The Battle of Our Generation

by The Battle of Our Generation

PREFACE Of all the battles we are forced to fight on a daily basis, which is the greatest battle? Which is the most important battle? Which battle is the most difficult? Which battle deserves most of our attention? Which battle is the battle of our generation? All of the great religious leaders today agree that the answer to all these questions is pornography and masturbation. That is the battle of our generation! The reason that I have written this book is because I am aware of the fact that unfortunately the area of Shmirat Habrit (protecting oneself from wasting seed) has become the most difficult battle to fight for our generation. However, perhaps the saddest reality about this epidemic is that Shmirat Habrit remains unmentioned in religious communities even though it is very prevalent. Organizations and Rabbis expound on many different topics and problems, yet one can go through his entire life never being educated about the dangers of masturbation. Most people are embarrassed to speak about Shmirat Habrit, though ironically through education, one can find a cure to this epidemic. The purpose of this very book is to remove the taboo that surrounds this topic. This book is the product of several thousands of hours used to compile all the necessary materials to start a revolution. With God’s help I hope that this will give people the necessary chizuk and tips to enable a person not to be a slave to his desires. Chazal say the area of Shmirat Habrit is the “Yesod,” (foundation) of being a good Jew. The foundation of a building is underground remaining hidden and out of sight, yet, it holds up the entire building. If the foundation is weak then the building can collapse at any point. Similarly, Shmirat Habrit, is also hidden from all others, aside from you and Hashem, yet it is our foundation. If you’re not Shomer Habrit then your foundation is weak causing your whole spiritual structure to be fragile. This book is relatively short; yet, one cannot just read it as he would read a storybook. One who reads this proactively and constantly tries to implement the different tips and strategies can be assured that having picked up this book was one of his best life investments. All the material presented here have sources and while some will be from our Sages; others will be from leading psychologists around the globe.

56 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2015

Reviews

[Avraham Moshe]

Some fascinating food for thought learnt from this guide:

- Shmirat HaBrit is termed the "Yesod" of a Jew. This is because if one, God-forbid is not Shomer Habrit he is in essence causing his whole foundation to weaken - one's whole spiritual structure will turn fragile. In his approbation to this guide, Rabbi Doniel Glanz writes: "Time and again, I have seen that one entrenched in Pegam Habrit finds it difficult, in not almost impossible, to properly connect with Hashem or feel true spirituality from his Avodah".
- "There is no better feeling than freeing oneself from being a slave to his desires. Only those who have achieved the strength to abstain can attest to how much more fulfilling and meaningful life can be."
- Rav Viener: "If you have unrestricted internet in the house, that is both unfiltered and unmonitored, there’s higher than a 90% chance that people have already been Nichshal in that house. And if it hasn’t happened yet, there’s more than 90% chance it will happen."

- "If you truly want a better life, you must be proactive, constantly committing to change and looking for ways to grow."

- An American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Survey taken in 2002 reported that 62% percent of the divorce attorneys surveyed found that "obsession with pornography" had been a significant factor in divorces they had handled in the last year.
- Time magazine based on findings of ‘The American Sociological Association’; Aug 22. 2016: "Married men who start watching pornography are more than twice as likely to be divorced in the following years".

- "Until 1967, there wasn’t even a single publicly displayed movie that was rated “R”. Contrast that to 2001, where 63% of movies were rated “R”. Moreover, they were rated “R” for content that in the past, such as in the 1920’s, would be considered X-rated and perverse".
- "In the 1920’s, it was very rare for a woman to reveal her ankles in American society, it was considered rude and unmannerly. All women wore very modest clothing, as their skirts almost reached their ankles and their sleeves covered most of their arms."

- "The Steipler (Rav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky) wrote that there is no greater fixing for a fall than overcoming the great difficulty of getting up and starting again."
- "Seven times does the righteous one fall and get up". Rav Hutner wrote that this does not mean even after falling seven times, the righteous one manages to gets up again, the verse means that it is only and precisely 'through' repeated falls that a person truly achieves.

- "Marriage is all about giving. The Hebrew word for love, אהבה ,comes from the word "הב" which means to ‘give’. The way to love another being is by giving to them. In every Jewish book about marriage, the word that will constantly repeat itself is “give.”

- "Kiddushin 30b teaches that God created an infection in our bodies called the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), which constantly pulls us to sin; however, He also gave us the antidote, the perfect
antibiotic, to protect ourselves: The learning of Torah."
- Avot D’Rabbi Natan (Chapter 20): “Anyone who puts the words of Torah on his heart will be spared from thoughts (and desires) for Zenut (lust), thoughts of the Yetzer Hara, thoughts (and desires) for married women, thoughts of nonsense.''

- “Just as a dog returns to his vomit so does a fool repeat his foolishness.” (Mishlei 26:11) - The lesson here is that we must always look for ways to not fall into the same traps that he has stumbled in before.

- Sefer Menucha v'Kedusha writes that “even if one sins his whole life can be termed righteous this is if he never gives up and always continues to fight and fight”. We like to think of success in terms of results. But God looks at our efforts, not only the results.

[Matan]

There is no reason you should not read this. It’s very good, easy to understand, and short to the point.