And BTW, whats going on with Rubashkin's situation? And did you hear about Pollard's new stuff in the news?

Thoughts on Parshas Bechokosai

Nomophobia or NoTophobia - The choice is yours

All of us are familiar with Rashi's explanation of the words אם בחוקתי תלכו that the Torah is demanding of us שתהיו עמלים בתורה. In an age when the distractions in life are at its peak, let alone the distractions from תורה and certainly from עמלות בתורה, being an עמל בתורה almost seems like an impossible and unattainable goal. But it is precisely in today׳s day and age when the distractions from תורה are so great that עמלות בתורה is attainable.
Rav Dessler says a יסוד that one of the principles on which the world is run is זה לעומת זה עשה אלקים. For every force for bad that there is in this world there is a countervailing force of good and vice versa. What that means is that if there is now a concept of nomophobia (the fear and anxiety associated with not having your mobile phone) then notophobia (the fear and the anxiety associated with not having Torah at your fingertips) should be at its highest. The only question therefore is how does one move from nomophobia to notophobia.

I believe that one solution is to go back to basics and I'd like to pose a challenge to anyone who is reading this. Just like most of us wouldn't think of going anywhere without our phones we should work on not going anywhere without our Torah. And the answer is not by putting Torah onto our phone. As Rav Reuven Feinstein observed, the possuk says כתבם על לוח לבך we should write the Torah on the tablet of our hearts not on our mobile tablets. One suggestion is by learning משניות בעל פה. Start with something simple like the first פרק of פרקי אבות and build from there. If you stick to this challenge you will be amazed at how life transforming this can be. For example, now when you are waiting on line with nothing to do you don't have to reach for your phone, instead you can learn a mishna or two and gain eternity.
Best of all unlike you phone you don't have to worry about the battery dying. So long as your breathing your Torah is there and you can be learning. There are other benefits as well. Many of us have minds clouded with the shmutz that we've been looking at for years and years. At downtimes these thoughts have a way of creeping into our mind. Now we can change the channel and subject. Thought pops up just start learning right where your standing. Consider it like a dishwasher for your brain.
So the next time your standing talking to yourself and someone asks you is everything okay? Just say "I'm alright it's just notophobia." Try it today!

Thank you Hashem for the brocha in my life. A wonderful Shabbos to all.

I was able to go to the last day of the Agudah Convention and one thing I heard struck me. The speaker was discussing the matzav in Eretz Yisroel and the unfortunate "need to look left and right" when on the street for example at a bus stop making sure there was not c"v some terrorist crazy poised to attack.
I don't profess to know why Klal Yisroel is suffering from this particular tragedy now. I do know as the speakers said we have an obligation to partake in the tzorahs of acheinu bais yisroel, a particularly difficult task when we are thousands of miles away and "seemingly" not effected by it.
One thing however, I was thinking that we can do and which I have no doubt will help. If we are extra careful a what we "look at on the left and right" when we walk down the street, perhaps in that zechus it will help divert disasters from our brother, sisters and children in Eretz Yisroel as they walk down the street.
Thank you Hashem for another day and for bringing me back to the site.

Chazal say "Ain Paraniyos Bah Lolam Eleh Bshvil Yisroel." I was thinking what message could Hashem be sending me by causing some copilot in Europe to crash a plane with 150 innocent passengers into a mountain side killing them all. I don't profess to know the ways of Hashem but a thought occurred to me. People are wondering how it could happen that someone will lock the world out and kill innocent victims but the reality is that we do it all the time. We lock ourselves into our room thereby shutting out the world and then we descend into the abyss. Too often the result can be not only crash landing our own lives but bringing down our innocent families as well. If only we would unlock the door and let in help, a catastrophe can be avoided and many people would be alive. 
We can't bring back the people that were killed but we all (hopefully myself included) can hear at least one of the messages and bring about a positive change from this disaster.  
Thank You Hashem for giving me a place to open the door to. 

Wow! Nice lesson, I'm definitely happy to finally be and to open the door...

Thoughts on Parshas Breishis

כי שבעתיים יוקם-קין ולמך שבעים ושבעה

I saw a wonderful vort this week. The Torah describes how after Lemech killed Kayin and Tubal Kayin his wives refused to have sex with him and he argued to them that he should not be punished for the accidental deaths he caused using the following kal v'chomer: כי שבעתיים יוקם-קין ולמך שבעים ושבעה. If קין only got punished after 7 generations then I who acted unintentionally should not be punished for multiple 7 generations later. Rashi explains that Lemech's kal v'chomer was a foolish kal v'chomer since it would mean no one would ever get punished. Reb Nissim Alpert asks that if in fact it was a foolish kal v'chomer why is the Torah recording it. Answers Reb Nissim Alpert that Lemech was a very smart person. It was no accident that his 3 children were major innovators in all aspects of the world, cattle raising, metal works and music. If that's the case how could Lemech come to make such a foolish kal v'chomer. Explains Reb Alpert the Torah is coming to teach us the effect that lust can have on a person. A person can be a genius but when lusts kicks in, all the brains in the world go out the window.
The solution is that when we are under the influence of the lust drug our own judgment is useless and we have to turn to others, which is why I am grateful for GYE.

ולמה נפלו פניך

There ספורנו makes an important point. After the RBSO accepted Hevel's korban and not Kayin's Hashem came to Kayin and gave him a pep talk. The ספורנו elaborates on the statement "why are you so down?" Says the ספורנו:

ולמה נפלו פניך כי כשיש לקלקול איזו תקנה אין ראוי להצטער על מה שעבר אבל ראוי להשתדל להשיג תקון לעתיד

Says the RBSO the past is the past you cannot change it. BUT the future can be fixed and if you can fix it don't get down just work on fixing the problem for the future.

Thank You Hashem for a wonderful place like GYE

ur-a-jew wrote on 11 Oct 2013 19:51:

i just bumped into this, woo, that's a good one, a real chizuk, and actually when you became sober you feel like you become a new person.