B”H |
The Shmiras Ainayim Chizuk List
E-Mails 101-150
|
101. |
IT
IS FORBIDDEN TO GAZE AT WOMEN
Regarding one who gazes at women who are
forbidden to him, even if he is like Moshe, who was given the Torah
from G-d's hand to his own, he will not be free of the judgment of
Gehinomm. Eventually, he will sin in matters of forbidden relations.
He provokes the evil impulse against himself. He will come to the
wasting of semen, which is a grave sin. (Shaare Kedushah, Part 2,
Section 5)
G-D KNOWS WHEN ONE DERIVES ENJOYMENT FROM LOOKING AT WOMEN
A man, quite unexpectedly, crossed the path of
a beautiful woman, and, noticing her beauty, enjoyed her looks. He
should not think that since he did not plan to be captivated by her
charms, he has not sinned. It is written, "For G-d will judge every
deed-even everything hidden" (Ecclesiastes 12:14), and the sensual
pleasure derived from a chance encounter is a sin. Rather than
deriving pleasure from seeing the beautiful woman, he should
consider the very fact that she came his way as punishment for a
transgression. Conversely, if unexpectedly an opportunity for a
mitzvah presents itself to you, you should be happy and thank G-d
for sending it your way. (Sefer Chassidim 177)
IF
YOU CAN'T AVOID LOOKING AT WOMEN DON'T GO DO THE MITZVAH OF
ATTENDING A WEDDING
The Gemara says: A mitzvah that brings a
wrongful act in its wake is better left undone (Talmud Yerushalmi,
Challah 1:5) For example, it is a mitzvah to gladden a groom and his
bride. But if a person knows that there will be brazen people
present at the wedding who will do vulgar things, and he cannot
avoid gazing at women, then he should not attend that wedding. (Sefer
Chassidim 393)
|
102. |
TO HAVE THE IMAGE OF G-D ONE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO LOOK AT
FORBIDDEN IMAGES
G-d created man in His image. As long as man
does not transgress and does not derive pleasure from gazing at
immorality and does not try to make himself attractive to women and
keeps his mind clear from immoral thoughts, then his image above in
the heavenly spheres radiates. And as long as this image gleams, no
demon is allowed to touch him. But when a person transgresses, his
image above does not radiate, and angels of destruction attack him.
(Sefer Chassidim 1136)
SAMSON REBELLED THROUGH THE EYES AND WAS PUNISHED THROUGH THEM
Our Rabbis have taught: Samson rebelled against
G-d through his eyes, as it says, "Samson said to his father, 'I
noticed one of the Philistine women in Timnah... Get her for me, for
she is the one that pleases me ... (Judges 14:2, 3). Because of this
the Philistines gouged out his eyes, as it says, "The Philistines
seized him and gouged out his eyes" (Judges 16:2 1). (Sotah 9b)
GAZING AT WOMEN MAKES TESHUVAH VERY DIFFICULT
... And among these twenty-four things, there
are five for which the transgressor is not apt to repent, in that
they are taken lightly by most people, so that the sinner does not
actually regard them as a sin...(3) Immodest gazing [at a woman],
the gazer thinking that he is guilty of no wrong, saying to himself.
"Have I fornicated or approached her?' - not realizing it is written
(Bemidbar 15:39): 'And do not go astray after your heart and after
your eyes'. (Orchot Tzaddikim, Shaaar ha Teshuvah)
|
103. |
Humility Versus Haughtiness
Although we are encouraged to be humble, this
is only when we are doing good deeds. This means that even when we
think we have done much good, we must always remember that no man
has yet fulfilled his obligations fully to G-d.
However, when we go out into the street and are faced with tests, we
need to turn on our haughtiness module. For this is what the
attribute of haughtiness was created for, as it is stated (about one
of the ancient Jewish kings)
"Vayigbah
Libo Bidarkei Hashem -
and his heart was aloof in the ways of G-d".
In other words, we have to realize how great each and every one of
us is. With every deed we do we can shake all the upper worlds, for
good and for bad. Each and everyone of us was created in the image
of G-d.
For the remainder of Chol Hamo'ed, try this: Accept
upon yourself to give 25 cents to Tzedaka for every time you gaze at
a women with the intention of enjoying it.
|
104. |
THE HOLY AUTHOR OF KAV HA YASHAR RECOMMENDS US WAYS TO AVOID SINNING
THROUGH OUR EYES
King David, peace be upon Him said in Psalms
(119:37): "Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and give me life
in your ways". A person should know that many things depend on the
sight of the eyes. Therefore, it seems to me that right after waking
up, a person should be careful, if he gazes upon houses, he should
concentrate his thought on the fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He
gave us the mitzvah of the Mezuzah on the doorpost of the house, and
also the mitzvah of making a fence on the roof of the house. Upon
leaving his house, if a person sees a clean animal apt to be
sacrificed to G-d, he should think that the Holy One, Blessed be He
commanded us to bring Him sacrifices. And if he sees unclean
animals, he will think that they are forbidden to eat...and this is
of great benefit, to bring his eyes into Holiness.
And one thing opposite the other, just as when the person fixes his
sight on holy things, he creates a garment for the sights of his
eyes in holiness, when the person happens to look at forbidden
things and on foreign women, then he causes himself to absorb great
TUMAH (impurity)... Therefore, our sages established barriers to
avoid looking at places that can lead a person to sin, like for
example, women and virgins, that bring man to emitting semen in
vain.
Therefore King David said: "Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity;
and give me life in your way", where vanity in Hebrew [SHAV] has the
numerical value of 307 which equals the initials of the words
Spilling Seed [SHICHVAT ZERA = SHIN ZAIN].
|
105. |
THE YETZER HA RA WILL FOOL YOU AND TELL YOU YOU'RE ONLY LOOKING TO
SEE IF YOU KNOW HER
It is written in the book Rechev Eliyahu that
the Yetzer haRah tells the person: "Hey, you're not doing anything
wrong by looking at women, because your intention is not to enjoy
through your eyes, but only to check out if you know this particular
woman, and many other things will the Yetzer ha Rah tell him.
Therefore a man should build up fences and barriers and he should
think that even the strongest of men, like Samson, the most pious
man, namely David and the wisest Salomon, stumbled through women and
furthermore our Rabbis said: "Better to go after a Lion and not
after a woman" and the person should think: isn't she full of
impurity and her mouth full of blood, and the man who fixes his eyes
on her makes to himself molten g-ds and causes a spirit of Tumah to
enter within him.
RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI WOULD PROTECT HIS COMPANIONS SO THAT THEY
WOULD NOT LOOK AT FORBIDDEN PLACES
We have learnt that it is forbidden for man to
gaze at the beauty of a woman lest evil thoughts be aroused in him
and lead him to something worse. When R. Shimon went through the
town, followed by the Companions, if he saw a beautiful woman he
used to lower his eyes and say to the Companions, Do not turn.
Whoever gazes at the beauty of a woman by day will have lustful
thoughts at night, and if these gain the better of him he will
transgress the precept, "You shall not make to yourselves molten g-ds".
And if he has intercourse with his wife while under the influence of
those images, the children born from such union are called "molten
g-ds". R. Abba said: 'It is forbidden to a man to fix his gaze upon
heathen idols and upon gentile women, or to receive healing from
them.' (The Holy Zohar, Kedoshim)
Our Sages said: "He who conquers his eyes from looking at forbidden
women merits and sees the face of the Shechina"...
|
106. |
"You shall not go astray after your hearts and after your eyes"
(Numbers 15:39) "After your hearts" - this refers to atheism. "After
your eyes" - this refers to sexual immorality. (Berachot 12b).
