18Forty Podcast25 Mar 2025

Sylvia and Simon Jacobson: How Different Generations Talk About Jewish Life [Divergence 1/6]

Our Intergenerational Divergence series is sponsored by our friends Sarala and Danny Turkel.

This episode is sponsored by an anonymous friend who supports our mission.

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rabbi Simon Jacobson—a leading rabbi in the internet age who previously worked closely with the Lubavitcher Rebbe—and his mother, Silvia, who was born into a Chabad family in Europe nearly 90 years ago.

Together, they have witnessed and experienced the development of the Chabad movement and the Jewish People over several historic eras. In this episode we discuss:

How has Chabad managed to maintain continuity over wildly different generations and historical contexts?
What can the mystical notions of tzimtzum, concealment, and revelation teach us about parenting?
How has the way we talk about “trauma” evolved over generations?

Tune in to hear a conversation about how we can transmit tradition to our children with confidence and rootedness in order to find a dwelling place for God in every generation.

Interview begins at 11:15.

Rabbi Simon Jacobson heads The Meaningful Life Center, called a “Spiritual Starbucks” by The New York Times, which bridges the secular and the spiritual through a wide variety of live and online programming. He is the author of the best-selling book Toward a Meaningful Life, a William Morrow publication that has sold over 400,000 copies to date. Rabbi Jacobson is a speaker, educator, and mentor.

Sylvia, Simon's mother, is the matriarch of the Jacobson family.

References:

Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity: An Existential History of Chabad Hasidism by Eli Rubin

Toward a Meaningful Life by Simon Jacobson

“Tzomo Lecho Nafshi”

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Vanity Fair by by William Makepeace Thackeray

The Algemeiner

“Rabbi Simon Jacobson Appears on Larry King Live | June 1994”

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

For more 18Forty:

NEWSLETTER: 18forty.org/join
CALL: (212) 582-1840
EMAIL: info@18forty.org
WEBSITE: 18forty.org
IG: @18forty
X: @18_forty

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(283)

Jenna Weissman Joselit: Being Jewish in America [American Jewish History 3/4]

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Jenna Weissman Joselit, a professor of Jewish studies and history, about the everyday expressions of Judaism that reinforce the identity and distinct...

7 Jul 1h 27min

Zev Eleff: 250 Years of American Judaism [American Jewish History 2/4]

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to historian Zev Eleff about what 250 years of Jewish life in America can teach us about religion, identity, and the future of American Judaism.In this ...

30 Jun 1h 26min

Elana Moskowitz: In Appreciation of My American Jewish Childhood [American Jewish History 1/4]

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Elana Moskowitz, an educator at Michlelet Mevasseret Yerushalayim, about how her American Jewish upbringing shaped her life and worldview.Moskowitz g...

24 Jun 1h 36min

Finance Debate: Larry Rothwachs and Leslie Ginsparg Klein

In this annual debate episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin moderates a discussion on finances within the Orthodox Jewish community. The specific resolution is: The current state of semachot...

16 Jun 1h 16min

Listener Feedback with David Bashevkin

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, David Bashevkin responds to listeners’ feedback and comments, in conversation with Denah Emerson.In this episode we discuss:—Should every Jew be Orthodox?—Is th...

9 Jun 1h 34min

David Bashevkin: ‘We are meant to teach the world how to embrace unchosen identity’ [18 Questions, 40 Mystics]

Ahead of the next episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we invite you to hear David Bashevkin's appearance on 18 Questions, 40 Mystics.What does it mean to live a Judaism that fits into our lives? David Bas...

26 Mai 1h 28min

Agunah Revisited: How To Avoid High Conflict Divorce

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we revisit the topic of agunot by talking to Sarah Nissel and Yona Elishis, who run the Jewish Divorce Assistance Center of Los Angeles.We’re also joined by Kes...

19 Mai 1h 20min

Adam Ferziger: Agents of Change [Israel & Diaspora II 4/4]

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Adam Ferziger, a historian of modern Jewish movements, about how American Jews have helped shape the evolution of Israeli Judaism.In this episode we ...

12 Mai 1h 16min