Hello, I have a book called The light of Ephraim. I wondering if anyone has ever heard of it or read it.
It's Kabbalah Based. Thank you so much.
Shmuly 

P.S.
I have a few questions about, and seeing as I can't find it.
I will post them when I do find it..
I do not know much about Kabbalah, so If I appear ignorant, please forgive me. 

shmulyz18 wrote on 14 Apr 2016 17:35:

I have read parts of it years ago. It is indeed full of kaballa, and while parts of it might be helpful to limiting masterbation, kabbala is a very sensitive topic and is not meant for casual reading. I have even learnt that one should not learn kabbala untill he is at least 40 years old (because i believe, of the sensitive nature of it). I do not know who the author's endorsments are, and after borrowing it from a friend for a while, i returned it partly because i did not see it helping me, and partly because the kabbala aspect made me feel that i may be messing with things that i shouldn't be.

I have the book too. I read it years ago. I don't know that there's a problem with learning his kind of Kabbalah, but I also don't know if it is going to solve anything. Fighting these issues with frumkeit and learning often don't work. But if it does then by all means ou should read it. And if it is hurting you then don't. Pretty simple.

Hello StillGoing, your summary is good. I think that I should not masturbate. I have that heard that you can really get confused with Kabbalah. The Indians believe that some aspects of life are from their gods. I think there are some things that HaShem has hidden for the world. And these things will come in their proper time. 

1. Can HaShem really talk to you in your dreams?
I will add the rest later.

Thank you workingguy.  I agree that we should be careful in what we study.

I don't connect much with kabbalah to begin with so I don't really read those kind of books. All I have to say is that learning kabbalah and taking what they say at face value is a mistake and it probably won't end well. You need a mesorah and a rebbi to learn these kind of things.

Just make sure whatever book you do read has haskamos from some choshuveh mainstream rabbonim and not some nut from Tzefas.

Disclaimer: This message is written by a lifelong hater of amateur kabbalah


Edit: I didn't realize you were a beginner in Judaism so let me just translate the phrase "choshuveh mainstream rabbonim". Judaism as of today doesn't have a central authority, we have  a lot of communities and they each have their own rabbis. When I say mainstream I mean respected by most or all other Jewish communities and rabbis. When there's a rabbi who isn't respected by others there's generally a reason for it.

mesorah = a  traditional way of understanding what you're learning 
haskamos = letters of approval, printed in the front of almost all serious torah works
Choshuveh = respected, honorable, etc.
Rabbonim = plural of rabbi in hebrew

 

shmulyz18 wrote:


inastruggle wrote:

Quite eloquent and very escoteric!!!!

Shmuly: As a personal piece of advice, I don't think you should be dwelling in kaballah. To my knowledge you aren't, or maybe just recently became, frum. If you should become frum, if you haven't, is a whole nother story, one that takes a long time, a hell of a lot of effort, pain, and heartbreak, and should be discussed at length with a rabbi that you are close with. The chevra here at GYE cannot decide that for you. Regardless, attempting to learn kaballah, from an english book at that, before living life as a frum person for many years I don't think is advisable. I am willing to bet that it will not stop you from acting out, many people have misconceptions about this. It is also like trying to become a CEO of a company when you are a summer intern there. There is a lot of time in between the two. Also, most frum people don't learn kaballah, even those who are FFB's and have been learning their whole lives. There's a reason for that. I think that you should take that into consideration. There is no such thing as "amateur kaballah," it's called "fooling thyself." For now maybe focus on your current tribulations before jumping in the deep end without a life jacket. 

Thank you for the explanation. I am not so much a beginner, but I  am conservative, and I know some  Prayers in Hebrew. As far Yeshiva learning,  that goes over my head.
Shmuly

Also what's the difference between a Rav, Rabbi, and Rebbi?
 

shmulyz18 wrote:

Hi Mark I am beginning to believe that I am wasting seed, because I feel more and more guilty. I now believe that Kabbala  does have some truth to it.

P.S. please don't change the title of this thread. I know it's fun, but it's confusing to other posters.

I have changed it back. Don't worry I am not mad at you. I think I may change it to Kabbalah discussion later on up the road.

This is the reason I hate amateur kabbalah. Kabbalah is true but we really don't know what it means. (by we I mean me, and most Jews today)

What's a soul?

How do you waste it?

I really can't talk about these things if I don't have a definition. It does make me feel guilty sometimes, but only because I know a statement like that means I'm doing something very wrong. 

Also unless you caused the wet dream by stimulating yourself when you were awake then you aren't at fault. No need to feel guilty. That's a myth some of these kabbalah guys perpetuate. 

Difference between a Rav, Rabbi, and Rebbi?
That's a tough one. They are used interchangeably sometimes so what I'm going to say isn't a strict rule. In general:
Rebbeh = a chassidic leader
Rav = Rabbi of the synagouge they daven in
Rebbi = a Rabbi someone feels close to with usually from yeshiva
Rabbi = is the english word that can be substituted for any of the above


 

shmulyz18 wrote on 15 Apr 2016 12:41:

I don't mean to offend you, but knowing some Hebrew prayers and being a Conservative Jew are far from being qualified to even breach kabbalah a little.

Hello Shlomo, am I really fooling myself?
I have recently been having wet dreams every night.
I am kinda concerned that it is a sign from HaShem. 
I no longer believed that wasting seed is a silly idea. 
Could there be some truth there?

I am not offended. My parents and I are making Aliyah in November. And I really want to convert to a Modern Orthodox lifestyle. 

I will update all you slow truckers later on. 

A sign from God and Kabbalah are two very different things. I believe that everything is a sign from God but I do not learn Kabbalah at all.