I said nothing about zealotry, I asked for clarity from a religious standpoint on prohibitions that were made with incomplete knowledge. Are the sages of the past beyond reproach? Am I not permitted to ask this question, just expected to blindly follow, out of fear? Is that your Judaism?

livingpalpitation wrote on 08 Sep 2024 16:02:

Chazal say it is ossur (nida 13a).  It has nothing to do with science.  We are expected to blindly follow chazal even if they say that left is right.  that is part of the emuna that we have from the time of receiving the Torah at har Sinai. 

That is a prerequisite to any Torah discussion on this site.  

that said anyone is welcome to discuss what works for them to refrain from unwanted behaviors.  

You espouse blind faith and simultaneously promote asking questions. Okay.

My emunah would be strengthened if I was not asked to believe left is right. That is not Judaism, that’s zealotry.

We are permitted to ask questions and doubt rulings, even if we cannot change them. Your answer to my legitimate questions is to blindly follow because…we must blindly follow. That’s not good enough for me, I’m sorry to say.

I hope we can have a discussion less bound up in naming prerequisites and more in actual human interaction. Take the gatekeeping elsewhere.

"לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל "

livingpalpitation wrote on 08 Sep 2024 16:16:


I promote blind faith in chazal.  Questions about how to implement tools to avoid unwanted behaviors are not questions on the legitimacy of chazal. 

the reference to “left is right” is a sifri quoted in this past weeks parsha.   

questioning to understand is very different than doubting them.  

this site was set up to help with kedusha not to debate or sow doubt in people’s emunah.  I hope you find the help you are looking for but I will bow out of this discussion and leave the gate keeping for the moderators.

I'm sure there are people here and elsewhere who are happy to discuss fundamentals of Halachic Judaism and explain what we believe and why, including hearing your sincere truth-oriented questions, in private. (I don't feel qualified, sorry, but maybe someone will volunteer...) On the forum halacha is taken as truth. (see rules tab, rules 2 and 5)

I will review the rules but I don’t understand how people are comfortable discussing masturbation and addiction to pornography in public but will not discuss Halacha.

(I feel like that post was a bit harsh and somewhat regret it; questions like yours do need to be answered in this generation; having them doesn't make you a "kofer" even if the question itself constitutes "kefira"...idunno, I should leave the modding to the mods)

livingpalpitation wrote on 08 Sep 2024 16:49:

That is an interesting question, but here it will be a rabbit hole. The premise on GYE is that people want to stop and are seeking support in that venture. Some people may be unsure if they really want to stop and there is support here for that too. But something that questions the premise for the group will be pushed back on, whether based in halacha, science, mental health or other things... 
In addition, if I may be so bold, I too have questioned some halachic issues, and part of it (though perhaps not all) came from a deep sense of pain and fear and guilt that "if they are right, then I'm toast"... So feel free to pull back some of the coverings, and explore your own feelings about it.

Folks, let's everybody chill out. The question falls in line with מותר להרוג כינה בשבת, do stainless steel pots need kashering... It's a basic question, and there are definitely places to ask it (I'll pm you one). It's just that here, people won't take to it well because it is not what people are here for. But there is a great deal of support and guidance waiting in the wings, and "help will always be given at GYE for those who ask for it".

It is kefira to suggest the evolving field of science may not have been as developed millennia ago? That our rule givers and interpreters may have been working with the information available, which may not have been complete?

livingpalpitation wrote on 08 Sep 2024 17:09:

No, it's not. It's a perfectly reasonable question, and one which has many books and articles written about it. It's just that people aren't here for that conversation, they're here to find help stopping masturbation, not questioning whether they should.

I second all of what Richtig has said and I too have struggled with many questions about Emunah in Hashem. I agree this is not the forum for it and I have discovered that myself. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across a proper one for it. Regardless, questions of Emunah, (at least of this nature), can not be properly addressed in a written back and forth. A lot is missed between the lines and it can turn into a debate not a discussion. There needs to be  a discussion, one that includes all that goes behind the questions and an understanding of sympathy and respect for the one asking. I don't know about your level of observance but questions on faith when one deep in his heart believes, are an agony in of the highest form. I feel for you. Maybe try reaching out to some people here and you can see how sympathetic they can be. I dont know if I can help but my email is haragra14@gmail.com

begin here:

i would guess god is keenly aware, of the complete and correct understanding of the human body.

god manufactured your gentiles & masturbation too, and god said dont do it!

i would trust the manufacturer,

or study the manual again.

end here.

This is not a helpful response.