The Library

Transcript of GYE Boost #164 If you get a chance to read Alcoholics Anonymous big book, you'll find the first of the 12 steps clearly described there to recognize that I am powerless to give myself over to my higher power because I am powerless to stop this behavior. I'd ...

Transcript of GYE Boost #193 So if a person is drowning and he's about to check out of this world, he can yell out at Hashem. And this is a kal v'chomer that we learn, if you can yell at Hashem for his physical life, then he certainly can yell at Hashem for his spiritual ...

Transcript of GYE Boost #547 We all know that one of the Yetzer Hara’s greatest tools is to convince us that we anyway did so many aveiros and we’re surely going to gehenom anyway, so why bother working hard. I’d like to show how this way of thinking is not only wrong, b...

Transcript of GYE Boost #548 Chametz on Pesach equals poison, a very strong poison. It’s not even nullified in 1000 parts and any derivative of chametz is also chametz. Our sages compare it to the Yetzer Hara and we are all working very hard to rid it from our homes and t...

I used to be scared of giving up the lust. This was when I was using it as a means to fill an empty void deep inside of me. But when I did much honest soul searching, I was finally willing to take "risks" - which were just in reality "trusting in Hashem" no matter what, a...

The Yetzer Hara is much stronger than us, our only hope is for Hashem to fight him for us. But why would Hashem do such a miracle, especially if we've been sinning and falling for so many years? Perhaps the answer to this question lies in the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim. T...

I'd like to share a Pesach story I heard that I think can give us a good perspective on our struggle with the Yetzer Hara. There was a Yid who was not a chossid, but he was a G-d fearing Jew and he put in tremendous effort in preparing for Pesach. He was makpid on all the...

Pesach is approaching Freedom anticipating Preparation the prerequisite In advance of the bondage exit Cleaning the house physically Cleansing the neshama spiritually All chametz is burnt On all sins repent Seder night we enter royally As befit those granted freedom etern...

I struggled with shmiras einayim for years. I tried every trick in the book, every kind of inspiration, but nothing lasted for the long term. Until I finally gave up. Surprisingly though, it was actually when I gave up that things finally changed. I came to the realizati...

During the hundreds of years that the Children of Israel lived in the land of Egypt, they gathered and elevated sparks of holiness that were hidden there. Our ancestors did what they had to do while enslaved in the lowest place on earth, they were ultimately successful in...

Dov, who is clean in SA since 1997 (see his story here), replies: Gorgeous! At the Seder, we say, "afilu kulonu chachomin/nevonim/know the Torah and the whole story - mitzvah aleinu l'saper" - 'sipur' means to tell someone else a thing we already know. First, it is to t...

The fact that we can't 'beat' lust is a very important lesson. It's incredible how it underpins everything. Someone with an allergy would be very stupid to fight the fact that he has it and still try and eat the peanuts without causing an effect. So too with us. The 'pea...

I want to share this thought while I am feeling a massive urge to go back to my old ways. I am 9 months in recovery. In the past, when I used to feel stressed and anxious - which caused me to feel vulnerable - I would turn to "adult entertainment," which I thought would...

I offered to divide the preparations for Pesach equally with my wife. The Pasuk says, "For seven days you shall eat Matzos and there should be no Chametz found in your houses." I told her that I will be in charge of buying the Matzos and she will be in charge of making ...

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Barditchov (1740-1810) was one of the great spiritual masters of his generation. One Passover, following an emotionally charged Seder, the Rebbe was told from heaven, that Mosheleh the water carrier's Seder was superior to his. "This year," he was i...

I learned two halachos recently that relate to some beautiful things about recovery. The first one is: If chometz is sent to you in the mail on Pesach, you do not have to accept it. Basically, this is the same message that a friend of mine in the SLAA group says: "If som...

On Pesach we say "Bikesh Lavan La'akor es Hakol" - "Lavan tried to destroy everything" (even more than Pharaoh). The question is asked, where do we find in the scripture that Lavan tried to destroy everything? The holy sefer, the "Ma'or Vashemesh" writes that Lavan is sym...