Yesterday, I had no idea it was Valentine’s Day until a reader referred to it in a talkback. That’s one of the great things about living in Israel – you aren’t bombarded with the holidays of the idol worshippers, and with all of their polluted symbols, the way you are in the Diaspora.

Approximately 141 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually in America, making Valentine's Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas.

St. Valentine's Day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome.

In love with the Diaspora
mk

I suppose if I had wandered into a shopping mall yesterday, I probably would have seen some Cupids and hearts, but I didn’t. And even if some of this cultural poison seeps into Israel, it’s miniscule in comparison to the festive orgy of the pagan hoopla you find when you live amongst the goyim.

That’s another reason why I can’t understand how my brothers and sisters can live in foreign Catholic and Christian lands when they could live in Israel instead.

The great love affair with the Diaspora joins the world’s classic love stories, alongside Romeo and Juliet, who were also buried in the same grave, just like the inevitable fate of the Diaspora.

Lovers buried in the same grave
mk

Anyway, speaking about love, or lust, and little naked angels with bows and arrows, nearly 2000 people have already downloaded the pamphlet on Shmirat HaBrit which we posted on www.jewishsexuality.com.

Print it out and give it to a loved one as a gift. Or send it out in emails. It’s a great tikun for all the transgressions that people commit on Valentine’s Day!  

“Shovavim” is over but the yetzer hara is still very much with us. So to help people out all year round, I wrote a new 70-page booklet on Shmirat HaBrit that is now available for free downloading at www.jewishsexuality.com.

People who have read it say that it is a revolutionary treatment of the subject, particularly its use of powerful visuals, which bring the issue out of the closet in a way that can’t be ignored.

Some readers of this blog try to play down the importance of this subject, but I receive heartbreaking cries for help each week, from students and teachers, married people and singles, young people and old.

Every week, I receive desperate cries for help.

For those of you who would like to help, I have almost completed the Hebrew version of the booklet, which G-d willing, I hope to mass print and distribute free in Israel to high schools, colleges, yeshivot, youth groups, soldiers, sports clubs, etc.

Trying to put out the inferno.

Your donations will help me reach as many people as possible. As stated in the “Tanya,” the giving of charity is one of the main paths of atonement over sexual transgressions (Igeret HaTshuva, Ch.3). And helping others break free from the darkness of sin to the life-giving light of t’shuva is considered to be the greatest tikun of all (Zohar, Parshat Trumah 128B.)

Donations can be sent to:

BRIT BOOK

19 Shoshana Street

Jerusalem, Israel 96149          

May Hashem bless you from Zion.  

Shavuah tov.

While repentance is always praiseworthy and acceptable before the All Merciful One, this is the final week of “Shovavim” when repentance over sexual sins is especially worthwhile. So everyone should make a last-minute effort to do something to make amends for past mistakes, and to start out on a new beginning.

As we have written here, and on www.jewishsexuality.com, there are many paths of t’shuva, whether it be fasting, giving tzedaka, learning more Torah, jumping in a mikvah, reciting the “Tikun HaKlali” over the spilling of semen in vain, or the “Tikun Hatzot” over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile, or simply pouring out one’s heart to G-d in heartfelt sorrow.

It's worse than eating pork!

One thing is certain - nightly cyberspace tours through the lingerie department at eBay must stop, along with the bikini competitions on youtube, and the hot celebrity photos on Yahoo, ad infinitum. Most of you won’t eat pork – why pollute your souls with watching all kinds of immodest ham shots? The damage you cause is much worse!

This is what happens every time you look at something you shouldn't.

At the very least, if you don’t yet have a filter on your computer, download one now, and give your wife, or your best friend, the code, so you can’t sneak peeks whenever you get the urge. Not to mention getting rid of cell phones that can pick up all the smut in the world.

And remember, for those of us who are married – our wives are to be treated lovingly and respectfully according to halachah, and not like whores off the street, G-d forbid. Do yourselves a favor while the gates of penitence are wide open, and brush up on the laws covering the holy marital union as well.