The main enjoyment in the World to Come is through the eyes of the
soul (Tzadikkim sit with their crowns on their heads and contemplate
the brilliance of the Shechina). But whoever damages his eyes in
this world damages thereby the eyes of his soul. (Od Yoseph Chai,
Vaetchanan)
|
107. |
CONDUCT UPON GOING OUT TO PUBLIC PLACES
1- It is forbidden even to look at the small finger of a woman if
his intention is to enjoy from looking at her, and it is as if he is
looking at a graver place (Shulchan Aruch, Even ha Ezer, 21)
2- And a place that is normally covered, if it is uncovered, then
even without the intention of finding enjoyment it is forbidden to
look. And he who has the possibility of going through a place where
no women are exposed and goes ahead and goes by a place where women
are exposed, he is called evil, because one must remove himself from
a place where one can come to sin. (Bava Batra 57)
3- And even when one has no choice but to go to a place where there
will be women with parts exposed he must restrict his eyes and he is
called a Chassid. (Bava Batra 57)
4- He who looks at the heels of a woman or above them or at the
exposed part of the arms, the punishment for this is to have sons
who will come out with defects, G-d forbid.
|
108. |
YOUR EYES MUST LOOK DOWN WHILE WALKING THROUGH PUBLIC PLACES
5- Therefore in the markets and in every place where there is
indecency, one must go with alacrity and with speed and not with a
slow pace, and much less to stop to talk to friends in the
marketplace, for women pass by with uncovered parts. (Even ha
Ezer, 21)
6- The way of walking through public places is to have his eyes look
down as when he is standing in prayer, and walks in the market like
a man occupied with his dealings. (Rambam, Hilchot Deot 5:9)
7- If one chances upon a woman in the marketplace, it is forbidden
to walk behind her, rather one must run and leave her to the side or
behind him (Even ha Ezer 21:1). And the prohibition holds for
all women even if they are covered from her feet to the head. (Ridbaz
b, 770)
|
109. |
A MITZVAH THAT COMES THROUGH SIN IS BETTER LEFT UNDONE
A Rabbi whose students come into his house,
should make a Bet Midrash in one side of the house, so that the ones
who come in and leave should not look at his wife or his daughters,
for if not he is doing a mitzvah that comes through sin (Sefer
Chassidim 991)
How many times have I rebuked those women who sit in the entrance to
their houses during the day and all who pass by turn to look at them
according to the wishes of their evil inclination, G-d forbid (Shevet
Mussar, Chap 27)
TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN WHILE THEY'RE YOUNG AND CAN LEARN TO CONTROL
THEMSELVES
There are desires that are very difficult to control unless one has
been taught from childhood, like for example refraining from looking
at women. Therefore, a man must teach and educate his sons on the
right path so when they grow old they will not abandon it (Sefer
Chassidim 10).
See Chizuk e-mail #76 on
this page (scroll down) for more on teaching the kids
about Shmiras Ainayim.
|
110. |
He who doesn't turn to look at women and doesn't talk empty words
and keeps anger to himself and doesn't become arrogant and occupies
himself with the Torah and good deeds, in the future he will be
higher in level than the Ministering Angels. (Sefer Chassidim,
140)
When he will guard his mouth and his eyes, he will merit all the
levels of Holiness. (Shne Luchot Ha Brit, Kedusha)
In the Talmud (Baba Metzia 107) it says that almost all forms
of death come through the agency of the Ayn haRa [Evil eye] and the
advice to save ourselves from this is to guard our eyes from looking
at forbidden things (Berachot 20) for because of this
behavior, Yoseph and his descendants after him merited that Ayin
haRa had no power over him. (Shne Luchot ha Brit, Kedusha)
Even when one has the need to talk to a woman, his eyes should look
down and not look at her for any reason, because the life of a
person depend on this, and it will be good for him in this world and
in the World to Come. (Tochachot Chayim, R Chayim Phallagi,
Vaetchanan)
He who wants to guard his eyes will strengthen his faith in the Holy
One Blessed be He, and even when he has the need to look at this or
that place, if G-d desires He will send him the one person he is
looking for as it is written (Iyov 22, 29) "And the one of
lowly eyes, He saves". That the Holy One Blessed be He saves the one
who lowers his eyes whenever is needed. (Yesod Tzaddik)
|
111. |
IF THIS SIN WERE NOT SO GREAT WHY DOES THE YETZER HA RA TRY SO HARD
TO OVERPOWER YOU
There is another great rule and that is not to
give the Yetzer HaRa an entrance to come and dominate you. When you
are in public places and see women coming to you, put your eyes to
the ground so that they pass by and you not look at them, for you
will notice how your evil inclination grows within you to make you
look at them. And if you don't think this is a great sin, why does
the Yetzer try so hard to overpower you to the point where very few
people can stand this trial, but only those who have the love of the
Creator engraved in their heart?
(Shevet Mussar, Chap 27)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are those that are ashamed to look down in public places
because they are embarrassed in front of their friends. But this
shame is evil and has to be conquered. And this is what is written
in Sefer Chassidim Siman 9:
And the main form of strengthening one's Chassidut from beginning to
end is that even though he is being ridiculed, he does not abandon
his Chassidut, and his thoughts are with G-d above, and he doesn't
look at the faces of women even when they are mingled with men. For
example, when they are at a wedding all dressed up and all other men
are looking at these women and he is not looking, one who does this
will merit great good that is hidden for those who fear Him and his
eyes will be satiated with the brilliance of the Shechina. And as
the Rama wrote in the first siman in the Shulchan Aruch: "And
he should not be ashamed before other men who ridicule him in his
divine service".
|
112. |
From Kuntres Ha'Avoda, R' Shalom Dov Ber Mi'Lubavitch:
He who worries about his soul, not to bring it to impurity, will
fence himself in what respects to the eyes and if this is difficult
for him, he should strengthen himself with all his power and might.
And he should know that his soul depends on this. And if we
will not be careful about this, all his service is as nothing,
and nothing will he get out of all his service, and on the contrary,
G-d forbid he will descend low, very low...
And he should not worry about what others say...
And this is very hard in the beginning... but with time he will
get used to guarding his eyes. And through this, he will find
rest for his soul from many evils and confusion and then he will be
able to serve Hashem and he will accomplish salvation for his soul
with the Help of the Blessed One.
|
113. |
THE REWARD FOR THOSE WHO GUARD THEIR EYES FROM LOOKING AT FORBIDDEN
THINGS
(5 out of 15)
1- He becomes a chariot [Merkava] to the Shechina, and he is
considered as if he had offered all the sacrifices. (The Chida,
Avodat ha Kodesh, Tzipporen Shamir, 9:128)
2- When he prays, the Holy One Blessed be He listens to his prayers
and He answers him in his time of need. (The Chida, ibid)
3- The force of his holiness and of his labor endures forever, for
him and for his descendants. (Yesod Tzaddik, Chap 3)
4- He will merit to enjoy the pleasantness of the Most Holy, the
King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He, and his eyes will behold
this beauty in the supernal worlds. (Beer Moshe, Parashat Bo)
5- He will merit to be among the most elevated in the future, among
the Tzaddikim and the holy ones of the land through whose merit the
world stands, and he will feel the brilliance of the holiness of the
Bet ha'Mikdash when it will be built anew. (Yesod Tzaddik, Chap
3)
|
114. |
THE REWARD FOR THOSE WHO GUARD THEIR EYES FROM LOOKING AT FORBIDDEN
THINGS
(6 through 15)
6- He merits to behold and listen to the G-dly images, and to feel
the essence of G-dliness. (Yetav Lev, Vayera)
7- He merits righteous sons and long life. (Sefer Chassidim,
Siman 495)
8- His sons will live and will not suffer from the problems that
come to the world in general. (Imre Kodesh, Hasref MiStralisk,
38)
9- He merits that his sons will author interpretations on the Torah.
