Understanding Masturbation

The Torah consider Shmiras Habris to be very important, see Zera Levatala. The reasons are complex and are discussed in depth in והתקדשתם and other seforim. This page focuses on how the most effective way to think about it and deal with it in order to get the best result.

Definition. See SEXUAL BSHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN MALE by Kinsey.

Miriam Webster: Erotic stimulation especially of one's own genital organs commonly resulting in orgasm and achieved by manual or other bodily contact exclusive of sexual intercourse, by instrumental manipulation, occasionally by sexual fantasies, or by various combinations of these agencies

Torah Sources

• See Halachic Background
• See Normalization
• Teshuva is possible, see Teshuva.

Reasons to abstain

[Zos Brisi]

• In his position as Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin in Bnei Brak, the posek hador, Rav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner, shlita, has guided bachurim for well over half a century. In his She’eilos U’Teshuvos Shevet HaLevi, he writes: Anyone who is an expert in the ways of life and Torah education knows that a person’s spiritual ascents and descents are primarily dependent on the degree to which he safeguards the purity of his neshamah through shemiras habris (guarding the covenant of bris milah by maintaining purity in word, deed and thought). Sins of this sort seem sweet for the moment, but are bitter in the end. They bring about depression, a lack of satisfaction with life and rob the person of his “simchas hachaim” (happiness). Conversely, shemiras habris and guarding the purity’s of one’s eyes, zealousness in refraining from any form of forbidden act and from reading forbidden material, brings joy and spiritual strength, simchas hachaim; and the gates of Torah and yiras Shamayim stand open before him.

From a shmuess on this topic by Harav Moshe Wolfson, שליט''א, Mashgiach Ruchani of Mesivta Torah Vodaath and Rav of Beis Medrash Emunas Yisroel:

• Impact on One’s Avodas Hashem: The wellsprings of Heavenly wisdom are sealed before someone who is guilty of p’gam habris. As stated in the writings of tzaddikim, even if someone is a lamdan (proficient in Talmudic analysis), he will not merit to arrive at the truth in his Torah learning. And only someone who is a shomer habris can succeed at transmitting Torah to the next generation. The Zohar teaches that one who vanquishes his yetzer hara in matters of kedushah is granted a gift from Heaven — the ability to daven warm, heartfelt tefillos and to experience true spiritual pleasure when standing before his Creator in tefillah. Those who have an appreciation for tefillah and invest sincere effort in it understand the great delight of the joy and closeness with Hashem that is the result of a warm davening. At times, one experiences a heightened elevation, warmth and joy as he davens. No earthly pleasure can compare to this. But to be granted this experience, shemiras habris is a must.
• Emunah: The greatest reward for shemiras habris, more than anything, is the gift of emunah shleimah, pure, complete faith in Hashem. We are a spiritually impoverished generation. Sometimes, bnei Torah express feelings of sadness and confusion, as they struggle with doubts in matters of faith, ר''ל. Such bilbul hamachshavah, intellectual confusion, is often caused by p’gam habris. In truth, in the deepest recesses of his heart, every Jew is a maamin, a believer in Hashem and the Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith. However, certain factors, especially p’gam habris, causes one’s emunah to recede deep inside his neshamah — until teshuvah and the cleansing of his thought process allow it to resurface.
• Yosef HaTzaddik: Shemiras habris is a key to greatness. This quality is symbolized by Yosef Hatzaddik, who withstood the great test with which he was confronted in the house of Potiphar. It is for this reason that the term “tzaddik” is forever associated with his name. When Yosef finally revealed himself to his brothers, the Torah states, “Then Yosef said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me, please,’ and they came close.” Rashi states that Yosef made known to his brothers that he was circumcised. Zohar elaborates that the brothers wondered, “Yosef, how did you merit to become King of Egypt?” Yosef showed them that he was מָהוּל, meaning that because of his shemiras habris he merited malchus, kingship. The Torah states, מִי יַעֲלֶה לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה Who will ascend for us to Heaven... Zohar notes that the initial letters of these words spell מִילָה while the end letters spell י-ה-ו-ה. Shemiras habris is the primary requirement for spiritual growth. Yaakov Avinu, we are taught, also excelled in this quality. He emerged unharmed from his encounters with Lavan and Eisav, and he prevailed over the angel of Eisav. Yaakov is referred to as bechir sheb’Avos, the most outstanding of our three Avos. Shemiras habris is a quality that was paramount since the days of our earliest ancestors and is a midah that every ben Torah must strive to maintain.

