Rav Chaim Shmulevitz says (in Sichos Mussar) that the reason why a metzora, someone without kids, a poor person and a blind person are choshuv kemais, considered as dead, is because they all have something in common which they are lacking.

Each one in their own way, is lacking in the ability to give and interact with other people -the people we give most to are our kids, a poor person is obviously less able to give and to help people (monetarily), a metzora is secluded from people and a blind person can't connect to people on the highest level (he quotes from the possuk where moshe saw the suffering of the people, that the highest level of connection is through sight). In other words, the whole point of life is being able to give to others, share in their pain, try and help them out and connect with them. If you are unable to do this you aren't trully alive and therefore considered as dead.

The message I took from this, in relation to our struggle, is that being absorbed in self pleasure and lust gratification is withdrawing from people and taking selfishly, its the opposite of what life is for and the whole time we do it, we are adding ourselves to the list of 'chosuv kemais' - we are behaving as if we are dead! As a side point I try to have kavonoh in shmoineh esrei when saying 'mechayey maisim' that Hshm should help me act alive instead of dead.

May we all be Zoche to 'chose life'!

Great Post!!!

thanks

ACE

beautiful!

an honest mouse wrote on 20 Apr 2010 12:00:


Hey, That is a Great thought!

When we say mechayey maisim b'rachamim rabim is the place to thank Hashem for giving Klal Yisroel a caring yid such as R' Guard and this wonderful, holy, dedicated, devoted, loving, (add all other applicable adjectives here____) Guard Your eyes Community!!!!!



And why is this in the Brocho of gevurah? Because if we give it over to Hashem, it is Hashem's gevurah that is fighting the Yetzer Horah!!!!!

and I found another quote from the honest mouse (as I almost by mistake bumped into him on Purim): "How much of the giving that i do, is for the sense of satisfaction I get when they say thanks?"