Tuesday,the 4th of Tishrei,September 22

Today is perek 17,Tefilla LeDovid
This mizmor is about claiming oneself to be completely and absolutely and solely in the hands of G-d.
"Guard me like the apple of the eye."
"Shelter me in the shadow of Your wings"

And  the pleasure of basking in Hashem's security and Divine presence can be felt from Dovid's words:
"O to be among those who die by Your hand,Hashem,who die by old age-whose portion is eternal life,and whose belly You fill with Your concealed treasure(His light).
"And I,because of my righteousness,shall behold Your face.Upon awakening I will be sated by your image."

And what is this "righteous" that one strives for that merits such blessing of light?
"You examined my heart,You searched at night;You tested me-You found not;my thoughts do not transgress the words of my mouth."

Hashem desires sincerity.
Pashut.
That's all He asks for.
We must strive honestly and patiently.
If it honest,then He is patient.

Have a great day all
-uri

Beautiful thanks! Keep em coming!

After careful deliberation i have decided that we'll split perek 18 into 2 parts.
The rule will be that anything over 50 will be split.
This is so tha we can focus on the meaning more,and when its bigger thats less likely to happen.
If anyone disagrees with my decision,i veto you.Sorry.

So Today,Wednesday,the 5th day in Tishrei,September 23 is perek 18 pesukim 1-25

Gevaldike perek
Dovid goes on and on about Hashem's powerful constant hugs.
His distress was something we can relate to strongly because of our addiction and pain:
"The pains of death encircled me"
"The snares of death confronted me"
"The ropes of the grave pulled me"

And then He cried out.....

And the hugs began.
"From His dwelling He heard my voice.......flaming coals blazed forth from Him(anger at the enemies).....He bent down the heavens and descended,with think darkness beneath His feet.....He mounted a cherub and flew,He swooped on the wings of the wind......He sent forth His arrows and scattered them.....He sent from on high and took me,He drew me out of the deep waters....He brought me out into open spaces...."
"He released me,for He desires me".

How geshmak?!
But Hashem swoops in darkness.
His hugs are sometimes a shtickle hidden.
Let us open our eyes and start becoming aware of what's really going on.
I sometimes feel like a very small child who lives through a war.
He hears alot of noise but he has no clue what's really going down all around him.
Us too.
There's a serious war goin on between the forces of good and evil.
And we are an integral part.
Let us wake up

A good day to all
-uri

Uri,

Thanks so much! I just printed it out, so that when I have more time later, I can take it in.

Yasher Koiyach! Gmar Chasima Tovah.

Nishmas

Uri,

Just got through reading it with a little more Iyun. Great stuff! THanks.

"...HE drew me out of the deep waters." .... Very comforting.

Nishmas

Uri, gevaldig! I'm watiting for today's part. It has a very special koach when we do this together, please everyone join in and make sure to say the daily Tehilim!

So Today,Thursday,the 6th day in Tishrei,September 24 is perek 18 pesukim 25-end

Very much along the lines of what we said yesterday(no shocker there.its the same perek.)

"The promise of Hashem is flawless.He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him."
"For it is You who will light my lamp.Hashem,my God,will illuminate my darkness."
"For with You I smash a troop,and with my G-d I leap a wall."
"I struck them(enemies,yetzer)down and they could not get back up."

Contrary to popular belief,Hashem doesn't only protect us when we are perfect.
"Blessed is He who trusts in Hashem,and Hashem shall be his security."
The etzem fact that we trust in Hashem is enough to merit that we get protection.
Feel the hugs!!

-uri

Thank you, thank you, URI!

This is great.

"The etzem fact that we trust in Hashem is enough to merit that we get protection."...Gevaldik!

I just added most of today's post to my new "Chizuk" file.

Nishmas

Sorry for posting this so late
For some reason I had it in my head that I'd already posted today's kapitel..

Anyway to today's kapitel
Today,Erev Shabbos,7th of Tishrei,September 25th,we'll iy'h be saying Perek 19,Lamnateach Mizmor

Dovid talks about how the world reveals the glory of Hashem.
It's amazing how people can just walk around and not give a thought to how this complex world was created.
There's a famous story of the Chasam Sofer that he was conversing with an atheist.
The atheist was claiming that he doesn't see any proof that Hashem created the world.
He believed it just came to be on it's own.A coincidence.
He was in the middle of writing some sort of letter at the same time.
He walked out for a second and the Chasam Sofer leaned over and finished the letter for him,then put down the quill and sat back down.
The atheist came in and stared in shock at the finished letter.
"What just happened?"
"Well,the ink spilled and fell into these words.What a coincidence,no?"
"What?!That's impossible!"
"And the world with all it's amazing complexities and synchronization,that's a coincidence that it all "fell together" that way?!"

"The heavens declare the glory of G-d,and the earth tells of His handiwork."

But Dovid goes further and talks about the revelation of Hashem through His Torah.
My friends,we all know this to be so true.
While we always know Hashem exists,to truly feel Him we must connect through the connections He gave us:Torah,,Mitzvos,and Tefilla.
When we pour our heart out to Him,and then go outside,the world is pashut a different place.
I know myself that after a full day of learning,I go outside for a walk,and I am amazed at how Hashem's glory shouts our from every tree and cloud.

This is especially important for all of us at GYE.
The world to us is a scary place,hence our addiction to the safety and comfort of pornography.
If we see this world as being in Hashem's loving palm,it will be a big step towards our recovery.