The Zohar tells us that the Holy One Blessed Be He hates sexual immorality more than anything else. Now’s the time. Don’t wait for the thunderbolt to strike. Take advantage of this unique opportunity. Even one seemingly small improvement. Remember, someone who sanctifies himself even a little in this world, is sanctified a great deal from Above.

I know you don’t like hearing it, but what can I do? Our Sages teach that someone who has the opportunity to rebuke wrongdoers and doesn’t, he is punished first (Shabbat 54B-55A). Even if he feels they won’t listen, he still has the obligation to fulfill the mitzvah of rebuking his fellow (Vayikra, 19:17-18). What I say to you, I say to myself as well. No one is free from this matter, as our Sages teach, “There is no tzaddik who does good and doesn’t sin.”

So remember the address: www.jewishsexuality.com. Tell all your friends. You’ll be doing them a big favor.

I love Israelis. I think they’re the nicest people in the world. Let me give you an example.

Because of my many sins, my car started to complain, so I had to take it to the garage for some “tikunim,” what people generally call repairs. Having to do something in town, I hopped on a bus. Was I in for a surprise!

First, let me preface what happened by saying that I haven’t traveled on a bus for a long time. Having a car, I don’t need to go public. So when a man, who was probably a little older than me, stood up in the crowded bus and kindly offered me his seat, I was stunned! Declining his considerate offer, I walked along deeper into the vehicle when a soldier stood up and offered me his seat as well.

“What is going on here?” I wondered. The last time I was on a bus, no one offered me their seat. Then I realized that time had passed, and I now had a long grey-white beard, and though I still felt 30 years-old inside, I now looked about 3000.

Once again I declined the polite offer. As I moved further along the double accordion bus, a teenage girl stood up to graciously offer me her seat. Not yet being an official senior citizen with a Jerusalem Municipality Senior Citizens card, I turned down her offer as well. Beside me, a young Ethiopian fellow graciously gave up his seat to a woman with a baby carriage and baby.

Offering a lady his seat.
mk

You see, Israelis are very polite and considerate. So, if you happened to get an elbow in your side, or your foot stepped on during your last visit to Israel, chances are you deserved it, just like me with my car.  

If you are looking for magnificent mountains, awe-inspiring wildernesses, breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, crystal clear beaches, spirituality, fun, and all the luxury and excitement the world has to offer, you don’t have to shlep to Thailand and India – Eilat has it all!

Sunset in Eilat

We just got back from a three day, blogless, fun, and spiritually uplifting vacation to Eilat. When the Torah says that the Land of Israel doesn’t lack anything, it's right. From the snow-capped Hermone, to the forests of the Galil, and the beaches of Netanya, to the Holy City of Jerusalem, and the incredible tropic beauty of Eilat, this country has everything.

It’s interesting that in addition to Jerusalem, the top of the world, Israel also has the Yam HaMelech, which is the lowest.

Yam HaMelach

Wherever you find holiness, you’ll also find the opposite. On the one hand, if you are looking to envelope your body in mud baths, sunshine, mineral water, hot baths, warms baths, cool pools, Jacuzzis, saunas, massages, steam rooms, health clubs…. the Dead Sea is the place. But it is also the place where King David composed some of his most transcendentally spiritual Psalms. It all depends on you.

At the Spa

This week’s Torah portion talks about the Mishkan whose walls were made from the wood of Acadia trees. Driving down to Eliat, you see them all over.

Acadia Tree
mk

On the road.

Masada in the distance.

Oh beautiful for spacious skies!

Home home on the range.

There's nothing like praying in the wilderness.

If you’re looking for minyans, mikvahs, kosher food, and a spiritual high, they’re waiting for you in Eilat.

Morning mikvah in Eilat.

If you’re looking for luxury and beauty, you’ll find it there too.

If luxury is your thing, Eilat's got it.

Our bungalow hotel.

The Land that doesn't lack anything.

Sunrise at the hotel

Our sages compared the Redemption to the dawning sunrise which comes slowly slowly until the light is revealed in its full force.

It ain't Japan.

Get there early and give your eyeballs a break.

A relaxing cruise in the Gulf of Eilat while the mutiny in Cairo is just a short sail away.

We had a great time! I can’t wait to go back!

Chodesh Adar tov!