"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,
Ki yadati ess yitzro asher hu osseh hayom. (31:21) I know his Yetzer Horah which he makes for himself today!
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.