(Sefer haMiddot, 60)
10- He will merit to behold the Higher Merkava. (Reshit Chochma,
Shaar haKedusha 88:47)
11- He merits to keep his eyesight in his old age. (Tochachat
Chayim, Achare mot)
12- He merits the creation of Holy and pure angels that will be
united with him in the future. (Yesod Tzaddik, Chap 5)
13- The Ayin haRa has no power on him and on his descendants. (Berachot
20, Devash Le Fi)
14- He merits sustenance with abundance. (Tochachat Chayim,
Achare Mot)
15- He merits a special protection from above, that the Holy One
will protect and save him. (Tiferet Shelomo, Maamre Shabat)
|
115. |
G-D'S EYES ARE OVER THOSE WHO GUARD THEIR EYES FROM SINNING
It is written MISHLE 23:26: "My son, give me your heart, and let
your eyes observe my ways". Because the one who guards his eyes and
his heart, which are the two agents of sin, merits that the Holy One
Blessed be He lay His eyes and His good heart over him for Good, as
it is written: "And My eyes and My heart was always there" and it is
also written: "He will not remove his eyes from the Tzaddik".
Because through guarding the Brit and through guarding the two
agents of sin, the person is on the level of Tzaddik, and as measure
for measure, the Tzaddik merits the constant supervision of the eyes
of the Holy One Blessed be He.
(Sefat Emet)
|
116. |
Three things created the Holy One Blessed be He
in man; ears, eyes and the tongue. And to each one of them he
created barriers and a wall to protect them... He put eyelids to the
eyes in order to cover them and hide them from looking at something
evil. And the man who transgresses and hears sin, or if his eyes see
sinful things and his tongue speaks evil things, then the person did
not guard what the Master of the World gave him to guard, he broke
the fence and about him it is written: "He who breaks a fence
will be bitten by a snake".
(Sefer
Chassidim, Siman 148)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the holy Zohar (Pekuddei 263b) it is written
that there exists a celestial being called PATOT, and he seduces
humans to look at forbidden places, where there is no need to look.
And after the person dies, when he is already buried, this same
PATOT comes to the grave, and gives the soul back to the person.
Then he breaks the bones that surround the eyes, and takes the eyes,
and afterwards he judges the person with heavy and severe judgments,
may G-d save us.
(Kav
Ha Yashar 2)
|
117. |
MAKING MONEY vs. LOOSING YOUR SOUL
And the person should consider the following account on his soul:
What he gains when he engages in buying and selling in the markets,
against the loss he has when he looks at forbidden things there, and
the evil thoughts that he will have thereby. For even if he makes
millions, all the money in the world, will it suffice to compensate
for the loss of transgressing even one sin? (Shaar ha Tefillah,
Shaar Nipol)
Through the eyes, he becomes a servant of the Yetzer haRa to look
into all the forbidden and vain places in the world, and through
them he will lose the possibility of enjoying the pleasantness of
G-d in the future. (The Chida, Devash le Fi)
The Chatam Sofer wrote (Chaye Sarah): "The Jews are holy and should
not stumble through looking at women, G-d forbid, for all who do
thus, are lost in this world and in the World to Come.
|
118. |
ALL THE MACHINATIONS OF THE EVIL INCLINATION RELATED TO SEXUAL
MISCONDUCT ENTER THROUGH THE EYES
Due to our many sins, all the machinations of
the Yetzer haRa concerning forbidden relations enter through the
eyes, and through this the person comes to commit all sins in the
Torah, therefore the angel of death is full of eyes, according to
the work of the eyes of the person during his life time.
(Yaarot Devash, Rabbi Yehonathan Eyibishutz, part 2, 9)
THE EYES OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH ARE OUR OWN EYES THAT SINNED THROUGH
LOOKING AT FORBIDDEN THINGS
Our Master the Chatam Sofer wrote in the introduction to Parashat
Bereshit the following: Our Sages, z'l said (Avodah Zara 20): "The
angel of death is full of eyes and when the time for a person to die
comes, the angel stands above his head, with his sword ready and a
bitter drop hangs from the sword, when the sick person sees him, he
shakes and opens his mouth and the drop enters the mouth, from it he
dies, he rots and his face turns green" And this is difficult: "Why
is he full of eyes? The Gaon Rabbi Natan Adler, zt'l said that when
a person transgresses the prohibition of not going astray after
one's eyes, G-d forbid, and he savors the taste of looking at
forbidden places, through this transgression he gives eyes to the
Yetzer haRa, who is none other than the angel of death, and from
this he is full of eyes, from those same eyes that looked at places
that were forbidden for him to look at, and from this the person
shakes when he realizes that he is the one who, by looking at
forbidden things, caused the angel of death to have so many eyes.
And also Rabbi Yehonathan Eybeshutz zt'l and the Chidda wrote thus.
(Sefer ha Brit, Shemirat Eynaim)
|
119. |
IMAGES BECOME FIXED IN THE MIND AND LATER THEY DISTURB OUR SERVICE
TO G-D
Everything that a person looks at, the image
penetrates and fixes itself in his mind, and when he comes to pray
or to study Torah, those material images appear in his mind, and
they damage and invalidate his thoughts, and he will not be able to
concentrate as required, because the eyes only see through the power
that resides in the soul and the soul receives those images that
come through the eyes and if the person looks at nakedness, he
causes nakedness to penetrate in a high place.
(Reshit Chochma, Shaar ha Kedusha)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a man starts looking at forbidden things
and forbidden women, he causes himself to enter into great impurity
[Tumah].
(Kav
ha Yashar, ch 2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All who look at married women diminish and
destroy the power of their good inclination, and their good turns
into a destroyer.
(Bet
Yoseph, Even ha Ezer 21)
|
120. |
THE GREAT LEVEL OF THE EYES AND THEIR GREAT POWER
Whoever is wise will realize the gravity of gazing at women or
forbidden places, and will make the effort to hold back his eyes
from looking at evil, because there is an awesome power in the sense
of sight. And the Sages of the Mishnah and the Talmud, being that
they always guarded their sight and never damaged their eyes, they
had great power through the eyes to the point that when they chanced
upon an evildoer they could kill him only by staring at him, as it
is written in many places in the Talmud: "And he put his eyes on him
and he became a pile of bones".
(Sefer ha Brit, Part a, 14)
The eyes are in the highest level of all the senses in the body of a
person.
(Be'er Moshe, Bo)
A blind person is not on the level of a man and is therefore exempt
from all the Mitzvot, for the main faculty of man is the power of
sight.
(Yesod Tzaddik)
The eyes are very elevated things, and if a man had the merit of
having kosher eyes that were never damaged, he would merit to see
elevated things.
(Likute Moharan, part a, 254)
|
121. |
The Torah is called a "Covenant," (BRIT)
The Holy One, blessed be He is called "Covenant,"
The holy sign of circumcision is called the "Covenant"
(The holy Zohar III 73b).
TORAH = 611 = BRIT = 612
THE ONE
WHO GUARDS THE COVENANT IS CONSIDERED AS IF HE HAD OBSERVED ALL OF THE
TORAH
(ZOHAR HA KADOSH I, 197a)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two
quotes from General George S. Patton, who helped win WWII.
"Better to fight for something than live for nothing".
"I
don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but how high he
bounces when he hits bottom". |
122. |
If There's a Will There's a Way
In
Hagaon Harav Elazar Shach's younger years, he was a heavy smoker. He
even used to say that he cannot stand being without a cigarette, and
that he doesn't understand how a person can create chiddushim in
Torah without a cigarette, for the smoking helps one concentrate and
focus on the depths of Talmudic discussions. This is how he
conducted himself for many years, until he once had to undergo a
serious operation, and his doctor instructed him to stop smoking
during his recuperation period.