Sefer HaBris cites the words of Rokeach: We have a tradition, which has been tried and proven, that someone who regularly is guilty of p’gam habris will not be successful in his endeavors. Whatever work he does, whatever business he deals in, will fail. Gold in his hands will be like copper. This punishment is measure for measure. The Chofetz Chaim writes that for reasons relating to kedushah, one should not postpone marriage once he reaches the age of twenty. He says that those who do postpone it out of monetary considerations are foolish, because married life is of great benefit to preserving one’s kedushah. Thus, says the Chofetz Chaim, those who postpone marriage for monetary reasons will see their gain offset by their loss, for it is known from the holy sefarim that this sin leads to poverty, r”l.

• The Gemara relates that the mazal, celestial sign, under which a person is born can have a profound influence on his nature and his life. In his Nefesh Kol Chai, Rav Chaim Palagi writes: Through the combined merit of shemiras habris and Torah one merits life and sustenance. Though his mazal might indicate otherwise, these two merits can override his mazal. Therefore, Chazal tell us that the Jews left Egypt in the merit of the Torah [that they would soon receive] and the merit of bris milah, because these two merits have the power to alter the mazal and effect changes that are beyond the plane of nature.   ... One who is careful regarding shemiras habris is not under the influence of the stars and constellations. Therefore, even if he was born under a mazal that indicates he will be childless and poor, he can merit both children and wealth.  

Rav Yaakov Abuchatzeira writes: The Torah is called a “bris” as a hint that the Torah truly attaches itself only to one who safeguards the sanctity of bris milah. Bris milah is referred to as the midah (Heavenly trait) of יְסוֹד (foundation). In the Zohar, this midah is referred to as רָזָא (secret). This indicates that the secrets of the Torah are revealed only to someone who is a shomer habris. If one safeguards the sanctity of his bris with kedushah and taharah, only then will the secrets of the Torah be revealed to him.  

• In his ethical will to his children, Rav Chaim Palagi writes: The wondrous way to merit the crown of Torah for oneself and his offspring, is by carefully safeguarding oneself from immorality. As I have written in my sefer “Nefesh Kol Chai” it was revealed to me in a dream that a certain distinguished family merited the crown of Torah for generations because they safeguarded the bris kodesh. This is why they retained the inheritance of Torah from their holy ancestors. For this — the crown of Torah — is dependent on this — shemiras habris. Every one of us hopes and prays for good children, children who will be faithful to Hashem and His Torah, and will grow to become talmidei chachamim. It is clear from the above that shemiras habris is a key to meriting this great brachah.

For more see Heavenly Reward.

Research

• There's not much good research on masturbation without porn.
• Less happy people are more likely to masturbate. Among both women and men, less happy people are more likely to masturbate. It appears that single men use masturbation to compensate for the lack of a stable partner, as even having intercourse in the absence of a stable partner increased the chance of masturbation.
  • חיד"א פני דוד עה"פ זאת הפעם עצם מעצמי שכאשר האדם מצוי בעצבות הסט"א מתלבשת בו ויש לה כח להחטיאו בפגם הברית.
• Masturbating to porn? Your relationship may suffer. Two large surveys from U.S. found that masturbation has a significant negative impact on relationships for both men and women. Masturbation seems to be more harmful for relationships than porn alone. (Note: Other studies have frequently found that the pornography use may have consequences for relationship satisfaction too. See Understanding Pornography.)
• See also here in the "understanding masturbation" tab.
• If desire were the manifestation of an intrinsic drive we might expect masturbation to occur most frequently in people denied a sexual outlet. However, the evidence suggests that masturbation is not compensation for lack of partnered sex. Highest levels correspond with high levels of partnered sexual activity and the most diverse range of sexual activities (Laumann et al., 1994). Suppose that sexual behaviour is the manifestation of the brain’s desire processes involving the imagination, the sensitivity of which is enhanced by sexual activity (except for a period immediately following orgasm). The enormous variation in masturbation frequency and the fact that it often occurs most frequently at times of a new relationship might be expected. A similar logic would seem also to apply to nocturnal dreams and associated orgasm. Some have argued that nocturnal orgasm represents a safety valve, a natural compensation process for an absence of sexual activity (see Kinsey et al., 1953). However, there is a link between decreasing sexual activity and increasing frequency of nocturnal orgasms in only a minority of women (Kinsey et al., 1953). Even there, the frequency of nocturnal orgasm was very low compared to the frequency of sexual activity prior to the deprivation (deprivation being caused by such things as separation, divorce or incarceration). For a considerable minority of other women, there was a positive association between frequency of nocturnal orgasms and sexual activity. Contrary to compensatory principles, some positive correlation was seen between frequencies of masturbation and nocturnal orgasm. Toates, Frederick. How Sexual Desire Works (pp. 99-100). Cambridge University Press. Kindle Edition.

