Yosef Yitzchak "Yossi" Jacobson ( he, יוסף יצחק יעקבסון or ג'ייקובסון) (born June 11, 1972), also known as YY Jacobson, is an American

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic grou ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and speaker from

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...

. Jacobson served as editor-in-chief of the ''

Algemeiner Journal The ''Algemeiner Journal'', known informally as ''The Algemeiner'', is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. History In 1972, Gershon Jacobson founded the Yiddish-language ...

'', and as a ' (transcriber) for Lubavitcher Rebbe

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

Early life and career

Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson was born on June 11, 1972 in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...

and grew up there as part of a

Hasidic family. He started his studies in

Oholei Torah Oholei Torah ("Tents of Torah") is the common name of the Lubavitch schools Educational Institute Oholei Menachem and Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah. The main branches of the school and its administrative offices are located in Brooklyn, New Yo ...

, after which he moved to study in Chabad's Central

Tomchei Temimim Tomchei Tmimim ( he, תומכי תמימים, "supporters of the complete-wholesome ones") is the central Yeshiva (Talmudical academy) of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Founded in 1897 in the town of Lubavitch by Rabbi Sholom Do ...

Yeshiva of

770 Eastern Parkway 770 Eastern Parkway ( yi, 770 איסטערן פארקוויי), also known as "770", is the street address of the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brookly ...

. In 1990, at the age of 17, Yosef Yitzchak was diagnosed with cancer stage 3. His brother

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

to join the team that prepared the public addresses of

for publication. This role is known as a ' or '' meiniach''. Not being able to use recording devices because of Shabbat and

Jewish Holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

observance, they were charged with memorizing talks, lasting many hours. After Shabbat or the Jewish Holidays he would get together with the rest of the team to transcribe those public addresses. As a senior fellow, Jacobson taught

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

, and

Hasidic philosophy Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism ( he, חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the ...

at Chabad Lubavitch Rabbinical Seminary Chovevei Torah. Jacobson was initially tested on his ''

semikhah Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 ...

'' (rabbinic ordination) by Pinhas Hirschprung as well as by Zalman Labkowsky. Having to still complete a last part of his test, Jacobson returned to

770 __NOTOC__ Year 770 ( DCCLXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 770 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

in 2011 to get tested and receive his rabbinical ordination through Labkowsky. In 2005, Jacobson followed in the footsteps of his late father Gershon Jacobson as editor-in-chief of the Yiddish weekly ''

'', which he contributed to for a number of years. He was a ''

mashpia Mashpia ( he, משפיע) or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im ( he, משפיעים) is the title of a Hasidic rabbi who serves as a spiritual mentor, whose main influence and teachings are in matters of the worship of G ...

'' (spiritual mentor) at the Chovevei Torah Yeshiva in

, and a teacher at the Ohr Chaim Learning Center in

Talks

Jacobson holds public talks on many subjects. Some noted talks included: * The role of religious leaders in today's world. * The Rebbe and the Rav.
Spiritual Leadership in Persistent Conflict
* 2008

keynote address A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework f ...

at the annual US military Chief of Chaplains Senior Leadership Training Conference, as the first rabbi to give this keynote

Works

Jacobson authored the following series * "A Tale of Two Souls" on the Tanya * "A Journey Through the fundamentals of chassidus" in conjunction with Mayan Yisroel of Flatbush * Emunah Series * Captain, My Captain

Personal life

Jacobson lives with his family in Monsey. His siblings are author Simon Jacobson, Boruch Jacobson—a Chabad shliach at Hunter College, Freida Hecht of Norwalk, Connecticut and Chana Krasnianski of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

References

External links

TheYeshiva.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Yosef Yitzchak 1972 births Jewish American writers 21st-century American rabbis Living people Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis American Hasidic rabbis People from Rockland County, New York Rabbis from New York (state)