still Going On: Can I Choose Experience over Reason?This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 26 Kislev, 5786, December 16, 2025, Parshas Miketz, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9830

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

"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

"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

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

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

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