After
recuperating, he asked the doctor if he could start smoking again,
and the doctor answered, "If you have already stopped smoking, it
would be better for you not to begin again." (This was before it was
known how injurious smoking was to one's health). Rav Schach's
reaction was, "If smoking is dangerous for my health, even slightly,
I will stop completely." He took the pack of cigarettes that had
been waiting for months on top of his dresser, and threw it away
immediately and forcefully.
Long
afterwards, he recalled that from the moment he made the decision to
stop smoking, he instantly ceased to feel any need to smoke, and he
did not miss it at all. He often recounted this incident to members
of his family and talmidim as a demonstration of the fact that
"nothing can stand in the way of a man's will. Making a decision
itself may be difficult, but when one decides with full conviction
to change a habit, it is possible to stick to a decision.
Taken
from
Matzav.com
|
123. |
True Happiness
The
whole world is running after happiness, for what more can a person
ask for in life? But what people don't know, or what they choose to
ignore, is the simple fact that true happiness only comes from
inside us, and not from ANYTHING external. This is hard for people
to hear because this truth is much more "subtle" than the happiness
that the desires of this world promise us and beckon to us with,
saying: "with us you will find happiness". We must learn to close
our eyes and ears to these counterfeit overtures and remember that
true happiness can never be found in external sources. It must come
from within.
Rabbi Mordichai Lechovitcher, one of the great Chassidic masters
once said "How bitter and dark is the world when one lies inside it,
and how bright and good is the world when one is above it".
|
124. |
May the merit of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai stand for us all today on Lag
Ba'omer!
Wherever we may be in the world, we can daven for salvation in the
honor of Rav Shimon. As the Ariza"l writes, Lag Ba'omer is the day
of Rav Shimon's simcha in Heaven. And as the Beis Ahron of Karlin
writes:
"Just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu is for everyone, so is Rav Shimon for
everyone, even for the very lowest".
I know someone who accepted upon himself once on Lag Ba'omer to read
10 minutes of Zohar every Shabbos for one year so that he should be
saved from the Yetzer Hara, and he truly saw tremendous progress
that year in his struggle... (Maybe we should all try that! :-)
The holy fire of the Zohar has a power to instill in us a tremendous
AWE for Hashem and for his Torah, and thereby chase away the Yetzer
Hara. When we read the Zohar, we start to see - and feel, how
infinitely deep the Torah is and how FAR we are from any inkling of
understanding of Chazal's true greatness. And this puts us in awe of
even the minutiae of every-day Halacha as well. Because after all,
this same Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who revealed the secrets of
creation in every word of the Torah, and to whom all the Malachim
came to hear him speak while he revealed the deepest secrets of
kabbalah, he is the same Tanna that also taught us so
many basic Halachos in the Mishna, such as Tuma & Tahara,
Issur & Heter, Chayev & Patur, etc..
We see from this how Chazal were truly one with the Torah and one
with Hashem. They were on a whole different plane of perception. The
Zohar says in the hakdama, that the written Torah is like a
garment to the secrets of the King that lie hidden within its words.
When Chazal learned a Halacha out from pesukim, they were able to
tie words of the Torah and to cut and paste pieces of the King's
garment together as they perceived. Chazal were the MASTER TAILORS
of the King's clothes (the Zohar gives this parable on the words
"Beyom Kalos Moshe"). Today, we are so far from understanding
Chazal. We are literally like ants trying to understand a human
being! And when we read the Zohar, we truly begin to feel this, and
through these feelings we attain a whole new appreciation for Torah
and for Chazal.
|
125. |
On Lag Ba'omer yesterday, we discussed the koach of the Zohar
to help us with Yetzer Hara.
(After yesterday's e-mail, someone contacted me and told me that
they send out daily e-mails with translations from the Zohar. Write
to
zoharialev@aol.com to find out more).
Today I want to talk about how Gemara too, has a tremendous power in
this area.
Gemara is "sechel hayashar
-
straight thinking". When a person thinks straight, all the bilbulim and dimyonos (confusion
and imaginary fantasies) of the Yetzer Hara vanish!
The Rebbe of Karlin used to say that the best mussar sefer is
a blat of Gemara. The power that the Torah has to cleanse us
out is incredible. Like Chazal say; "Hame'or Sheba Machziro Lemutav -
the
light in it will return him to good".
"Barasi
Yetzer Hara, Barasi Torah Tavlin -
I created a Yetzer Hara, and I created the
Torah as a medicine".
And Chazal also say:
"Im paga becha menuval zeh, mashcheih libeis hamedrash - if the Menuval meets up with you, drag him to the beis Medrash".
So even if you're not a big Talmid Chacham, take an English
Artscroll Gemara, go to the nearest Bet Medrash and spend a
half an hour uninterruptedly in a blat Gemara. Sink your mind
into the questions and answers of Chazal, work out the intricacies
of a sugya, and you will walk away feeling freer than ever!
"Ain
ben Chorin Ela Mi She'osek Batorah -
There is no free man like he who delves in
the Torah" .
|
126. |
Everything we are and everything we have, belongs to G-d. So what
can we, mere mortals, give back to G-d?
When we say no to our evil inclination, we are giving G-d something
back. As one person wrote; "The only thing I feel I truly gave G-d in my whole life
was learning to guard my eyes. For this alone, it was worth to come
down to this world" .
There can be no greater sacrifice and gift to G-d than saying "no"
to desires that take us away from him. For after all, even if
someone gives a large donation to charity, or even if he brings a
sacrifice upon the alter, he is still, in essence, giving back to
G-d what really belongs to G-d anyway. However, the desires that we
have as human beings, do not belong to G-d. For G-d has no needs
and desires. He created our "desire to receive" out of
nothingness, so that ultimately we will be able to receive from him
all the good that he wants to give us. So by giving up our "desire
to receive" to G-d, we are giving up a part of our own selves, and
this is true sacrifice. And this is truly the only thing that we can
give to G-d, that he doesn't already have.
(Based on the teachings of the Ba'al Hasulam)
|
127. |
When it comes to the desire for food, we always have that "gray"
area of deciding what we should eat--for our bodily strength, and
what we shouldn't eat--either because it's not healthy for us or
because it's too much. However, when it comes to "lusting", there is
no "gray" area. It is plain and simply "bad" for us.
The entire "lust" phenomenon was created by G-d to bring a man and
women together for the purpose of building a family. Any other type
of lust which is not for the purpose of marriage, and especially if
one is already married, is very, very unhealthy, both spiritually
and physically. It does nothing besides destroy people's lives and
take them away from G-d. It blinds the eyes of men and takes them
completely astray from their true goals in life.
So let us not be afraid to let go of lusting and just give it up to
G-d. And let us say to G-d with feeling:
"Dear G-d, I truly want to give away to you this habit of lusting, -
even if it feels like ripping out my heart! PLEASE. Take this
"lusting" away from me. I want to give it up to you, G-d, for the
rest of my life, as a sacrifice for your honor. Because I know that
you, G-d, are the true source of all beauty, all love, all
desire and all good".
---------------------------
Someone responded to this e-mail:
Thanks
for your column, but lust is only a symptom.... We should pray ONLY
for the knowledge of Hashem's will for us, and for the power to
carry it out.
|
128. |
The Medrash Yalkut Shemoni (click
here to see the text) brings Chazal's words:
"Who ever turns himself away from aveira (sin), then even if he is a
Israelite, he is worthy of bringing a sacrifice on the alter like
the Kohen Gadol"...
