To all my Brothers on GYE:
Thank you to all who have been m'chazek me with your encouragement and praises.

This week I've been away on business, in that terrible nisayon of being alone in a hotel room. But because I have you all to lean on, the Aibishter has helped me to stay off all those destructive sites. Shlomo's 1020 call in has been out of session, but Baruch HaShem many of the guys have still logged in to call, so as to be mechazek one another. Elul zman makes it easier of course, and I've been able to learn more, learning an extra blatt of Gemara, an extra sugya in V'Haer Eineinu. But I think it's our communal effort as a Rov Ha'Am that the Ribono shel Olam answers us and helps us.

ANd now as I write this, a shvartzeh prutzah has just said hello and sat down at a table near me to have a smoke. I'm almost tempted to thank the Satan for this opportunity to to look away and focus my thoughts on my real brothers. Every second that I keep my eyes on the keyboard, being miskaven to not look, another mitzvah, and another, and now another as I get up to go somewhere else (B"H she left!)...

Chevrei we can do this! NOthing stands in the way of ratzon. Do we have the ratzon to break free of the schmutz?

My bracha to all of you, all of us, is that HaShem should please give us the koach to break free, to really defeat the ta'avah this year.

Wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos, much hatzlacha in overcoming our craving and nisyaon; and Kasiva v'chasima tova!

Avraham