Weekly Women's Class by Rabbi YY Jacobson

Why Did Rivka Want to Deceive Her Husband? A Revolutionary Interpretation to the Perplexing Story Why would Rivka, one of the great matriarchs of the Jewish people, instruct her beloved son Yaakov to deceive his father Yitzchak? Did she really believe that Yitzchak would not recognize the difference between his two sons? In this fascinating women's class on Parshas Toldos, we explore an extraordinary interpretation presented by Rabbi David Fohrman, suggesting that Rivka's intentions were far deeper than they initially appear. Perhaps Rivka was not asking Yaakov to become Esav, but rather challenging him to discover something about himself that he had never recognized. Yaakov was gentle, spiritual, introspective, a dweller of tents. Esav was bold, aggressive, confident, a man of action. But Rivka understood that Yaakov could not fulfill his extraordinary destiny if he remained confined to only one dimension of his personality. He needed to discover that within his own soul lay the courage, assertiveness, strength, and capacity to engage the world that he associated with his brother. The goal was not to abandon his authentic self, but to uncover its full depth and power. And this brings us to one of the most haunting and transformative questions in the entire Torah: "מִי אַתָּה בְּנִי?" — "Who are you, my son?" This is not merely Yitzchak's question to Yaakov. It is the question life asks every single one of us. Who are you, my daughter? Beneath your fears, defenses, insecurities, expectations, wounds, and the identities you developed to survive, who are you really? Every journey we travel, every relationship we encounter, every disappointment, every betrayal, every triumph, and every moment of confusion can become part of a sacred process of discovery. Sometimes life challenges us precisely because we have become identified with only a fragment of ourselves. We think we know who we are, but Hashem sees infinitely more. Our struggles may be calling forth dimensions of our soul that have remained dormant for decades. The purpose of our journey is not to become somebody else. It is to finally discover the person we have always been, in the deepest recesses of our being. Perhaps the most important question we can ever answer is not "What have I accomplished?" or "What have I endured?" but "Who am I, really?" This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, Parshas Toldos, 30 Cheshvan, 5787, November 10, 2026.  View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10025

80 Years Later: A Miracle in Auschwitz The heartbreaking regrets of the dying reveal an uncomfortable truth: We spend our lives seeking approval, hiding our authentic selves, and forgetting why we came into this world. Abraham and Sarah offer another way. G-d promised him a nation, a homeland, and an extraordinary future. At 137, he had no grandchildren and not even a burial plot. Yet he was blessed with everything. What did Abraham understand that we are missing? Why is a Torah portion about death called Chayei Sarah, the Life of Sarah? Because Abraham and Sarah reveal the secret of a meaningful existence: Live authentically, embrace your divine mission, stop chasing approval, and discover the serenity that comes from knowing why you are alive. This life-changing class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, Parshas Chayei Sarah, 23 Cheshvan, 5787, November 3, 2026. View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10022

The Ugliest Man Rabbi Elazar Ever Met Was Himself: The Most Disturbing Talmudic StoryWhen Hagar is dying of thirst beside her dying son, the Torah does not say that G-d created a well or sent an angel with water. It says something far more startling: vayifkach Elokim et eineha — "G-d opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water." The water was already there. The salvation was already within reach. She was weeping over the absence of something that was fully present — she simply could not see it. Building on the Chiddushei HaRim (quoted by the Sfas Emes) — that everything a person needs already stands before him, if only he would open his eyes to see it — this class explores the quiet miracle that is harder than any splitting of the sea: not G-d changing our reality, but G-d changing the way we see the reality we already have. From Helen Keller's awakening at a water pump, to Otto Frank discovering the inner world of a daughter he thought he knew, we confront how even profound love can fail to truly see the human being standing in front of us. The class then turns inward through one of the strangest stories in the Talmud (Taanis 20b): Rabbi Elazar, flush with Torah and pride, insults an "exceedingly ugly" man — who, the Tosafos tell us, may have been Elijah himself, and who, on a deeper level, may have been Rabbi Elazar's own soul confronting his own ego. "Go tell the Craftsman who made me how ugly is the vessel He fashioned." We learn that the soul has no shame — only the ego does; that to call ourselves ugly or worthless is to speak against the One who created us; and that real growth comes not from self-contempt but from self-respect, from seeing ourselves as we were before the trauma and before the shame. We meet people only as deeply as we meet ourselves. The same open eyes that let Hagar see the well let us finally see our spouse, our parents, our children — and ourselves. The well is already there. Our work is to open our eyes. This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, Parshas Vayeira, 16 Cheshvan, 5787, October 27, 2026.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10015

