R' YY Jacobson | Panama Yarchei Kallah 2025 Never More Chosen They Punched Us in the Gut, Out Ca

Summary

Rabbi YY Jacobson argues that Jewish history, especially the response to the October 7 attacks and the events that followed, can be understood through the Torah’s account of the Jewish people’s distinctive spiritual mission.

A striking contrast after October 7

Jacobson describes the attacks, the taking of hostages, and the subsequent protests against Israel at universities and elsewhere. He contrasts the intense attention directed at Israel with what he says was far less public protest over other mass atrocities. He presents this disparity as baffling on ordinary political or demographic grounds, but meaningful in light of the Torah’s description of the Jewish people as having a special role.

“Chosen” means responsibility, not superiority

He frames chosenness as a mission: Jews are meant to represent moral truth, goodness, and awareness of God’s oneness, and to contribute to the world. He recalls an anecdote in which a Christian student tells a secular Jewish professor that, whatever the professor believes, people recognize Jews as “the chosen people.”

Count contributions, not just numbers

Jacobson explains the Torah’s prohibition against directly counting Jews as a lesson about how people measure strength. A census can emphasize how small a population is; he says Jews make up only a tiny fraction of humanity. The alternative, he argues, is to look at what the Jewish people have contributed.

He points to Jewish achievements in science, literature, medicine, economics, and ethics. In his interpretation, seeing those achievements as part of a divine mission is an expression of humility, not arrogance.

Antisemitism as a warning sign

Using the image of canaries in mines, Jacobson describes Jews as people who often encounter societal “poison”—hatred and extremism—early. He argues that hostility toward Jews has appeared under many regimes and in many eras, and that it often signals a broader danger. He interprets this pattern spiritually: evil is especially hostile to what represents holiness and moral purpose.

The enduring source of Jewish continuity

Jacobson proposes a way to think about how a people survives across millennia: identify what has remained constant through changing circumstances. Jewish foods, languages, cultures, and political circumstances have varied, he says, while Torah and the practice of mitzvot have accompanied Jews across communities and generations.

The Ark’s poles as a symbol of a “portable homeland”

Jacobson explains the commandment that the poles used to carry the Ark remain attached to it. In his reading, the poles symbolize that Jews carry a connection to Jerusalem and the Temple wherever they live. Torah learning and religious practice enabled Jewish communities in exile to maintain that connection, which he links to Jewish continuity and the eventual growth of the Jewish population in Israel.

Respecting Jewish identity

In his closing story, Jacobson recounts speaking to military chaplains at the Pentagon. When a Baptist general jokingly suggested that Jacobson had learned his speaking style from Baptists, Jacobson replied that the Baptists had learned it from the Jews at Sinai. He says the audience applauded, and draws this lesson:

“The world respects Jews who respect Judaism. The world is embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.”

The talk mixes theological argument, historical examples, personal stories, and humor. Its central message is that Jewish distinctiveness is not merely a matter of ancestry or survival; in Jacobson’s view, it is a continuing religious and moral responsibility.

Speakers and sources mentioned

• Main speaker: Rabbi YY Jacobson.
• Brief production announcement: An unidentified voice introduces and closes the Torah Anytime class.
• People featured in anecdotes or quoted: Joe Lieberman, Hadassah Lieberman, Elie Wiesel, an unnamed Jewish professor and Christian student at the University of North Carolina, General Douglas Carver, and Yanky Goldstein.
• Religious sources and figures invoked: The Torah, Moses, Abraham, King David, the Ark and the Mishkan, the Kuzari and Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, Rashi, and Maimonides (the Rambam).
• Other historical and public figures referenced: Al Gore, Heinrich Heine, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Alfred Nobel.