The Library

Free Translation of the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, Bereishis 2:1: You should know, that there is no craving in the world that is as pleasing, as precious, as desirable, as beloved, as coveted and as yearned for by the creations (specifically by the spiritual part [of the cr...

I had written a certain well-known Rabbi about how to deal with lustful thoughts. In several of the Rav's shiurim he had mentioned the Meor Enayim that a person's obstacle is really his path to success. How is being bogged down with lustful thoughts constantly a path to s...

QUESTION: How do I deal with the fact that I keep failing in things that I want to accomplish in Avodas Hashem? I try but it doesn't go. I feel like I just want to give up already. ANSWER: In one of his Seforim, the Breslover Rebbe writes as follows: he says, “when I was...

Rav Dessler (Chelek 1, page 42)brings a Gemara which tells of a man hiding in the walls of the house of a woman with whom he was having an affair. The husband came home and was about to drink water that this man knew was poisoned. At the point, the man jumped out and resc...

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler zt”l (Michtav Me’Eliyahu vol. 4) explains how it happened that a smart man like Korach acted so foolishly. What he says, applies to each of us as well - so listen carefully! He quotes Rav Hai Gaon (in his responsa), who brings the following story: A ...

This email is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures. To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: QUESTION: Are we permitted to walk on Kings Highway because of lack of tznius? Wherever we wal...

To add to the testimonial regarding "The movie theater up in heaven," I too think like that when it comes to fighting the ultimate fight against my yezter hara. I recently installed a nanny cam in my house which saves clips on a cloud, and I sometimes watch mysel...

From this article about Rabbi Levin Zatza"l Rav Levin’s rebbi, Rav Doniel, once asked, “Is man jealous of the wings of an eagle?” As the question sunk in, he responded, “No. Man is not jealous of wings. In fact, if a person would grow wings, he would be a baal mum; ther...

‘Human decency precedes religion’ (Leviticus Raba 9:3) A person cannot consider ‘serving God’ if he is not a decent human being in the first place. A criminal cannot become religious to plaster over his past behaviour. Firstly, he must put his past behind him with genuine...

The pasuk tells us that Esav was “tzayid befiv’. The common understanding of this is that Esav tricked Yitschok into thinking that he was really a righteous person and Chazal tell us that he would ask Yitschok halachic questions such as whether maser needs to be taken fro...

The work Ner Le'ragli tells the story of a certain student in Yeshivat Kenesset Yisrael of Slobodka who spread false, uncomplimentary information about a fellow student, whom we will call Yosef. The lashon ha'ra he spoke caused Yosef to lose a prospective shidduch oppor...

The posuk in Tehillim (103) says, “Kirechok mizrach mimaarav,” as far as the east is from the west, “hirchik mimenu es peshoeinu,” that is the distance Hashem has removed us from our sins. Rav Nosson Dovid of Shidlovtza explained that the distance of east from west is es...

וַיְהִ֗י בְּשַׁלַּ֣ח פַּרְעֹה֮ אֶת-הָעָם֒ וְלֹא-נָחָ֣ם אֱלֹקים דֶּ֚רֶךְ אֶ֣רֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֥י קָר֖וֹב ה֑וּא כִּ֣י | אָמַ֣ר אֱלֹקים פֶּֽן-יִנָּחֵ֥ם הָעָ֛ם בִּרְאֹתָ֥ם מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְשָׁ֥בוּ מִצְרָֽיְמָה: וַיַּסֵּ֨ב אֱלֹהִ֧ים | אֶת-הָעָ֛ם דֶּ֥רֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר יַם-ס֑...

Rav Vosner gave a t'shuva to someone who was asking for a seder t'shuvas hamishkal for aveiros that had been done continuously for many years. Rav Vosner brings a Yismach Moshe who says that t'shuvas hamishkal is only neccesary for a one-time aveira. But for an addiction,...

I read the article you sent me by this Rabbi criticizing the 12-step program. Rather than responding to each point, I would like to discuss a broader issue. Sexual addiction and pornography are now epidemic, even among frum people, and are destroying families. The followi...

After the eigel hazahav (Golden Calf), everyone was downcast because they had lost favor in the eyes of Hashem. The general mood was repentance, remorse, and humility. Yet at that time Moshe Rabbeinu put in some of his greatest requests that he ever made of Hashem. It's...

The Gemara in Sotah writes that someone who is haughty is likely to fall into the sin of adultry. The Gemara goes on to discuss the humility that we should feel and writes that the acronym for ADAM (Man) is "Afar", "Dam" & "Mara", meaning " Dust", "Blood" & "Bile"...

The Vilna Goan says something that's very important to know, especially for those struggling with powerful desires. He writes that what a person says he wants, and even what he feels he wants, has no relation to what he actually wants. The Yetzer Hara was given permission...