The Library

I've been thinking a lot about it lately and I realized that looking at inappropriate things is just like smoking - either first hand or second hand - and we should approach it the same way. Let me explain. Every time I walk around someone who smokes, I try to make sure I...

When a pleasurable and intimate activity is always shared with one person ( e.g., a wife) to the exclusion of anyone else, that both indicates a closeness and causes further closeness [siman & siba]. If this activity is also experienced with others (or even a person a...

I struggled with shmiras einayim for years. I tried every trick in the book, every kind of inspiration, but nothing lasted for the long term. Until I finally gave up. Surprisingly though, it was actually when I gave up that things finally changed. I came to the realizati...

Dear Rabbi Morgenstern, Would the Rav be able to weigh in to this discussion and offer a psak? See the conversation below: Question: Can I use a mixed gym and pool, as I feel It would help me not to fall. I know that these days we are not allowed to even go in to the st...

When we were approaching חודש שבט I heard from Reb Shlomo Meyer a vort that was tremendous chizuk for me all these years. שבט ר״ת שמרם ברכם טהרם. This month, which is entirely during the weeks of שובבים is here to remind us what our goal in life is. We ask Hashem, please...

Question: I am a happily married man. But for a reason I don't know, this past week my mind has been driving me nuts with thoughts of other women, etc. These thoughts are so powerful. Is there a way to stop them? Are there any extra prayers I can be reciting? Is there so ...

Judaism views lust as follows: We acknowledge the fact that G‑d created us with such feelings, and it’s certainly not an aberration to feel lustful. However, outside of marriage, we are expected to be sufficiently aware of our higher calling, utilize our intellect, and mu...

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...

The Midrash offers a parable in explaining the use of olive oil for the Menorah in the Temple: it is comparable to a king whose legions rebelled against him. However, one of his legions remained faithful and did not rebel. The king said, "From this legion that did not reb...

The Greeks wanted to get rid of the Jews. They did not hate us, they just wanted to steal our spirituality, which would lead us to leave Hashem. It's an untold part of the Chanuka story that at the time when the Greeks began to attack Judaism, the Beis Hamikadash was bei...

A great Rabbi, Hillel, taught that on the first night of Chanukah we light one candle and each successive night we add an additional candle until on the eighth night there are eight candles. Why did Hillel prescribe this method for commemorating the eight days of Chanuka...

One can help oneself by preparing for upcoming situations. I heard from Horav Simcha Schustal ZT"L at a siyum of a Yarchei Kallah in Lakewood the yesod of the Mesillas Yesharim of זהירות שלא בשעת מעשה: if you recognize what to do in certain situations, you can then progra...

From a news story: "One man's neighbors reported that he subsisted on cat food. During the winter, they collected money and bought him a warm coat. When he died, the kindly neighbors were astounded and outraged to learn that the miserly man had amassed $850,000 in ba...

I daydreamed through sunset Dreaming of dawn When I came to my senses The Sun was long gone I understood then What my Mum used to say: When you live in tomorrow Then you miss today

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated the Torah as we treat our cell phone? What if we carried it around in our purse or pocket every day? What if we looked through it many times each day? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we always checke...

R' Avraham Alter ran a Yeshiva in Chicago for many years. He worked together with Baalei Teshuva. There was one fellow who was straddling the fence for a number of years. R' Avraham very much wanted this fellow to make a commitment. And he told the fellow, "You got to do ...

On November 26th, a Los Angeles Times Op-Ed bore the title ‘Behind the harassment scandals, another dirty little secret: pornography’. Here at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, we could not agree more. With each newly exposed scandal, it becomes more and m...

Mesilas Yesharim says, "Kol inyanei haolam nisyanos heim l'adam -- All matters in this world, everything, are tests for man." That's a sweeping statement! What does it mean tests? Hashem has to test you to know what you are? He doesn't know beforehand what you're going to...