Six Steps to Purity

Part 5 of “A Holy Nation”
 
RECAP: Sexual impurity leads to people being 'blocked' from seeing G-d in their life, or accessing their higher self, or soul. For as long as their 'spilled seed' remains trapped in the realm of evil, they will suffer some terrible consequences. In this section, we'll learn what we can do to start to rectify the damage caused by spilled seed.
 
So what can we do about it?
 
1. Work on our emuna
 
Rebbe Nachman writes in Likutey Moharan I, 250: 2: "The main suffering of the current exile is a result of Israel's having fallen from supernal Daat (faith, or emuna in G-d's miraculous providence), and subsequently having arrived at the mistaken belief that everything depends on nature, on chance, or on fate. In fact, this belief is the very cause of people's suffering…When they again attain Daat (knowledge) of Divine Providence, people will suffer no longer; for the truth is that Israel is above natural law. Only when they sin, G-d forbid, do they fall under nature's dominion. It is then that they suffer exile and humiliation."
 
Practically, what does this mean?
 
We have to work on our emuna. That means trying to talk to G-d every day, and asking Him to help us; reading all the 'Garden' books, listening to emuna CDs, watching emuna classes, and living our life according to Rav Arush's three main principles of emuna. These are:
 
1) Basic level emuna – everything comes from Hashem, even the smallest, apparently most insignificant thing
 
2) Intermediate level emuna  – everything that Hashem does is for the best, ergo, everything that happens to me, even the things that I don’t like and that are painful a) come from Hashem and b) are for my very best.
 
3) Upper level emuna – Hashem is doing everything for a specific purpose. My job is to try and work out what messages Hashem is giving me, and how He wants me to respond.
 
2. Say Tikkun Haklali as much as possible
 
Before Rebbe Nachman revealed the 10 psalms that constitute the Tikkun HaKlali, or general remedy, the only way to 'rescue' these billions of souls that were trapped in unholiness (and get them off our backs, or necks…) was via harsh fasts and other very difficult practises. But Rebbe Nachman opened up a new path of dealing with this problem: The Tikkun Haklali.
 
In cases where seed is accidentally or involuntarily spilled (ie, a nocturnal emission), Rebbe Nachman guarantees that if someone says the Tikun Haklali on the same day, and then goes to the mikva, that they have nothing else to worry about. It's likened to a child accidentally wetting the bed.
 
But even if it's done on purpose, Rebbe Nachman still writes that: "Saying the Ten Psalms will do much to remedy the spiritual damage."
 
3: Go to the mikva every single day
 
4:  Clean up our environment
 
Rebbe Nachman writes in Likutey Moharan 7: "The main instigator of sexual temptation is one's eyes. Even one who has reached a high level of spirituality can stumble suddenly from not guarding his eyes."
 
The more a person lives a 'clean' life, and filters out the pictures, ideas and thoughts that are coming from impure sources, the less of a fight he will have in this area, and the better his life will be in every single way.
 
Practically speaking, that means we need to think very carefully before taking our teenage boys (or ourselves) to the beach, to the pool, or anywhere else where there's a lot of female flesh on display. We also need to be far more careful about the movies we watch, the internet sites we access, and the magazines, newspaper and books we let into our homes.
 
5: Get a copy of 'Holy Nation', and read their section on 'How to do Teshuva'
 
To receive your free copy of this booklet, call: 054-610-8707 (in Israel); or: 718-327-2644 (in the US)
 
6: Pray, a lot
 
Tikkun HaBrit, or sexual purity, can only be achieved with a lot of Heavenly help. Whatever mess you've already made, whatever problems you're already experiencing, G-d can do anything. As Rebbe Nachman writes, if you believe you can break it, believe that you can fix it.
 
With prayer, everything is possible, so don't give up, and don't despair. G-d wants to help us. He wants us to fix things. He wants us to live good, happy, holy, 'connected' lives. We just need to ask Him to help us.
 
Next week: the female dimension of Tikun Habrit
 
To be continued
 
 
* * *
Check out Rivka Levy's new book The Happy Workshop based on the teachings of Rabbi Shalom Arush