Practical Reasons to Abstain

When a pleasurable and intimate activity is always shared with one person (e.g., a wife) to the exclusion of anyone else, that both indicates a closeness and causes further closeness [siman & siba]. If this activity is also experienced with others (or even a person alone) - in the past or the present - then it reduces both the specialness and the intensity of the experience with the wife.

I often illustrate this with the following true story. When I was about 19, a younger bochur who recently arrived in the yeshiva and who I had never met came into the bais medrash and sat next to me. He then proceeded to pour his heart out regarding very personal family issues he was struggling with. Initially, I was flattered that he somehow sensed that I was the right person to speak to, confirming my recent decision to become a therapist. Unfortunately, the next day I discovered that he poured his heart out to anyone who would listen. This certainly made his interaction with me much less meaningful.

Masturbation (and pornography) establishes sexual pleasure as not related to an intimate relationship. This reduces the potency of physical intimacy in marriage to be an exclusive and powerful tool in cementing the relationship.

—Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin

"In a letter to a friend, Oxford scholar C. S. Lewis offered some insights about masturbation. He said that a man’s sexual appetite is meant to lead him out of himself, to lead him into being a self-gift that both completes and corrects his personality—first by sharing whole-life oneness with a lover and second by procreating children. With masturbation, however, the appetite is turned in on itself and “sends the man back into the prison of himself, there to keep a harem of imaginary brides”. What is the harm in this? Lewis says that the problem with masturbation is that a man comes to prefer his fantasy world to reality,

'for the harem is always accessible, always subservient, calls for no sacrifices or adjustments, and can be endowed with erotic and psychological attractions which no woman can rival. Among those shadowy brides, he is always adored, always the perfect lover; no demand is made on his unselfishness, no mortification ever imposed on his vanity. In the end, they become merely the medium through which he increasingly adores himself... After all, almost the main work of life is to come out of our selves, out of the little dark prison we are all born in. Masturbation is to be avoided as all things are to be avoided that retard this process. The danger is that of coming to love the prison.'"

—Fradd, Matthew. The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography (pp. 104-105). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

There’s a joke about a bochur who finally gets married. When asked how it was, he replied, “It was okay, but not as good as the real thing.”

In that joke there is a serious point about self-sex. Besides for prohibition involved, when masturbation becomes the norm, there is a real risk that sexual relations with a partner do become impacted, and the whole sexual experience seriously affected.

Self-sex runs the risk of impacting sex with a partner problematic for various reasons.

First, with self-sex the focus is entirely on your self. There is no attention needed or given to another partner. When repeated many times, as self-sex often is, this can lead to the development of a very self-centered mindset, where little or no attention is given to a partner. In addition, you are training your body to respond to your touch. This can again be problematic when you engage with a sexual partner, when the partners’ touching of each other contributes to the overall level of intimacy and excitement.

This focus on entirely physical pleasure, also prevents sex with a partner from being really intimate and just an exercise in temporary pleasure rather than something meaningful.

More problems come when self-sex is used as a way of  dealing with anxiety, stress, loneliness and other uncomfortable states.  Over time sexual arousal and performance can be associated with these states, potentially inviting sexual dysfunction.

