R Reuven - Tzettel Kattan 07 - Guard Your Eyes
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Main Theme: The critical importance of guarding one’s eyes from immodesty and inappropriate visual stimuli to protect the soul and maintain a strong connection with G-d.
Speaker: Rabbi Reuven Yaron
Source:
Excerpts from a transcribed shiur (Torah lecture) on the seventh section of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk’s Tzetil Katan.
Notes on the shiur
Key Ideas & Facts:
Accidental Glance vs. Intentional Exposure: Rabbi Elimelech assumes that by the seventh section of the Tzetil Katan, readers are no longer intentionally seeking out immodesty. However, accidental exposure can still occur, requiring immediate action.
Quote: “If a person accidentally sees something indecent, G'd forbid, such as animals or birds mating, or a hand’s breadth of a woman’s hair or skin that should be covered...he should immediately recite the verse...V’Lo Tat’uru Acharei L’vavchem (Do not follow your heart), so as not to defile his mind, G'd forbid.”
The Mechanism of Damage: Immodesty, even glimpsed accidentally, can trigger a destructive chain reaction:
Accidental Glance: Brief, unintentional exposure.
Second Look/Stare: A conscious decision to continue looking, fueling the imagination.
Imagination/Heart: The mind generates inappropriate thoughts and desires.
Mind/Soul: A pathway opens for the yetzer hara (evil inclination) to penetrate the soul.
Damaged Connection to G-d: Spiritual vitality decreases, impacting prayer, mitzvot, and Torah study.
Quote: “The thoughts of sin are worse than the sin.”
Dormant Yetzer Hara: We possess dormant aspects of the yetzer hara that can be awakened by various triggers:
Visual Stimuli: Even seemingly innocuous sights.
Environmental Factors: Constant exposure to immodesty.
Unguarded Thoughts: Fantasies and unrealistic scenarios.
Unresolved Emotional Issues: Vulnerabilities exploited by the yetzer hara.
Spiritual Neglect: Weakened defenses against negative influences.
Quote: “There is an evil inclination within you that you’re not even aware you have until you turn it on.”
Indicators of Spiritual Damage: Lack of enthusiasm for prayer, mitzvot, and Torah study, experiencing them as burdens rather than joys.
Quote: “If, when you’re praying, you feel like it’s a burden, then you’re not praying to Me. You aren’t calling out to Me, O Jacob, because you are weary.” (Isaiah 43:22-24)
Repairing the Damage:
Reciting "V'Lo Tat'uru..." : As soon as an accidental glance occurs, interrupt the process by reciting this verse (Deuteronomy 15:39) to prevent the yetzer hara from gaining a foothold.
Crying over Sins: (Sha’arei Teshuvah 1:15)
Quote: “Rivers of water flowed from my eyes, because they did not keep Your Torah.” (Psalms 119:136)
Guarding the Eyes as a Form of Fasting: (Avodat Hapenim 3:11)
Recognizing the Severity of Wasting Seed: (Shevet Halevi 4:160)
Quote: “The sin of youth, which is the most heinous crime in the Torah, is the cause of all Jewish suffering and of all the harsh decrees that we face.”
Connection between Guarding Eyes & Raising Children: (Imrei Kodesh of Strelisk, Parshat Lech Lecha)
Quote: “A father who guards his eyes will merit raising his children without suffering. He will merit healthy and successful children.”
Helping Others with Teshuvah: (Likkutei Etzot, Teshuvah 2)
Practical Advice:
Filters: While technological filters can be helpful, the most important filter is yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven).
Constant Engagement with Mitzvot: Leave no time for sin by immersing oneself in Torah study, mitzvah observance, and acts of kindness.
Recognize the Danger: Guard yourself as if your neshamah (soul) is on the line.
- File Size: 9.17 MB
- File Extension: mp3
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