"And who ever makes himself lazy from sin and doesn't sin, merits to
enjoy the shine of the Shechina like the ministering angels".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a side note, we see here how even the middah (attribute)
of "Laziness" can be used for a holy purpose! As it is brought down
in a number of places (especially from the Ba'al Shem Tov),
that every middah we have can be used in a holy way.
|
129. |
The
Torah says
"Ki
karov elecha hadavar me'od - for it (i.e. the Torah) is very close to you" (meaning
that it is not difficult to uphold). The question is though, if this
is true, why does it sometimes feel so hard, especially the
area of guarding our eyes?
The answer is, that the fight against these desires is really only
about 10% "effort". The other 90% of guarding our eyes, is simply making
the decision, deep and true, that we don't want to continue
to lust. Once we accept deep down that "lusting" is a poison for
our souls, we will only need 10% of the effort that we needed
before!
So in truth, it's only hard as long as we still think we still want
it. "Ki karov elecha hadavar me'od
beficha ubilvavcha la'asoso
-
in
your mouth and in your heart to do it". Let us ask/beg Hashem every day to take the
lust away from us, and that He should help us understand his will
and give us the strength to fulfill it.
The rest is easy...
|
130. |
On an Arutz Sheva "Talk-Back" article about the importance of
internet filters people write ...
"I
feel Freed"... from Carmel
We downloaded a filter (I asked my wife to do it for me so I
wouldn't know the code) and now for the first time in ages I can sit
down at the computer without the nagging temptation. I recommend it
for everyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Menachem from LA writes ...
Thank
you for the information. My wife brought my attention to this
article and said we should do something about it with our boys
getting older (14 and 12). Of course, she is right, since I myself
am not immune to the temptation. Who possibly could be since it is
only a click away? While a parent cannot always control what goes on
outside of his house (especially in a town like LA), to everyone who
values Judaism, it is our job to guard the sanctity of the Jewish
home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yisrael from Bet El ...
Immodesty was the root of the sexual transgression that destroyed
the First Temple. The Gemara describes how the Jewish women would
prance around immodestly in the streets of Jerusalem to tempt the
men, and everyone knows what that leads to. (Yoma 9B). People don't
have to throw away their computers, but if parents don't install
filters they are transgression the Torah prohibition, "Don't put a
stumbling block in front of a blind man."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click here for
the GuardYourEyes Filter section. You'll find there many of the
leading internet filter choices in the market today, as well as
everything you wanted to know about internet filters.
|
131. |
The Sefer Chassidim (1136) writes:
G-d
created man in His image. As long as man does not transgress and
does not derive pleasure from gazing at immorality and does not try
to make himself attractive to women and keeps his mind clear from
immoral thoughts, then his image above in the heavenly spheres
radiates. And as long as this image gleams, no demon is allowed to
touch him. But when a person transgresses, his image above does not
radiate, and angels of destruction attack him. [Note: This
manifests itself in multiple forms of suffering that come upon a
person].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We
all know that "lusting" is bad for us, spiritually and physically.
It destroys lives and takes people away from their true goals. We
all know that there's really nothing there, and that it's all a big
bubble of hot air. So why should we let the body rule over us, just
because our brains are "wired" in a certain way?
The Tikunei Zohar writes "Happy is the man that controls his
evil inclination like a rider on a horse. Woe to the man that the
horse rides him!"
|
132. |
Same Old, Same Old
Sometimes a person wonders, "for how long will I have to fight
this? I thought I had already made a lot of progress, but suddenly I
see that I'm again struggling with the Yetzer Hara in the same old
ways".
A person must realize that the Yetzer Hara never gives up.
Every day he instigates a new fight, in all types of creative ways.
But keep hope! Nothing we have accomplished in the past is lost, but
G-d wants us to keep going to higher and higher levels. This
wouldn't be possible if we made progress all at once and simply
finished. So each day the Yetzer Hara tries again, in new
ways, or in the same old ways that we had thought we were finished
with already.
But we must learn from the Yetzer Hara and also never
give up. Let us strengthen ourselves each day anew. For that is
precisely what it's all about!
|
133. |
Spiritual vs. Physical
This
is the way of the evil inclination. The biggest, most tempting sin a
person could think of--the moment it's over, there's just no more
desire. Nothing. And not only that, but it leaves a "void" in its
wake. The evil one laughs at us and when we are fool enough to give
in to him. He leaves us with an emptiness and with no fulfillment
whatsoever.
The opposite is true with spirituality. Before we do a Mitzva, learn
Torah or say no to a non-Kosher desire, it can look very hard, it
can feel dry. "Pharaoh" comes to us and says "Who is G-d that I
should listen to him?" But afterwards, after we've given a little of
ourselves over to G-d, we are left with an inner fulfillment that
shines and shines forever...
|
134. |
IS IT REALLY THAT HARD?
We recite the first pasuk of kriyas shema 3-4 times
a day: "And you shall love your G-d with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your strength." Our Sages explain that it
means "even if He (G-d) takes your life".
So why are people so often willing to forgo their love of G-d for
meaningless pleasures?
Next time we are being tested, let's try to imagine that we were
being tortured to give up our faith. Would we give in? If it came
down to the real test, most of us would be willing to give up our
lives for G-d.
So let's keep this thought in mind when out on the street. The tests
that we go through aren't even 100th as bad as what we would be
willing to suffer if faced with the ultimate choice!
(See
here for an article about a non-Jew who wouldn't let all
the torture in the world take him away from his "misguided"
religion. How much more so in our case!)
|
135. |
MAKE YOUR EMUNAH MORE REAL
Sometimes we excuse our behavior and say that the Yetzer Hara causes
us not to think straight and therefore we do the wrong thing. But if
the Yetzer Hara tried to get us to stick our hand in fire,
would we let ourselves get confused? No! So why do we let him muddle
our minds when it comes to gazing at forbidden things?
The answer is, we are lacking in Emunah. If our Emunah would
be stronger, we would see these things as fire and we
wouldn't let ourselves become confused by the Yetzer Hara.
So how do we indeed strengthen our Emunah? After all,
when we are feeling weak and we can't see the truth before our eyes,
it is hard to picture these desires as dangerous as a burning fire!
One good piece of advice is to make the danger more real to
ourselves. For example, we can try to accept upon ourselves for a
certain amount of days or weeks that every time we find ourselves
gazing at something we shouldn't we will (either):
-
give
ourselves a pinch that hurts,
-
give 25 cents
to tzedaka,
-
give our eyes
a "time out" by closing them for 6 seconds.
In other words, if we start to feel some
danger, pain or loss every time we slip, it will help us bring up
that which we truly do believe deep down.
This is a very powerful tool for success in these areas.
|
136. |
Attitude Towards Women
In one of the "talk-backs" to the recent
Jerusalem Post article about our work in helping
people break free of addictions to inappropriate behaviors, someone
(obviously non-religious) wrote as follows:
It
appears to me that the root of the problem is the basic attitude
towards women. If women exist (in a man's mind) only for breeding
and not as actual human beings, then everything from pornography to
prostitution to spousal and child abuse will follow. Get over the
idea that women are meat that has to be kept covered and out of
sight so men won't be tempted, and all this might change.
This comment was mentioned on
our forum, and a member by the name of "Chl" answered
powerfully. He writes:
I would like to ask the question the other way round:
1) Where can you find magazines in the open depicting women
as meat; on the subway newspaper stand in New York City or in Meah
Shearim?
2) What will excite a man more; a woman with a tichel down to
her nose, or someone who walks around in the street as if she forgot
to put on her dress?
3) Which society is dehumanizing women more; a
consumer-oriented, hollywood / top-model-influenced society, or a
society who struggles to live a spiritual way of life?
