The Library

Isaac and Rebecca's son, Esau, married two pagan Hittite women, who were a source of agony to his parents, because they indulged in idol worship. The Midrash says that Isaac was more distressed by the pagan rituals than Rebecca, because Rebecca grew up in the home of her ...

The patriarch Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac. Standing at the well, Eliezer says, "I will ask a young woman for a drink. If she also offers water to my camels, I know that she is a proper match for Isaac." Rebecca gave Eliezer ...

When the angels told Abraham that Sarah would bear a child, she laughed. "How can I bear a child at my age?" G-d revealed to Abraham that Sarah had laughed in disbelief. Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh." Sfas Emes says that Sarah was a holy person and did not lie. ...

The Gemara Berachos (34b) tells us "Penitents occupy a level that even the completely righteous cannot achieve." While this statement is encouraging and inspiring, what does it really mean and how can it be fair? Why should people who are consistently righteous and moral...

Football is a game played by men Gotta run, hit da ground and get up again Preparation durin' the week is a definite must - and so it is with recovery from lust. Gotta shvitz, gotta train, muscles to build Otherwise, you gonna get killed Guys on the other side can be ...

The Torah says that Hashem spoke to Abraham after Lot had separated from him. Lot was not a spiritual person, and as long as Abraham was in his company, he did not receive any Divine communication. There is no question that Abraham retained his piety and integrity even in...

The Torah says that the generation of the Flood was destroyed because it was corrupt. The term the Torah uses for "corrupt" is chamas. The Talmud definition of chamas is taking something from another person by force, but paying for it. This is a type of thievery which a p...

"G-d said, 'Let us make man.'" All of creation is done by G-d alone. Only in creation of man does G-d say "Let us make man." G-d created animals and He created angels. Both are created in a state of completion. Now, G-d wanted a different type of being, one that is create...

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...

The pasuk says: velo sasuru acharei levavchem ve’acharei einechem. Rashi brings from chazal: the eyes are scouts for the body. The eyes see, then the heart desires, and the rest of the body gets dragged into it as well. This raises an obvious question: the pasuk says eine...

It was a long hard day. The presentation had to be perfect. The future of the company depended on it. The livelihood of 12 families depended on it. They all depended on me. No sweat. I knew we had a good product. I knew how to sell it and I knew who to sell it to. I was j...

Shame is an excruciating and agonizing emotion. When a person feels shame, he feels completely worthless and small, almost as if he has no right to exist. Shame is a powerful process that is hardwired into our system, and makes us humans sociable and responsive to the s...

Lyrics: Way back in the stone age,It wasn’t yet the phone age,It was two cans and a string Or you were all a lone-age But nowadays we call,All ppl large and small If you don’t have a cell phone You are Neanderthal A cell phones a good start But why not make it smart,A ph...

The man in my office was beside himself. He had been seeing me for the past few weeks and made significant strides in recovering from his porn addiction. His path was not easy, but nevertheless rewarding – he had to face brutal realizations about himself and re-order hi...

Hi, I am in need of guidance. Thanks to your site baruch Hashem my desire to do biah with goyish women has all but disappeared. Unfortunately this goyish girl has come along to me. She insists no vaginal or anal (which according to halachah are definitely considered bia...

People with the so called “porn addiction” suffer from a maladaptive relationship to sex in an obsessive & compulsive manner. “Porn addicts” have a number of criteria similar to those used to diagnose drug addiction, making them very similar in their appearance. Here ...

While a woman does not have the same physical stamp of the brit (circumcision) as a Jewish man, she must also carefully strive to live a life of sexual purity in accordance with the guidelines of our Sages. Just as with a man, she has an anatomical counterpart to the spir...