Yosef Yitzchak "Yossi" Jacobson () (born June 11, 1972), also known as YY Jacobson, is an American

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

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 t ...

and speaker from

Monsey, New York Monsey (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by ...

. 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. It is widely read by Hasidic Jews. History Gershon Jacobson, a ...

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

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...

Early life and career

Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson was born to Gershon Jacobson, a journalist, in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue to the north, ...

. His family was

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

. He began his studies in Oholei Torah, later moving on to Tomchei Temimim, a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

located in Chabad's World Headquarters ( "770"). In 1990, at the age of 17, Jacobson was recruited by his older brother Simon to join the team that prepared the public addresses of

for publication.

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tr ...

being prohibited from using recording devices on Shabbat and

Jewish Holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, they were charged with memorizing these 5 hour long talks and later transcribing them, in a role known as ' or '' meiniach''. As a senior fellow, Jacobson taught

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

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

, and

Hasidic philosophy Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism (), 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 Torah (the Five ...

at Chabad Lubavitch Rabbinical Seminary Chovevei Torah. He received ''

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

'' (rabbinic ordination) from Zalman Labkowsky in 2011. In 2005, Jacobson followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming editor-in-chief of the Yiddish weekly ''

'', which he contributed to for a number of years. He was a '' mashpia'' (spiritual mentor) at the Chovevei Torah Yeshiva in Crown Heights, 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 fo ...

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 Sholom Jacobson—a Chabad shliach at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

, Freida Hecht of

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

, and Chana Krasnianski of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

References

External links

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