The Library

A rabbi and a priest sat next to each other on a train from Kiev to Warsaw. At lunch, the priest pulled out a bacon sandwich and offered a half to the rabbi. “No, thank you,” said the rabbi, “It’s against my religion to eat bacon.” “Tell me the truth, rabbi,” asked the p...

This is a little something I wrote upon hearing the sad news of the famous actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing, due to an overdose of drugs (after being clean for 23 years). The news touched me deeply and this is my reflection... While many mourn Philip S. Hoffman's f...

Ben Zoma said that the strongest force of the heart's might is the power to overcome evil inclination. Courage in battle is not as great; there are many strong, brave warriors who have learned the arts of war and know how to fight. But the battle of the evil inclination d...

Therapists have been known to comfort clients who experience anxiety-provoking and obsessive thoughts, by telling them, “There is no need to feel fear or shame about the thoughts that run through your head. Thoughts do not really mean anything and don’t hurt anyone.” W...

Always remember to stay happy! The Yetzer Hara's biggest tool is depression and sadness. Working on one's self is not a "sad" and "confining" thing, but rather it should bring us tremendous joy that we have the merit to sacrifice our desires for the creator of the entire...

The Rambam (Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, "Laws of Repentance", 10,3) writes: "What is the proper love that we must have for G-d? It is to love G-d with an exceedingly great and intensely powerful love until the individual is constantly enraptured by it; he must be stricken ...

Pleasure that is tied with truth has a lasting effect and can help make a Mitzvah more whole, like when we enjoy theShabbos and Yom-Tov meals. But pleasure that is tied to falsehood, like spilling seed, doesn't last. That's why when the pleasure is over there is no feelin...

There are three different mind-frames that one can use when he is faced with a strong challenge in Shmiras Ha'ainayim or Shmiras Ha'bris . Each person can choose the one that works best for him. There also may be times when one way will work better for you than the other ...

Someone who is addicted to por-nogrophy lives in a perpetual cycle, that alternates between three basic states. 1) Void: A feeling of a deep void of "I need, need need". Not a very happy state, to say the least. 2) Giving in: Letting go to "supposedly" fill the void. ...

Often, people just don't trust the power of Torah to save them from the clutches of the Yetzer Hara. They try everything, the 12 steps, meditations, psychotherapy, etc... but they won't sit down and learn a blat of Gemara. My friends! Gemara is "sechel hayashar" - "strai...

One secret to success in overcoming the evil inclination is to enjoy the challenge! Imagine you are playing a video arcade game called "Life" and the enemy is called "Temptation". If a test comes and you overcome it, you get points and move to a higher level each time. On...

Ah, the gift of sight! Often though, we don't appreciate it enough. I just read an article in the Hamodia about a twenty year old boy who had a genetic disease and lost his eye sight without warning in the span of just a few days. Obviously this was very difficult for him...

THE REWARD FOR THOSE WHO GUARD THEIR EYES FROM LOOKING INTO FORBIDDEN THINGS He becomes a chariot [Merkava] to the Shechina, and he is considered as if had offered all the sacrifices (The Chida, Avodat ha Kodesh, Tzipporen Shamir, 9:128) When he prays to the Holy One Ble...

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 endured for thousands of years in the dark and bitter exile. Reflect on the super-human strengths that the Jews had to have ...

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 sam...

The Seder is not just a memorial to events of the distant past - it is a dynamic process of freedom from the challenges of the present. We are slaves. Slaves to our own addictions, habits, inhibitions, fears, cynicism and prejudices. These self-appointed pharaohs are laye...

Pesach cleaning is underway in all Jewish households around the world. As we toil to clean our houses from leaven, we are in parallel also cleansing ourselves from the evil inclination, which is symbolized by the leaven. We are toiling to break free of the evil one, in an...

There is no such thing as I already failed, says Rav Tzvi Mayer. Even if you are middle of an aveira, you have no excuse to "finish up". Stop yourself right there and then and your zechus (merit) is immeasurable! Dovid HaMelech says in Tehilim (119:62) "Chatzos Leila Ak...