Posters have been plastered all over billboards in Israel warning that Internet surfing causes cancer. In large, bold black lettering, the posters note that the gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew letters spelling Internet is the same as the gematria of the Hebrew word for cancer. Both add up to 319.

Public Warning

The posters are referring to the widespread availability of pornography on the Internet, and warning of the very real dangers it can cause. Make no mistake, looking at erotic images on the Internet, in whatever form they take, is a violation of the Torah. Among the several commandments that a person violates when he gazes at immodest images is, “You shall not stray after your heart and your eyes which cause you to go astray.” In one sitting, a surfer can violate this commandment dozens of times, engaging himself in a severe transgression of the Torah for hours on end.

One should not deceive oneself by saying, “What did I do? I only looked. I didn’t do any forbidden deed.” The very looking at pornography and its offshoots is a forbidden deed. Fantasizing about sexual wrongdoing is equally forbidden. And because a person’s eyes and thoughts are connected to the highest spiritual worlds, the damage he or she causes is devastating, severing one’s connection to everything holy, with grave physical consequences as well.

A recent TV show in America dealt with the 13 billion dollar porn industry. The porn industry is a global obsession. Every second, 3,075 dollars are spent on adult content; every second, more than 28,000 Internet users are viewing porn; and every 39 seconds, a new pornographic video is produced in the United States.

Noteworthy is the finding that 70 percent of all online porn access occurs during the nine-to-five workday. Here are just a few of the most likely behavioral clues:

·       Hiding Internet use or secretive behaviors.

·       Declining work performance.

·       Withdrawing from others.

·       Increased irritability.

·       Losing sleep and declining health.

·       Declining interpersonal skills.

·       Inappropriate sharing of sexual beliefs with others.

Please don’t take this lightly. Protect yourselves and your families by installing anti-porn filtering systems today. Don’t trust yourself with the password and code. Also, click on our jewishsexuality.com website and read through the articles and Questions and Answers. Check out the Pornoholics Anonymous section, even if you think it doesn’t apply to you. Heaven is patient, but don’t be foolish and wait for the axe to fall.

Please.