by Rabbi Yaakov Siegel
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
In these two videos (first video | second video), Rabbi Siegel discusses aspects of the Torah’s report that וַיִּחַדְּ יִתְרוֹ עַל כָּל הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה ה’ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הִצִּילוֹ מִיַּד מִצְרָיִם, and Yitro was ?happy? for all the good that the LORD did for Israel saving them from the Egyptian hands and Rabbi Nachman’s teaching on joy being predicated on belief in a Higher Reality.
True happiness, then, really is dependent on faith, on belief in a higher purpose of human life, a higher purpose of the universe.
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Rabbi Jeffrey (Yaakov) Siegel hails from Brooklyn, New York. He is from a traditional, but not halachically observant background. In his teens, his searching brought him to Orthodox Judaism. He had some training in a Hasidic yeshiva, but is mostly self-educated. He studied Hebrew language at Brooklyn College, and Jewish history at Yeshiva University. His rabbinic ordination is from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He has occupied rabbinic as well as educational positions in the U.S., as well as having lived for seventeen years in Israel, where he made a name for himself in the area of Scribal Law, as well as serving as rabbi in a settlement in the Shomron. Upon returning to the U.S. in 2001, he again assumed a rabbinical position, from which he is now retired. He found the American Orthodox Rabbinate woefully disappointing after having known the rich plethora of opinions and practices in Israeli circles, and found his home in Morasha, the Rabbinical branch of UTJ. His areas of special interest are Halachah, Kabbalah, and Hasidism, especially the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Bratzlav). He runs a secret Facebook group, where he offers his views on many controversial topics, as well as teaching online classes in his areas of expertise. His home is in Far Rockawy, New York, where he lives with his wife Sima.