Meaningful Life Skills with Rabbi Simon Jacobson

What is intelligence? Human beings are considered to be the most intelligent of creatures; we value the mind, education, smart people... But as is often the case, we use a word without defining the axioms and assumptions that define the concept behind that word? What exactly is intelligence? Is it IQ - the intelligent quotient , or is it EQ - the emotional quotient? Intellectual intelligence vs. e...

With the current war raging in Israel, the big question returns. Why is it that this region - more than anywhere else in the entire world - has had so many battles and fought so many wars over the last three millennia? From the beginning of Biblical times with the war over the land of Canaan and the land of Israel, to the wars waged by the Assyrians, Babylonians and the Romans (just to name a few)...

What do Jews really think of gentiles? With Jews in the news yet again, dominating headlines as they so often do -- the war in Israel, rising antisemitism -- all the big timeless questions rise to the surface: Why is the world so obsessed with Jews? What are the roots of antisemitism? Why are Jews hated so much by some people, and respected by others? But a question that's less often asked is...

One of our greatest enemies is a silent enemy. It's called fear. Its power lies not in aggression, not in violence and not in sheer fire power. Its power lies in its inconspicuous and insidious ability to paralyze us; to hold us back and prevent us from moving forward. What effect does fear have on your life? And what can we do to counter it? Being that it's not an overt enemy you really c...

I was looking at aerial images of Gaza before and after October 7th. The sheer destruction, the tragedy, the shattered lives and losses that are all so senseless and such a waste. And I thought to myself, what is the root of it all? Why? Who needed this devastation? How could Hamas subject their own people to such utter ruin and destruction? The answer is one simple word: hatred. It all began with...

The tremors and upheavals of 2023 are meant to lead to a new birth, to a new world. So as we enter this new year of 2024, what shape will this renewal take? What will this new world look like?  An added, exhilarating element to this metamorphosis is that we - every single one of us - are very much active participants and partners in writing the script of this birth and renewal. Our actions and beh...

As the curtain comes down on the year of 2023, we can headline it as the year of disruption. So many of our expected "norms" have been upended..In fact, the disruptions really began earlier in this millennium in so many different ways; in technology, in commerce, in politics, in geopolitical shifts etc. And of course, Covid. As we look back at the last two decades and connect the dots we...

How much of your personality has been shaped by others? By our parents - our genes and our DNA. By our environment, our homes, our families, our schooling, our education, our value systems and our social influences.  The question is how much of your existing identity is really you and how much has been defined by others? Have you found your own voice, your unique purpose? Or have you never discove...

Is there anything in life that is indestructible? We are mere mortals, finite creatures in a physical world where everything in existence seems to be impermanent. Things erode, deteriorate, and ultimately age and perish. That inner search for eternity, for immorality - is that just a fantasy or is it indeed possible? Chanukah teaches us the secret to immortality, the indestructible power of light...

With war being waged in Gaza, military strategists are obviously seeking and employing all types of methods and ways to fight this war. Every war has its distinct  personality and unique challenges and therefore requires a customized solution. This war is no different. Dealing with a hostage situation, savage terrorists, who wantonly use civilians as shields,  poses particular difficulties, as we...

We all hate war.  (Well let's qualify that. There are some people who for one reason or another historically, as well as today, are predisposed to aggression, violence and upheaval. But civil people generally despise war and everything it stands for. Healthy people inherently want a calm and peaceful existence.) So why would any decent person go to war? Why would a moral country deploy their c...

There are rare moments in our lives when we are provided with an unprecedented opportunity, a wake up call. Those moments where a paradigm shift occurs that can affect us on an individual level, on a collective level or on a global level. Certain events shake us to our core and open us up to these quantum leaps. And at that moment your actions, your choices, your decisions can change everything. ...

With the recent alarming rise of antisemitism in wake of the atrocities perpetrated on October 7th by Hamas, it's well worthwhile to dig deeper into the nature of Jew hatred, what exactly antisemitism is.  What are the roots of this abhorrence and where does it stem from? Why is it that throughout history Jews were consistently singled out more than any other minority? With acts of hatred, dis...

I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live! Deuteronomy 30:19 Does it make any sense that a healthy person would choose death over life? Would any sane person choose destruction over survival? And yet we see - amplified in the latest atrocities going on in Israel - that there exist...

While Israel is at war with its enemies, following the atrocities that took place on October 7th, there is another war raging all over the world. This is the war over truth, a propaganda war filled with misinformation, disinformation, lies and myth. This war is being fought in the media, on campuses, with protests and videos aimed to manipulate and pull at our heart strings - all vying for control...

With the latest brutal atrocities perpetrated in Israel - the horrific sights and descriptions of things that most of us couldn't imagine in our darkest dreams - the words "absolute evil," "pure, unadulterated evil", have become the way many are describing these massacres. Not simply killing which is total evil in itself, but the sheer savage ways and extreme forms of cruel...

We - and every decent person in this world - are shocked by the heartwrenching events and the tragic war taking place in Israel. How can a decent human being not be horrified by the brutal atrocities perpetrated against innocent civilians; men, women, children, elderly murdered in cold blood, abused, degraded, tortured and taken hostage in the most inhumane way. We are united and devastated in pai...

Are you a happy person? Do you feel happy right now? As human beings, we all have times that we're happy and times that happiness eludes us. But overall, what is your natural inclination? Are some people just born happier than others? Is happiness inherent or acquired? And more importantly, are there things we can do - tools we can learn, methods we can implement - to bring more happiness and...

Do you feel stuck in your life? Stuck in a situation, stuck in a relationship, stuck in your job? Are there things that you simply cannot free yourself from, no matter how much you try and no matter how good your intentions are? After all your attempts, you just keep being tugged back into the same old rut? What do you do in a situation like that? Is there any way out? How do you get yourself out...

Are you motivated? Do you wake up each morning feeling energized, excited to seize the day? Or is your life one of tedious routines, monotonous habits, repeating the same cycles, day after day, simply making do and getting by? One of the great challenges in life - even though it sounds innocuous - is boredom. The monotony and the routine, feeds into a lethargy that ultimately leads to resignation...

No company, organization or entity can efficiently function without a mission statement. Can you? Have you ever asked yourself what your personal calling is in life? If you haven't, know that you're not alone. Most people on this planet do not have a personal mission statement. But the bigger question is how do you find your mission? How do you identify your unique and indispensable role i...

Let's talk about God. What does God mean to you? Is God real or superstition? Do you have a personal relationship with God, or is God simply part of the culture and home you grew up in? This three-letter word "God" evokes perhaps more conversation and debate than any other word. And the debates continue to rage. There are firm believers, firm non-believers, firm agnostics -- and thos...

Love - we all need it and yet we find it so difficult to attain. It is perhaps the most elusive of all experiences. What is love? Is is real or just a chemical reaction? Is it just another physical/psychological aspect to our being or is there something deeper, a spiritual/ethereal component to love? Schopenhauer notoriously wrote, “Love is based on an illusion and represents what is an advantage...

Think Importance Mission Energy Is time your friend or your enemy? On one hand we’re always trying to beat the clock and meet deadlines. The pressure of time - the constant tik tok, tik tok - can be overwhelming and even downright scary. Our time is limited, every minute that passes can never be reclaimed and it keeps on moving no matter what. We literally cannot do anything physical to stop time...

How would you rate your self esteem? And how do we even define self worth? What do we consider valuable? Is it how much money you have; how many possessions you own? Is it how many friends you have; how much love you have in your life? And who defines self worth? Do we define it ourselves? Or do others define it? We live in a world where we are inundated from every direction by all types of voices...