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!
Today is the 19th of Kislev, the yahrzeit of the Maggid of Mezritch. I was learning his sefer and he was talking about fearing Hashem and loving Hashem.
"Sadness by itself is no sin, but the apathy (lit. 'numbness of the heart') that sadness brings about, no other sin can bring about. Mikva by itself is no mitzvah - since Tvilas Ezra was annulled - but the goodness that mikva brings, no other mitzvah brings.
"Please Hashem, within all my defects, my sins, my warts, my hurts, my huge mess, lies a specialness that you put in me. Why did you create me? Because you say I have value. Otherwise, I would not be here in this world.
Yes, we know that during the Chagim, he tried to stick his foot in many times, because when there is greater kedushah (the yom tovim), then there is greater tumah, i.e. Mr. Menuval.
But, now we have finished with the chagim. Let us not forget that on one hand it was the Chagim that helped us. We tuned into the kedushah and ran from the tumah.
Our addictions are internal. Sometimes the external factors are unchangeable. Sometimes we accidentally see things we aren’t supposed to. Sometimes we even do it on purpose. But our Tefillah to Hashem should be to keep us strong internally.
Jewish tradition, however, does not see sex , per se, as sinful. In fact, in the right context, and when engaged in with conscious purpose, sex is seen as a positive commandment,
We all know from the Rambam that complete teshuva is when you are in the exact same situation with the same temptation, yet you overcome the temptation. Sometimes, it's hard for me to imagine being in the exact same situation with the same level of lust.
"Am I crazy? Am I a fool? Am I living my life in denial?
Of course, I am going to do teshuva. But what will be Motzai Yom Kippur? What will be rosh chodesh Shvat, Addar, Addar Beis?!
Velo nomar od elokainu lemaaseh yadeinu asher becha yerucham yasom.
We all feel like orphans in some areas of life, when we feel that we cannot rely on anyone/anything to get us what we need/want. Only our efforts and exertions can do the trick.
That is wrong, asher bech...
The existence in Gan Eden was one where there was no desire at all to look upon דבר שאינו שלו, anything else besides what one is supposed to have. And it is in this sense that Shabbat is "Gan Eden." It is when we must remind ourselves that we have everything we need, and we have no reason to look at anything else. And thus there is special importance to שמירת עיניים, avoiding improper sights, on Shabbat.
In Sifrei Rav Tzadok, in the back of chelek bais, there is a section titled Yisroel Kdoshim. On page 28 of the print I was using, he is in the middle of discussing Shimshon, Dovid and Bas Sheva, and Yosef Hatzaddik. He makes a statement, "and so it is with the nisyonos of...
The Arizal among others[1] tells us Pinchas was a גלגל; reincarnation of Yitzchak. The following are allusions to this.
A) The numerical value of פינחס is 208, Identical to that of יצחק.
B) Both Yitzchak and Pinchas were Moser Nefesh:[2] Yizchak at the עקידה and Pinchas i...
I had written a certain well-known Rabbi about how to deal with lustful thoughts. In several of the Rav's shiurim he had mentioned the Meor Enayim that a person's obstacle is really his path to success. How is being bogged down with lustful thoughts constantly a path to s...
With regards to teshuvah – returning to G‑d – the common notion is that it wholly consists of tears and intense remorse. After all, if one really feels bad for a wrongdoing, it is only natural to cry.
Let me tell you a story. Before entering a private audience with the Re...
