Rabbi Jacobson Says a Lesson From the Lubavitcher Rebbe Changed How He Sees Pain and Failure

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson, a lecturer and preacher, says he heard a message personally from the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the eve of Yom Kippur that reshaped his view of life, self-worth, pain, and failure. The lesson, he says, is that every soul has a unique mission, and that a person can ask not only whether he was “sold” into hardship, but whether he was “sent” there for a purpose.

The remarks were delivered in a session for members of the “Jewish Soul” community ahead of 3 Tammuz, the Rebbe’s yahrzeit. Jacobson frames the message around the feeling many people have in the morning, when they see themselves as ordinary and overwhelmed by pressure, doubts, and tests, while being told they have a great role in the world.

According to Jacobson, the Rebbe repeatedly emphasized that each person, including the listener, has an individual and irreplaceable assignment that only he or she can fulfill. He says the teaching changed how he understands suffering, setbacks, and the places in life where a person finds himself.

The article presents the talk as a powerful lesson about meaning, personal worth, and the confidence that no moment, difficulty, or fall in life happened by accident.