4) Concerning covering ourselves: when does one generally
feel the need to cover and protect something; when it is precious,
or when it's of little value?
5) Concerning meat: when one goes to the butcher; is the meat
covered or uncovered?
etc...
I talk a lot to "secular" Jews, as well as to non-Jewish people.
They mean well. They want to protect and promote the status of
women, and that is what truly religious Jews want too. Here are some
of the things I tell them:
-
Did you know
that one of the main sources for everyday life of 17th/18th
century life in Europe is the memoir of Glickel von Hameln, a
Jewish woman. Now how many women at that time were able to read
and write?
-
Women are
praised in our seforim not just for their sense of
modesty, but for their learning and their intelligence, for
prophecy and for leadership! Which other culture produced that
throughout history, not just in the last 100 years?!
-
Which other
culture protects women's rights as Judaism does? This includes
sexuality:
a)
Mitzvas Onah (not just breeding, and not just for a
man's lust). Also: A man can't just jump and be with his wife, but
has to draw her close, speak to her in a loving way, etc. as the
Halacha states.
b) During relations, a woman should to be mazria first
ideally.
c) A man is forbidden to rape, chas veshalom, or otherwise
force or demand relations - even from his own wife. (Compare this to
some societies where rapists are legally protected and the victim is
at fault!)
All the above is just from a legal/halachic
perspective. From a more poetic/romantic point of view:
-
Knesses
Israel
is feminine, and we get "married" on Shavuos.
-
See the
beautiful letter of the Ramban about intimacy, and so
many beautiful passages in the Zohar haKadosh (all of
Kabbalah speaks in terms of the relationship between male and
female).
etc...
So we have proof from our history and from our sefarim that
Judaism promotes and protects women, just like this JPost "talkbacker"
wants to do.
Then sometimes they will argue: but I like the way men look
at me, I have the right to dress how I want, etc...
So I tell them, Ok, but following your logic, you can't have it both
ways: on the one hand you want the right for sexual "freedom" when
you feel like it, and on the other side you want to prevent it.
Judaism, on the other hand, has both: protection/honor of women and
a beautiful and exciting intimacy within the context of marriage.
From all of this we see that it is the secular society who is
not able to maintain the balance.
I have yet to meet someone who is able to contradict the above
points.
But, no society is perfect, including Judaism: There is
abuse, R"L. There is anger towards women. There are tremendous
mistakes in chinuch in general, and concerning intimacy in
particular. And there is
a forum like ours to help with all that. We can't fool
ourselves... but we have ideals, and we have tools to work towards
these ideals, B"H.
May HaShem guide us on the right path, especially now, zman
matan torasenu.
|
137. |
It is written in the book Rechev Eliyahu that the
Yetzer haRah tells the person: "Hey, you're not doing anything
wrong by looking at women, because your intention is not to enjoy
through your eyes, but only to check out if you know this particular
woman, and many other things will the Yetzer haRah tell him.
Therefore a man should build up fences and barriers and he should
think that even the strongest of men, like Samson, the most pious
man, namely David and the wisest man, Shlomo Hamelech, stumbled
through women. And furthermore our Rabbis said: "Better to go after
a Lion and not after a woman". And a person should think: "isn't she
full of impurity and her mouth full of blood?". And the man who
fixes his eyes on her makes for himself molten g-ds and causes a
spirit of Tumah to enter within him.
|
138. |
Imagination
G-d
gave us human beings the gift of imagination, something that no
other life form has been endowed with. Without imagination we
wouldn't be able to function as human beings, to invent, to progress
and to search for the truths of the universe and for G-d.
Yet, at the same time, imagination is responsible for most of the
Yetzer Hara's power over us. The reason why we "lust" for things
that we know we can never have and that are bad for us, is because
we imagine that we could have them, and we imagine
that they are good for us.
R' Nachman says that the name of the Yetzer Hara in our day and age
is "Dimyon" - Imagination.
We need to learn to use this wonderful gift of G-d only for the
right things. For example, tomorrow, on Shavu'os, we will listen to
the Aseres Hadibros and receive the Torah anew. We can use
the power of our imagination to picture that we are standing before
Har Sinai and seeing the entire mountain on fire, with heavy smoke
rising to the heavens. We can imagine that we are listening to the
voice of Hashem, to the sounds of thunder, lightening and Shofar
blowing. We can picture the fear and awe that the Yidden felt - and
try to feel it ourselves!
But when it comes to lusting and fantasies, we need to turn off our
imagination and internalize that all these imaginary desires have
no connection to us. For in reality, having all these imaginary
desires would be bad for us, bad for the people
involved and bad for the world.
So next time we catch ourselves fantasizing about something bad,
let's try to train ourselves how to turn off our imaginations
and live in REALITY instead. Let us use the gift of our imaginations
only for things that will bring us closer to Hashem!
|
139. |
Some Tikkunim for sins of the eyes,
collected and translated by
www.jewishsexuality.com
(These aren't just Tikkunim for the past, but will help us also to
control our eyes in the future).
A person who was wont to gaze lustfully at women or at forbidden
images should accustom himself to cast his gaze downward at all
times, and particularly during times of prayer, when the Shechinah
is present.
(Reshit Chochmah, Gate of Kedusha, 8:15 and 45; Sefer Haredim,
Mitzvah T'shuva, Ch.1; also, Rabanu Yoneh, Gate of T'shuva, Gate
One, 35)
To the extent that one looked upon unholy things, he should
strive to gaze upon holy things like tzitzit, Torah texts, prayer
books, blessings, and the like. It is especially helpful to look at
the Torah text when one is called up for the reading of the Torah,
and to look closely at the written parchment in order to make out
the letters when the Torah scroll is held up [hagbah] in synagogue.
Also, seeing things like a synagogue, the study hall of a yeshiva,
the Torah scrolls in the ark holding the Torahs, all bring a holy,
healing light to the eyes.
(Pele Yoetz on Seeing; see also Writings of Rabbi Pinchus from
Pelachek, student of the Gra)
Looking at the two Hebrew letters of "shin" embossed on the
Tefillin of the head before one puts them on is good for the eyes
and the faculty of "Daat."
(Ben Yehoyeda, Shabbat 118)
Looking at one's Rabbi, at a Torah Sage, and at the pure, holy
face of a Tzaddik, is a rectification for the eyes. This is
especially true when one sees them on Shabbat and Festivals.
(Reshit Chochmah)
|
140. |
DEALING WITH BAD THOUGHTS
How does one get rid of bad thoughts that distract him from his
divine service and his purpose in life?
They tell a story of a Ba'al Teshuvah who once came to one of the
Chassidic Masters with this question. Having done Teshuvah for his
past evil ways, he found that he was still plagued by bad thoughts
and fantasies. The Rebbe gave him a parable.
There was once a Jew named Moshkeh who owned an inn where he used to
sell wine and spirits to the gentile peasants of the area. After a
while, he became disgusted in dealing with the drunken gentiles and
decided to go into another line of business and so he closed down
the bar. That evening, there was a banging on the door. "Moshkeh,
Moshkeh, open up! We want some wine and spirits!". "Sorry", Moshkeh
replied, "from now on, the inn is closed". The gentiles had no
choice but to leave disappointed. For days and even weeks afterward,
Moshkeh would keep getting knocks on the door, but as the word
slowly spread that the Bar was closed, the knocking became less and
less frequent until the gentiles stopped coming altogether.
The same goes with these thoughts, the Rebbe explained. If you keep
telling them that the store is closed, they will stop coming
altogether after a while.
|
141. |
Do I Have Emunah?