Have a great day
-uri

I want to thank you uri.
last night i was having a hard time
night's hardest for me
i spoke to mom and she thought is was a great idea to say the daily tehillim before i go to sleep.
IT HELPED ME TONS!
and i was thinking about the way you explained it the whole time that i was saying it!

thanks, bro!

shabbos was 20
today is 21
tommorow is 22

gmar chasima tova

i say the tehilllim every day
sometimes more than once
if i'm feeling weak
it helps me
not be sad
have strength
know that i'm not alone

all this is because of one very special person
uri

letakain you always make me 

I also sometimes say the daily tehillim 10 or 20 times.
Its very powering.

Today is one of most favorite mizmorim!!!
I know I always say that,but really....
Today,September 29th,11th of Tishrei,we will be saying mizmor 23,mizmor ledovid.
So geshmack!
We(nusach ashkenaz)say this mizmor by shalosh seudos,which is arguably the holiest time of the week.

"Hashem is my shepherd, I shall not lack."
"In lush meadows He lays me down, beside tranquil waters He leads me."
"He restores my soul."
"Though I walk in the valley of death(the internet), I will fear no evil, for You are with me."
"I shall dwell in the House of Hashem for the rest of my long life."

Wow.
He is our shepherd.
Let Him guide us.
He runs the roller coaster.
He runs every event in the world just for us.
Everything is set up exact.
Everything to the exact second.
In the exact place.
The exact person.

But it's much deeper than that....

There is an idea here that is transcendent.
When we realize that life is one big hug.
When we become aware that everything is in world is Hashem speaking to us.
The world becomes a different place.
Everything is now an illusion.
It is all Hashem.
Life is one intimate experience.

This is a level I dont think any of us are on yet.
But this idea is attainable to some degree.
For us addicts,generally without our comforts and addictions,the world is a pretty scary place.
We feel helpless and not in control.

BUT WE DO NOT NEED TO BE IN CONTROL
Nothing is going to happen to us!
The world is in G-d's careful fingertips.
We are completely safe.
We are sheep.
Let us have complete and utter faith in our Shepherd.
It's true that we are powerless.
But do sheep need power?


-uri

Deep. As always.

We'll have to ask Kutan the sheep question though

Sorry I forgot to post until now.And I had a busy day,Baruch Hashem.

Today,September 30th,12th of Tishrei,we will be saying Perek 24,Mizmor Ledovid LaHashem Haaretz
Known as the Psalm Of The King His Majesty.
"Raise up your heads,O' gates, and raise up, you everlasting entrances, so that the King of Glory may enter!"
"Who is He, this King of Glory? Hashem!!"

These are the words that Shlomo Hamelech spoke to the Beis Hamikdash doors that got them to open up and let the Yidden in to the holiest place in the world.

How do we proclaim Hashem's majesty?
Do we walk down Mea Shearim and announce on a speakerphone:

Yehudim Yekarim!!Listen up!Hashem is the King!

That's one way.Maybe.

But there is another way.
A more global way.

Allow me to share the following famous mashal...

A king sent his servant to a different country as an emmisary to visit a different king.
Before he left,the king gave him one warning.
"Do not make any bets,no matter what!"
The servant of course obeyed,albeit a little confused.
So he went to visit the king,and on his way back,he stopped at an inn.
There were these guys drinking there and joking around.
One of them said to the servant:
"Wow.You have a huge hump on your back!"
The servant was shocked and offended.
"No.I do not!"
"Yes,you do."
After arguing the point back and forth a bit,the drunk guy said:
"Ok.I'll bet you 200 rubles that you have a hump on your back!"
The servant thought for a moment.
On one hand,he was not supposed to be making any bets.
On the other hand,this was an easy 200 rubles in his pocket,or for the king's treasury,even.
So he took off his shirt,proved that he had no hump,and collected his prize.
When he got back to his king's palace,the king asked him immediately:
"So,did you make any bets?"
The servant answered:
"Well actually yes.I wasn't gonna,but then this guy basically made this ridiculous bet that won me an easy 200 rubles.Here you go,Your Highness."
The king let out a cry.
"Fool!I made a 5000 ruble bet with the other king that no matter what,you would not make any bets,and would remain loyal to my command!!"

My friends,every time we say no,a shock is heard 'round the world.
The malachim sing Hashem's praises.
The trees,the birds,everything.
It's a tremendous revelation of Hashem's majesty and kingship.
And that's what a Kiddush Hashem is.
The greatest Kiddush Hashem

Suddenly he feels a need to act out,
he turns to shamayim and starts to shout out.
HASHEM!You know what I really want to do,
But I wont do it,because I love you.

A commotion takes place up above.
It is now very clear that the angels are in love.
In whose zchus was this one born,
this mortal man who takes the heavens by storm??

Hashem sits on his throne,proud as can be,
as he watches the angels jump up and sing.
He says to himself with a smile on his face,
if only my boy knew what he does to this place.


My dearest friends,
How often do we say no?
Ok,sometimes we say yes.
But all of us here have said no.
Do you know what that no does?!
It is the greatest Kiddush Hashem possible.
We are offered this amazing pleasure,and we say "No thank you,Hashem said no."
Or even if we dont say those words.
We have no idea what it does up in Shamayim.

So for today's project.
Whatever's left of today,that is.
When you say Aleinu,which is the tefilla that proclaim's Hashem's majesty.
Think for a moment.
I am a big part of that.
I cause Hashem's majesty to be proclaimed across the world every day.
Wow.