The Life You Planned vs. The Life G-d Has Planned for You: Why Surrendering Control Is the Beginning of Your Deepest Love and Truest SelfThe life you planned vs. the life G-d has planned for you: Why surrendering control may be the beginning of your greatest freedom, deepest love, and truest self. This class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on 9 Cheshvan, 5787, October 20, 2026. We tell the story of the plumber who entered a cockpit and saved an airplane, the story of Pharaoh’s daughter who stretched out her arm to reach the unreachable, and a captive in Gaza who prays for rain, and it saves his life.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10009

Stop Building Towers to Prove You Exist: The Burden of Shame, and the Search for Your True NameThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on 2 Cheshvan, 5787, October 13, 2026View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10004

The FlyDubai Plane Was Hijacked. He Stood Up. Would I?This class, presented on Tuesday, Parshas Bereishis, 25 Tishrei, 5787, Oct. 6, 2026. explores the extraordinary, miraculous story of the FlyDubai flight, flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, saved by the co-pilot who attempted to murder hundreds, maybe thousands. It speaks of twelve miracles that saved the day and caused a nation to erupt in praise and dance.  The class tells the story of sibling rivalry throughout Bereishis, beginning with Kayin and Hevel, ending with Joseph and his brothers. It contrasts the stories of Adam and Eve and Kayin and Hevel, who avoid responsibility for genuine leadership, which assumes responsibility. It shows the difference between Kayin and Yosef, and how that inspired Moshe to go out to his brothers and stand up when "there was no man." The class concludes with a lesson to each of us, even the simple ones, to have the courage to "storm the cockpit" and bring our plane home. There are moments when history asks a person a single question: Will you remain in your seat, or will you stand up and become the person this moment needs?View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/10001

The Anatomy of Ecstasy: How Joy Was Reinvented at Simchas Beis HashoavahThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on 11 Tishrei, 5787, September 22, 2026. The joy of Sukkos cannot merely mean relief that the Yamim Noraim are over. Relief is valuable, but it is not the explosive simcha described by Torah and Chazal. Every night of Sukkos in the Beis Hamikdash, multitudes gathered in Jerusalem. Great sages danced and juggled flaming torches. Light flooded the city. Before dawn, a procession descended to the Shiloach spring, drew water, and carried it upward with shofar blasts. The water was poured on the mizbeach together with the morning offering. Was this joy only because Yom Kippur is over? That seems strange. So what is the secret of this intense joy? The Mishnah says (Sukkah 51b), One who never witnessed Simchas Beis Hashoavah, the Sages declare, never witnessed joy in life. But why? And why say it in the negative? And also why be “stingy” with joy? Maybe a person did experience happiness in another setting or environment! How can anyone state that “if you did not come to my wedding, you never saw joy!” It seems very strange. The class delves deeply into the secret of the schism of the water on day two of creation and how the joy of Sukkot heals the tension that has become part of the fabric of life. The class shows how the deepest gift we can bring into the sukkah is not perfection on the table; it is a living heart, present enough to channel joy, love, and the flow of Hashem.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9995

What Is Teshuvah? Reclaiming Your Soul’s Forgotten BalladThe class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 4 Tishrei 5787, September 15, 2026, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9994

When the Wave Gets to Know the Ocean: The Essence of TeshuvahThis class explores a Rosh Hashanah discourse by the Alter Rebbe, explaining the two frequencies of the soul, Yaakov and Yisroel, Memale and Sovov, and redefining the meaning of sin and Teshuvah. The class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 26 Elul 5786, September 8, 2026, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9991

The Haunting Story the Baal Shem Tov Told before Blowing ShofarThis class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson on Tuesday, 19 Elul 5786, September 1, 2026, at The Barn @ 84 Viola Rd. in Montebello, NY. This life-changing class helps heal our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur from stress and anxiety. What is the meaning of the day of judgment? Who is judging us and why? Should I panic about what my new year will bring? We explore the powerful story the Baal Shem Tov would share before the blowing of the Shofar: As you cross over to the other side, you see there were never any walls...  The class concluded with a letter from Mr. Sender Russel about how he healed his Rosh Hashanah from desperation and frustration.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9983