Secrets of a Chozer: An Interview with Rabbi Simon Jacobson

(0:38) – General Introduction    (3:08) – Rabbi Jacobson’s introduction about תורת חב"ד   (7:36) –  Introduction about himself     (18:41) – How he got started in חזרה    (21:31) – Getting more involved in תשל"ח as Reb Yoiel’s sidekick    (25:34) – Becoming an official מניח in winter תשל"ח     (26:27) – First הנחה   (28:12) – The nightmare of מקץ תש"מ  (35:23) – How הגהה worked    (37:01) – How to tell if a random page is מוגה   (40:31) – Sichos that were difficult to remember/understand    (43:06) – The difficulty of the pre-הקפות farbrengen    (45:08) – Why they didn’t divide the task of remembering    (45:49) – His role in מאמרים  (46:56) – Keys to memory    (51:43) – Making a mental map; numbering ideas    (54:03) – Demonstrating samples    (58:23) – A sharp מענה to a complicated question    (1:01:43) – How he took the sharp מענות   (1:03:33) – Edits to באתי לגני תש"מ, and the mysterious cutting of the page    (1:08:18) – The Rebbe’s כתי"ק about radio    (1:14:06) – Did you ever get a galley back from the Rebbe without any corrections?    (1:15:03) – Cases when the Rebbe wrote מבהיל    (1:23:48) – Working relationship with Reb Yoel    (1:26:23) – Defying others to ask the Rebbe a personal question—and it paid off     – Yiddish, Hebrew, and other languages     – Adapting the spoken word to the written word     – Transitioning to a computer in the mid-1980s     – The Rebbe choosing fonts     – Identifying sources     – Sources that have not been found     – The struggle and adrenaline rush to keep up with the Rebbe     – The science and history of השמטות     – When the Rebbe said that certain things should not be printed     – Overview of ש"פ פנחס תשמ"ה     – Overview of ליל שמח"ת תשמ"ז     – The value of the בלתי מוגה even when there’s מוגה     – About באתי לגני תשכ"ג    Secrets of a Chozer: An Interview with Rabbi Simon Jacobson   In honor of shnas hakhel, Unzer-Chadash Shul hosted Rabbi Simon Jacobson and had the opportunity to ask him about his work of remembering, transcribing, and publishing the Rebbe’s sichos. Posted in honor of Yud Shvat.