Some
people find it hard to guard their eyes because they convince
themselves that they don't have enough Emunah to garner the
inner strength to overcome this test. But does it BOTHER them that
they don't feel they have Emunah?
Someone once came to a Hassidic master and complained that he didn't
have enough Emunah. The Rebbe asked him, "so what? why does
it bother you"? "Rebbe!" the man cried, "but I'm a Jew!". "If so",
the Rebbe replied, "you have nothing to worry about".
In other words, the Yetzer Hara wants us to believe
that we don't have Emunah. His goal is to make a person
depressed and full of doubts, because in such a state a person can
reach the lowest levels of impurity and is much more vulnerable to
sin. But let's not let him fool us. If it bothers us that we
don't have enough Emunah, rest assured that we DO.
The word "kofer" comes from the word "covered over" (as in
the word "kapores"). The faith of even the biggest Jewish
kofer is only "covered over". Every Jew believes deep down. It
is an instinct that we inherited in our very genes, going all the
way back to Avraham Avinu. And like birds that can fly thousands of
miles back home without ever having learned how, all Jews have
Emunah. So let's just follow our hearts!
|
142. |
Tzadik Be'Emunaso Yichyeh
As
a post-note to yesterday's e-mail about how every Jew has Emunah, I
would like to share with you a great series of little-known shiurim
on Emunah by Rabbi Wolfson. Join Rabbi Wolfson's elite
"inner-circle" of privileged Bochurim, and hear his amazing series
on Emunah. The shiurim can be found on
this page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes we are like a Dovid, standing up alone against a great and
powerful Goliath. The holy Jewish soul that wants to serve Hashem,
is pitted against the powerful Yetzer Hara who seems so much
stronger than us. It can look like there is no way to win this
battle, in the same way that that there was no way David could
vanquish the mighty Goliath. But he did. He did, because he came
with Bitachon - Trust in G-d. He did, because he came in the
name of the Lord.
If only we could see how our little actions affect all the upper
worlds... If only we could see what pleasure we give Hashem when we
try to serve him even though he seems so hidden from us... If only
we could know how our daily battles affect our eternity and
that of all of Klal Yisrael... We must believe this,
even though we don't see it.
All Hashem truly wants from us in this world is "Emunah". All
the other Mitzvos are just a means to that end. As Chazal said; "The
prophet Chavakuk put all the Mitzvos into one Mitzva -
"Tzaddik
Be'emunaso Yichyeh -
A Tzadik will live in his Faith".
Fight the Yetzer Hara. Tell him, like David told Goliath, that
although he is stronger, we are coming to fight him in the name
of the Lord.
Just sling some stones of Teffilah and Emunah at him and he will
fall with a mighty thud!
|
143. |
Life vs. Death
Sometimes a person can feel bad about being restricted by the Torah
from living a carefree and "pleasure filled" life. But Hashem smiles
and says:
"My dear child, don't you see? The whole world is blinded by the
evil inclination that I created. They are blinded to the obvious and
blaring truths about this world, namely, that every human is doomed
to certain death, by either accident or illness. Life is nothing but
flesh and blood, filth and rot. It has no eternal qualities, and the
pleasures offered by this world are fleeting and meaningless. My
child, don't you see! Through the precious Torah that I have given
you, I have lifted you up above the blindness of the world, above
the fleeting, rotting world of filth, illness and certain death, to
a life of eternity and connection with the infinite! How fortunate
are you to have this gift! Please my child! Choose life!"
|
144. |
What is left for us to do?
What
does G-d ask of us today, in this last generation before Moshiach?
Think of the incredible Mesiras Nefesh and sacrifice that the
Jewish people had to endure for thousands of years in the dark and
bitter exile. Reflect on the super-human strengths that the Jews had
to have to keep the Torah in the conditions that they were forced to
live in even just a hundred years ago; living in abject
poverty in an extremely hostile environment, despised and schemed
upon by the non-Jews at every turn.
Today, who cannot serve G-d as he desires, in joy and freedom? Who
today does not have what to eat or a roof over their heads? Who
today lives in fear of tomorrow?
So what is left for us to do, what does G-d ask from us in this last
generation?
G-d has given us such a beautiful world to live in today. He just
asks for that little bit of of self-sacrifice, not to go astray
after our eyes and hearts in a world full of glitter and false
pleasures. This is perhaps the one last difficult bit of sacrifice
that is left for us to give G-d today.
And he is not even asking it of us for himself. It is for OUR sake!
There is so much G-dly light and joy all around us, but only those
whose eyes are not darkened by lust can be worthy to see it. He only
asks us to guard our eyes so we can see that He is right here beside
us, holding our hand and smiling.
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145. |
How to Fight your Enemy
Excerpts taken from an
article by By Harry Fisher
How many things we can learn from this article
about fighting the evil inclination!
I was a sergeant in World War II. I landed at Normandy and
fought the Nazis with General Patton's army up to and into
Germany. I was there when we 'liberated' the concentration
camps.
I learned from the greatest generals how to fight a war and
how not. I saw the results of being hard and not giving in.
We pushed through the mud and we pushed through the rain. We
never stopped pushing.
When we found some Germans, we hit them hard and did not
stop firing until nothing moved. Patton was tough, he was
there to win a war against a tough enemy who knew how to
kill you and liked to ambush you.
Patton was clear. Don't put your head down in a ditch and
wait for the fire to clear. The enemy loves that. They will
find you with their mortar shells, so get up and shoot,
shoot, and keep shooting.
Patton's philosophy was simple. "Attack, attack and keep
attacking." Never give your enemy a chance.
Today too, we must defend ourselves and the only way to do
it is to be on the offensive.
Remember, if you want to live in peace, you must be willing
to fight for it, and fighting means just that.
Just remember, when the going gets tough, the tough get
going.
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146. |
The "Game" of Life
Someone wrote us:
If my Father in Heaven is literally about "unconditional Love", then
that means He loves me without conditions. And that means there is
nothing I can do to disappoint Him. Furthermore, I refuse to have
faith in an angry & judgmental God who keeps a score card in Heaven,
and then uses it to punish me!
Dear Jew,
Picture a child asking his father to play with him a game of
checkers. The father says to the son, "son, I can't play you because
I love you so much that I can't bear to win you, nor even to get
ahead of you during the course of the game!". Do you think the child
would be happy? No! The child enjoys the challenge! The child wants
to play his father even if he loses. It's the game he wants,
not the winning. And it's the spending of quality time with his
father, whom he adores, that he desires.
It's the same with life. Down here on this world, we wish G-d would
just love us unconditionally and give us all we need. But before
we came down to this world, our souls wanted to play G-d the game
called "Life". We wanted the challenge of doing the Mitzvos
and beating the evil inclination in a world where G-d is hiding.
And the score-card of this game is "a good life for eternity"...
Yes it's true that G-d loves us so much that he desires to tell us
"quit playing this game and let me just give you everything you
want!". But we didn't want that. Our souls WANTED
G-d to keep that "score-card". And every time we make a smart move
in this game of "Life", G-d smiles and tells us how proud He is of
us!
And there's nothing - absolutely NOTHING - that our souls
crave more than THAT.
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147. |
All Beauty is ONE
Sometimes when we're out there in the big world surrounded by all
the temptations wherever we seem to look, we cry out in our hearts
"Dear G-d, where are you? I can't see you, I can't feel you! All I
see is a beauty of a different kind, wherever I look!"...
But then the answer comes to our hearts from G-d, "my son, does
there exist any beauty besides me? I am in the beauty you see as
well!".
