There is the story of the man who fell off a cliff in the dark and on the way down grasped a branch and hung on for dear life. Weakening, he finally cried out to heaven, "Please help me!" and the answer came, "Let go!" "But if I let go I'll die," the man replied. "Let go!" was all he heard. When finally he could hold on no longer, he did let go, knowing it was the horrible end. To his great surprise, the ground was only a foot below him.

As long as we either clung to it or tried to fight it into submission, our habit fought back, and being more powerful than we, it always won! Only when we let go does the release come, as though God mercifully raises the very earth itself to meet us.

Merely knowing and admitting we were powerless over lust, or whatever form our acting out took, didn't help until we gave up our right to do it and let it go. There was no mistaking this change of heart when it happened; we knew it and those about us knew it. There is no faking surrender. And, thank God, when we did give up and stopped fighting, He was always there, waiting with open arms. Instead of killing us, as we had feared, surrender killed the compulsion!

I just heard a tape from Rabbi Yosef Chaim Greenwald saying that the Divrei Chaim of Sanz said that on Chanukah a person can do Teshuvah even on aveiros that the Zohar says that one cannot do Teshuvah on, because when the King comes to visit the jail, everyone can ask for anything.

(Lighting below 10 Tefachim where the Sh'chinah never goes, symbolizes how the King comes to visit even the darkest and lowest places on Chanukah...)

One of the biggest lessons of the Chanukah miracles is that when we do our best, Hashem will do the rest - and we'll see miracles! This was the lesson of the Maccabees; few against many, weak against powerful. And this was also the lesson of the oil; if we seek, we will find, and if we pour in whatever we have, Hashem will make it work - far more than our expectations!

Watch this great clip from Aish.com that helps bring home this point.

Chanukah's Secret to Greatness

"An Honest Mouse" wrote:

The miracle of the oil was that there was only a little bit of untainted, pure oil left - only enough for 1 day, but Hashem made it last for 8 days.

Sometimes, we don't have a lot of strength in us, we feel we can only remain clean for a short while, we don't have it in us for the long haul. If we dedicate our short time clean to Hashem and say, 'this is as much as I can do, please keep me clean', He is surely able to repeat the miracle and give us the ability to remain clean for much longer!

"Yosef Hatzadik" wrote:

The Kohanim knew that they didn't have enough oil to light the Menorah continuously until new oil can be procured. They did what was in their power to do today anyhow.

Progress, not Perfection! As they say in Yiddish: "Ah Yid darf tahn, nisht oiftahn! - a Jew must do, not accomplish"

We gotta do our part; the end result is up to Hashem!

"Aish Kodesh" wrote:

When the Greeks destroyed everything in the Beis Hamikdosh, the Yidden almost lost hope until they searched and searched and found the jar of clean oil. This symbolizes our neshamos. We can never give up hope, there is always a way out. No matter where we are, we can find a way to bring light to the world and to our neshomos, and Hashem will make a miracle and it will be something much greater then our little deeds. That's why Beis Hillel says we are "malin bakodesh"; just light a little light and Hashem will make it much stronger!

Do you have a problem with obsessive and compulsive porn use? Have you seriously tried the tools on GYE and feel that you are not getting better? Maybe it’s time to consider joining a 12-Step program.

Porn Anonymous (PA)
If you’re compulsively acting-out with pornography and masturbation we suggest you explore joining Porn Anonymous (PA). If you need help deciding whether to join PA, call Michael at 347-699-2368, or email help@pornanonymous.org to schedule a time to talk. For more information visit pornanonymous.org (Hebrew: p-a.org.il / Yiddish: pa-yid.org).

Sexaholics Anonymous (SA)
If your compulsive acting-out has progressed beyond the screen (with other people, paid sexual services, etc.) we suggest you explore joining Sexaholics Anonymous (SA). To figure out if SA is for you, call Dov at 917-414-8205, or email Dov at dov@guardyoureyes.org to schedule a time to talk. For more information visit www.sa.org.