This area has been taboo in the religious community for far too long. The very fabric of our society is at stake. Families are literally being destroyed. Many husbands, wives and children are being affected. The instant availability and anonymity that the Internet provides makes this perhaps the biggest test of our generation.
As Rabbi Yosef Viener from Agudas Yisrael Monsey said in a recent talk on Family Security:
"Not a week goes by that I don’t have to deal with a Shalom Bayis Problem or a problem in Chinuch Habanim or Banos, or a very fine Bochur who will call me up – or at least what is left of a very fine bochur – calls me up crying, begging for help. There is nobody that can claim that either they’re not affected, or a family member, or a neighbor, or the chaver sitting next to them in shul, or the chavrusah sitting across from them in yeshiva. If you discounted it until now, you’re gonna have to take my word for it when I say that there is no single problem facing the yechidim in klal Yisrael and communities at large, there is no bigger problem than this. Nothing even comes close. There’s a Chov Kadosh to do something now before there’s no semblance of Kedusha left in Klal Yisrael. And I don’t say that lightly. Keep in mind, the people who come to me are so frum and so upset about what’s going on, that they’re willing to talk to their Rav. That means that there are thousands of people who would never even speak to their Rav. I hate to sound pessimistic – but if you have unrestricted Internet in the house – Internet that is not both filtered and reported, I would say there’s a higher than then 90% chance that people have already been Nichshal in your house. And if it hasn’t happened yet, there’s more than 90% chance it will happen. And if it’s not happening at home, it’s happening in the office.”
And Rabbi Twerski describes in one of his talks how easy it is to get "addicted" to these things (less than a second) – even when someone was not looking for it, and he bemoans the caliber of people that are falling into this trap today, claiming that Moshiach must be very close.
Guard Your Eyes is helping save lives and marriages every day, helping people retain their self-respect and regain their sanity and connection to spirituality, all of which they had given up for lost thinking they had no hope to ever break free. Finally people are finding that they are not alone and that there is true hope in overcoming this addiction.
There is probably nowhere else in the world where one can find such an awakening of Teshuvah and closeness to Hashem within the religious community. Read the hundreds of testimonials on our website. People write in countless times how they simply break down crying when reading through the website and forum for the first time, realizing that they too have hope!
The Guard Your Eyes network is the only religious network in the world today that deals with this issue in such a comprehensive manner and offering so many tools, such as; a website with hundreds of pages of information, a forum, daily e-mail lists, phone conferences, hot-lines, 12-Step groups, and this groundbreaking program.
On the one hand, what we have done until now has been a considerable accomplishment, yet on the other hand, it's only a drop in the ocean when considering the many tens of thousands of Jews who are either struggling in this area or who are in serious risk of stumbling into these destructive behaviors.
We are in the process of expanding our “Treatment” options by building the framework to accommodate tens of thousands of Jews who may struggle in these areas. We are also expanding our focus on “Prevention” as well by (a) spreading awareness of on-line dangers through educational campaigns and materials aimed at parents, Rabbanim , Mechanchim, and the general public, and (b) by expanding our “Filter Division” to include 24 hour hotlines and support, to assist and encourage people (in the U.S. and Israel) to install solid filtering and monitoring software for their computers and hand-held devices.
The Ohr Hachayim on Parshas Shmos (3:8) writes that before Moshiach's time, the Jewish nation will be subjected to the 50th level of impurity. But he also writes there, that before the Redemption the Jewish people will garner the strength through the Torah to enter into the very "mouth" of the Satan and pull out that which he had already swallowed ("le'hotzi boi'lo mi'piv"). And that is what the Guard Your Eyes community is doing today. The Ohr Hachayim Hakadosh could not have used a more divinely inspired analogy. We are entering into the mouth of the Satan himself and using the very power of today’s digital technology to pull out these sparks of Kedusha, these holy souls, that have fallen to the 50th level of impurity!
Please help us spread the word about our work amongst Rabbanim, mechanchim and community leaders in your area. If you have a website, please put a link to www.guardyoureyes.org or print out flyers (downloadable on our website) to hang up in your neighborhood shteiblach, bulletin boards and the like, or sponsor an ad in your community or neighborhood magazines.
R' Noach Weinberg Za”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish Hatorah used to say: Hashem will bring back all his children and all we have to do is simply be there to guide our Jewish brothers’ hearts back into place. R' Noach used to also ask people if they thought they could change the world. And they would say, "what can I do on my own?". But then he would ask them, "and what if Hashem helped you, could you change the world then?" And they would agree that with Hashem’s help, anything was possible. And that was Rav Noach’s secret to success. He knew that if this was something Hashem wanted to happen in the world, we just have to be there to guide the plan into place.
The Chovos Halevavos (Shar Ahavas Hashem, Perek 6) says:
And you should know, my brother, that the merit of the believer, even should he reach the utmost completion in fixing his soul for blessed G-d, and even should he be close to the angels in their good traits and praiseworthy actions, and in the efforts they expend in their service of their Creator, and in their pure love for Him, still do not reach the merits of someone who guides people onto the good path and steers the wicked to Divine service. For his merits are doubled in relation to their merits, for all days and all times.
Think about the merits you will accumulate if others are helped through you!
Everything on our network is free of charge. Donations are our life-line.
Please help us continue helping others!
Online donations here.
Checks can be written out to "GYE Corp" and mailed to:
GYE Corp.
P.O. Box 32380
Pikesville, MD 21282
U.S.A
To donate by phone call: 646-600-8100.
Tizku Lemitzvos!