Today marks the beginning of whats known as "the 9 days." Unfortunately in years past I have just viewed this time period as a week plus where I couldnt do laundry, listen to music, eat meat, and do dangerous activities. Well I want to make a concerted effort this year to really mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. I cant help but feel my avodas Hashem is somewhat lacking. We cannot bring Korbanos and atone for our sins in ways that the Torah explicitly tells us. I cant help ut think that I am personally responsible. Not just me but I am certainly not doing my part and can do better. "Hashiveinu Hashem Eilecha Venashuva Chadeish Yameinu Kekedem!" Please Hashem return us to the time when we had the Beis Hamikdash!

Feel free to use this thread to vent about the topic, read about it, or just ignore it.

Lets live the next nine days not just do the motions.

Yeedle -

It is a good point your bring up. Especially what the inability to mourn has to do with sex addiction.

I find that when one is so involved in looking at porn and masturbating he cannot really be sensitive to anything else other than his own "next hit". The fact that Gedolim can truly mourn over Yerushalayim has to do more with the Torah that they know. It has equally to do with the fact that have overcome their desire for lust and therefore have the ability to feel and mourn something that is outside of their bodily needs.

ninety

everything that is wrong in our lives

is directly related to the churban

we lost evrything good in the world with the churban


just look at our small yiddisher world in the past few weeks alone

we lost 3 ziknie hador

a child was brutally murdered

a tzaddik was murdered

this is just the big stories

which hospital is nt full of choilim

how many kids are in camp simcha

camp hsac

how mwny people are sufferring finacially

shidduchim

childeren going off the path of torah!!??

there are so many tzaros

all of them are directly related to churban


we live our lives in the fast paced nano second world

we need to constantly be abreast with the news

evryone is plugged into some ipod,tapping their dumb phones texting emailing facecrooking twittering

no one is living!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



wake up says the tatteh in himmel!!!

think of me!!

think of MY churbam!

think of MY kinder

think of MY torah

think of MY glory

wake up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So true Reb Bards.

When something bad in the Kehillah happens we (I really mean "I") look for an "out" to blame like society. But really I should be looking at myself. What can I do to make the world better? The simple answer, as the Ramchal in the first perek of Mesillas Yesharim says, is doing Mitzvos. When we do Mitzvos it makes the world better and conversley when we do Aveiros it makes the world a worse place. With the incident concerninf the young boy in Brooklyn I was so distraught on how sick the world is. Maybe I should stop blaming society and look inside myself. Not that I'm blaming myself, but if there's something to take from such a horror incident (and there is), its that we can effect the world around us with our actions and thoughts.

this post by UAJ is a gem and it seems fitting to post it here, both as chazara and to allow the rest of GYE (who aren't seeing the married section) to see it

ur-a-jew wrote on 22 Jul 2011 16:21:


The Maharal says explains the reason the talmidei R' Akiva were niftar because they did not honor each other properly, shelo nahagu kavod zeh bazeh, with the following;
When we greet someone, say a kind word to them, show them respect, we are giving them life, we are showing them that we care about them, we are interested in their well-being. So if the talmidim did not show the proper respect they were withholding life and therefore they lost their own life.

These days, we need to build, to give life, to bring the Shchina back. How does that happen? by emulating Hashem, who is the ultimate life-giver. A kind word, a smile, a sincere interest, all these things are what we can do to 'build' and spread love and kindness, which is the opposite of sinas chinam.

And there is no better place to start than with family and friends.