For G-d is indeed everywhere, and He - and only He -
is the source of all beauty. The beauty that we see and crave here
on this world is truly only a mere shadow of a manifestation of G-d's
beauty. We need to train our minds to realize that there are no
two types of beauty. There is only one source of beauty in the
world. What we see in women is also the beauty of G-d. But,
G-d has decreed that in order to merit perceiving His true
beauty, we must first learn to turn our eyes away from the physical
beauty that is only his creation, and instead turn our hearts to Him
- to the SOURCE. In His great wisdom, G-d determined that only
one who is ready to give up the physical manifestations of G-d's
beauty should be worthy of experiencing the true beauty of G-d, in a
much more sublime way.
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148. |
Hashem Does Not Remove His Eyes from the Tzaddik
Someone posted this at Arutz Sheva Talk-Back on one of the Blogs.
"For the past few months I have been going through a difficult time,
which I don't care to share w/ you in this talkback. But I will tell
you that during this period, I have been EXTRA careful in regard to
Shmiras Anayim. I can't begin to tell you how strong my Davening and
learning Torah has become since I began a real sincere effort at
guarding my eyes. I truly don't look at anything I'm not supposed
to....and if something gets in my line of view that shouldn't, I
immediately turn away. Sometimes I find just taking off my glasses
works wonders, if the setting is not tznius. At first it was
difficult, what w/ all the junk on the internet, not to mention the
T.V and public places. But now, its not only easy and second nature,
but I find it extremely rewarding.
The Sefat Emet writes:
It is
written MISHLE 23:26: "My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes
observe my ways". Because the one who guards his eyes and his heart,
which are the two agents of sin, merits that the Holy One Blessed be
He put His eyes and His good heart over him for Good, as it is
written: "And My eyes and My heart was always there" and it is also
written: "He will not remove his eyes from the Tzaddik", because
through guarding the Brit and through guarding these two agents of
sin, the person is on the level of Tzaddik, and measure for measure,
the Tzaddik merits the constant supervision through the eyes of the
Holy One Blessed be He.
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149. |
The Secret Power of 100 Brachos
A member of
our forum ("EfsharLitaken") posted the following:
I'm back from the most uplifting trip to the Holy Land in a long
time. I feel like a new man. I just hope it lasts for a while.
I prayed for all of us on this site, that Hashem should help us win
our fight with the Yetzer Hara so that we can get closer to
Him - our Father in Heaven.
I had the honor of meeting the Great & Holy Reb Yaakov Meir
Schechter Shlita, and he gave me Hadracha to make it easier
to stay in control and have an easier time with the Yetzer Hara,
Kedusha, Shmiras Einayim, etc.. What he told me, is to say
the 100 Brochos every day with Kavana.
He said: "you are saying it anyway, so why not spend a few extra
minutes a day saying it with kavana?" Many people have told him
that it works miracles, Bi'ruchnius & B'Gashmius. It's not
that easy to get used to focusing on them, but its the easiest thing
we can do & yet accomplish the most amazingly powerful things.
I got to read
the handbooks on the flights. I now have to read them a second
time.
I have to thank Hashem for sending me the "Heiliger Guard" with all
of the Tzadikim on this forum to the rescue. I could never have
gotten this far without you.
I'm clean since Lag Ba'Oimer B"H, and I hope & pray that Hashem will
help me stay "on Guard" as long as I live. So please try the 100
Brachos a day with Kavana, and let us know how it went.
Below are the halachos related to making the 100 Brachos which I got
from
Dailyhalacha@aol.com. Sign up & you will get a daily Halacha
Email, it's great!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Halachos of 100
Brachos a Day
One who makes 100 berachos every day will find it easy to reach a
proper level of Yiras Shomayim (Fear of Hashem). (Maharsha
Menachos 43b, Ben Yehoyada Menachos 43b, Sefer Mitzvas Meah Berachos
intro).
The obligation to make 100 berachos daily is based upon the Gemara
(Mes. Menachos 43b) which states that during the reign of
Dovid Hamelech 100 people were dying in Yerushalayim every day until
Dovid Hamelech discerned through Ruach Hakodesh that it was
necessary to institute the obligation for every individual to bless
Hashem a minimum of 100 times each day, after which the plague
ended. (Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Berurah 46:3, Midrash Rabbah
Par. Korach 18:21, Tur 46)
Dovid Hemelech based the obligation on the possuk in Parshas Eikev
(Devarim 10:12) "Ve'attah Yisroel Moh Hashem Elokecha Shoel
Mei'imach Ki Im L'Yirah Es Hashem Elokecha...." ("Now Israel what
does Hashem your G-d ask of you? Only to fear Hashem your G-d"). The
word "Moh" may be read as "Meah", meaning 100. The possuk then
reads: "Now Israel 100 (berachos) does Hashem your G-d ask of you."
(Mes. Menachos 43b see Rashi).
{The possuk subsequently has a total of 100 letters, and 26
words - equal to the name of Hashem Yud Hey Vov Hey}
Since "all that Hashem wants of us" is the 100 berachos, "this
Mitzvah is very great and awesome with very deep meaning". (Seder
Hayom, Seder Meah Berachos).
The obligation to make 100 berachos daily begins at nightfall (Tzeis
Hakochavim) and continues until nightfall the next day.
On a typical weekday one can fulfill the count of 100 berachos as
follows;
1-5. Five berachos of Shema in Maariv
6-24. Nineteen berachos in Shmona Esrei of Maariv
25. Hamapil, when going to sleep
26-28. Netilas Yadayim, Asher Yatzar, Elokai Neshoma in the morning
29-43. Fifteen daily morning Berachos
44-46. Three Birchas Hatorah. (counts Veha'arev Noh as a beracha)
47-49. One beracha on Tzitzis/Tallis, 2 on Tefillin
50. Mikadesh es Shimchah B'rabim (before Korbonos) {not mentioned in
MB}
51-52. Boruch She'amar and Yishtabach
53-55. Three berachos of Shema at Shachris
56-74. Nineteen berachos of Shmona Esrei of Shachris
75-93. Nineteen berachos of Shmona Esrei of Mincha
94-95. Al Netilas Yadayim for 2 meals a day
96-97. Hamotzie Twice a day
98-105. Four berachos of Bircas Hamazon twice a day
106-107. Hagafen on the Kos beracha after Bircas Hamazon twice a day
108-109. Al Hagefen after Kos beracha twice a day
Plus - any additional berachos before and after eating food outside
of a bread meal, a 3rd bread meal, and berachos of Asher Yatzar
after using the bathroom.
(Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 46:3, Siddur R' Yaakov Emden,
Piskei Tshuvos 46:9)
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150. |
Maybe we should run away?
Sometimes a person could have a fleeting thought of how quickly life
is passing him by and how great it would be if he could just run
away from the hustle and bustle of life and serve G-d in solitude,
with all his strength and with true devotion, leaving all the
pleasures of the world behind him. After all, what is the 80 years
here on earth compared to a true, eternal connection with the
Almighty?
Know though my friend, that G-d does not desire angles. He has
enough of them already up in Heaven with him. Rather, he desires
that we little people, surrounded as we are by the hustle and
bustle of every day life, exposed to the constant temptations of
this world, should give him our hearts, just a little bit each day.
Each time we choose to say "no" to ourselves and turn away from
seeing bad, we are giving G-d the deepest satisfaction and uplifting
ourselves more than we could ever imagine!
So
next time the Yetzer Hara tells us that it's too difficult to say
"no" to the temptations of the world, perhaps we can say to
ourselves: "Remember the times when we wished we could just run
away and serve G-d with utter selflessness? But G-d is not asking
something so difficult from us, indeed He does not need
angels -- He has enough of them in Heaven. Instead, G-d asks of us
something so much easier and says: My son, live your
life! enjoy your life! ...Just give me a little bit of your
heart each day".
So shouldn't we at least give Him that?"
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