The Library

I just wanted to share an insight with the GuardYourEyes community that is appropriate for this Yom Tov of Chanukah. Over the years, I have worked with a great many people who have fallen prey to the visual images out there that are inappropriate. Aside from the struggle...

Question of the Week: My life has come to a standstill. I'm bored at work, and my relationship is going nowhere. I think I need a change of scenery. Should I move away, or do you think a career change will be enough? Answer: There's only one problem with changing scenery....

Sifrei chassidus, including B'nei Yisos'char, elaborate on the fact that the light of the Chanukah menorah contains ohr haganuz and is miraculous. For this reason, "ein lanu reshus l'hishtamesh bohen, ella lir'osom bilvad." We have no permission to behave as though it's o...

Here is some powerful Chizuk from GYE member "Battleworn" in honor of Chanukah: The Me'or Einayim and many other tzadikim explain... The Gemarah says, that we must light Ner Chanuka:1) at night 2) lower than 10 tefachim 3) outside 4) on the left side 5) starting at the...

Dear Yidden, Chanukah is all about Messiras Nefesh, which means fighting the evil against all odds. How did the Jewish people survive for so many thousands of years surrounded by so many enemies? It is those few Yidden who are ready to "die" for Hashem that make all the d...

Yosef HaTzadik is teaching us an approach in life – be a minimalist!  Many try for perfection.  We feel that anything short of perfection is not worth it.  Yosef is saying “Not true.  Accomplish whatever you can accomplish, even if it does not solve the problem, even if it is not a foolproof plan.”  Doing something is better than doing nothing!

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...

"הנרות הללו קודש הם ואין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם" "Chanukah candles are holy and we have no permission to use them, rather only to see them." - And for how long? Half an hour from the start. After the half-hour, they are allowed to be used. In marriage, when a pers...

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...

PARSHAS MIKETZ SHABBOS CHANUKKA This week's Parsha has a terrific lesson that we can apply to our struggle and to our lives. Here Goes: We find that when Yosef Hatzaddik speaks to Pharo He speaks with tremendous humility Pharo tells him "I hear you can decipher dreams" Yo...

The Shiltei Giborim on Meseches Shabbos writes a famous remez to Chanuka found in parshas Mikeitz, וטבוח טבח והכן, the word ‹vehachen› and the ches from the word ‹tevach› spell Chanuka. Last year, my daughter found another remez, where Yehuda says ונלכה ונחיה, the last tw...

Reb Yeruchum explains the Torah's use of the word "mekeitz" as opposed to simply saying "And it was two years" based on the midrash, which quotes the possuk "keitz som l'chosech" - "an end he placed for darkness" - as referring to the two-year period during which Yosef sa...

As an El-Al plane landed on Chanukkah at Ben Gurion airport in Israel, the voice of the Captain came on: "To those who are still seated, we wish you a Merry X-mas, and hope that you enjoy your stay ... and to those of you standing in the aisles, we wish you a Happy Chanuk...

When people consider making improvements in Shmiras Haloshon, they sometimes drop the idea as unrealistic. “Can I really say that I’ll be able to avoid loshon hora forever? What’s the point of trying, only to fail?” But in the month of Kislev, we learn that this line of ...

Never before in history has humanity faced as great an evil as today's Islamic extremists. Even the Nazi's Y"M were not suicidal! When it was obvious that they were losing ground in WWII, they withdrew their troops and ultimately surrendered. But today's Muslim extremist...

Chanukah is all about Messiras Nefesh, about giving the fight over to Hashem. The Sefarim say that every year, the same great light that came down in the time of the Chashmonaim comes down again on Chanukah. In the zechus of their messiras nefesh back then, every Jew can...

It's the last night of chanukaflickering candlesburning brightdancing flamesreaching upwardsever highermeant to reflectthe soul that resideswithin each jewwhere's the keyto this soulthat's herelockedthis timeholinessaspirationreflectedwithin the candleswithin the eyeschoo...