In addition, these mood states might lead to diminished sexual performance. For example, the fight-flight syndrome, the body’s main stress response, actually biologically limits blood flow to various parts of the body, including the penis, thereby restricting erectile activity. So, someone using self-sex to manage anxiety, might find performance getting worse, potentially leading to more anxiety and a downward spiral in sexual function.

It is often said that self-sex is used as a means of relief from certain uncomfortable emotional states. However, sex is not meant to be used as “relief”. Seeing sex, especially self-sex, as a way of relieving uncomfortable emotions is a mistake. Very often, rather than sex relieving the problematic psychological states, those same states make sex a problem.

—Dr. HR for GYE

More perspectives:

• "It is a lonely and selfish action. Hashem created this drive for the purpose of a husband and wife connecting, giving to each other, and potentially creating another life, a selfless act on so many levels. Masturbation is a corruption of the essence of the proper and intended purpose for this drive. Engaging in masturbation conditions a person to see the expression of this drive as a selfish act and can reduce the happiness one can experience in marriage [if it continues even then].
• In addition, marriage benefits greatly from being exclusive (the language of “kedushin” indicates this as well). Even experiences in these areas of kedusha with oneself, as a selfish act, take away from the specialness of these experiences being exclusive to marriage.
• Some people who masturbate frequently report that they find it difficult to quit or reduce their rate. Excessive masturbation can begin to impact your mood, as well as your day-to-day sexual functioning.
• It's not good for you - it is not natural, and it has physical and psychological consequences. The majority of boys, and a majority by far, overcome this problem when they know its seriousness and are guided accordingly.
• Since we know it's wrong, masturbation leads to guilt. This guilt can lead to anxiety.
• See also Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA).
• See also Beliefs about Urges and Phased reduction

Approaches

Note: The approaches are divided here only for convenience.

Approach 1

• For people who feel that they are in control of it, focusing on this too much (i.e. constantly reading articles about it, being on the GYE forum etc.) will be counterproductive, as it will increase masturbation rather than reducing it. Instead they should familiarize themselves with the halachos, use Hesech Hadaas, and try their best, just like with any other Mitzvah (e.g. Lashon Hara). and focus should be on learning, life etc. If they have any concerns, they should be encourage to speak about it with a Rebbe.
  • It can help them to know that their Rebbe has surely spoken to countless bochurim about it, and he certainly won't lose any respect for the talmid. In any case, every talmid is בחזקת someone who has a struggle. So that fact that he is opening up, will only gain him respect. If he's not sure how to start the conversation we suggest that he can, "Rebbe, I want to speak to you about something private that I'm struggling with..." and his Rebbe will almost certainly guess.
• For people who feel that it is out of control, we focus on the following:
  • Speak to someone about it. “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive”. When you talk to a person who you know won't judge you, it will automatically remove any unhealthy shame about it. Shame makes you feel inferior to everyone else, and it leads to you feel that there is something wrong with you. When the shame is gone, you'll feel that you're a great guy who Hashem loves, just with a problematic behavior that you need to work on.
  • Chizuk & Normalization. When speaking to someone, you'll find out that the struggle is common. You'll also find out that you're not the only one with this issue, and there are many other top bochurim, and very choshuveh people who struggle too. Get Chizuk on how to deal with the ups and downs (see Setbacks).
  • Discuss practical steps (see Interventions), and keep in touch with that person as needed. Sometimes you can gain control pretty quickly, sometimes it's more of a journey.
  • As soon as you've gotten back control, you're focus will be on living a happy life with davening, learning, friends, hobbies etc.
  • You can do basic teshuvah anytime and you can go to Mikvah too. You can also schedule a time for it once a month or so for a few minutes. But worrying about the past and tikunim is something should wait until after marriage (or for a married guy, after he has been clean for a while, e.g. 1-2 years). Until then, working on Teshuva can a ploy by the Yetzer Hara - it causes obsession with the topic which can lead you back in to the cycle. Fasting is also never condoned.
• We don't focus on the negative effects written in Seforim, as generally GYE members have more than enough guilt already. Instead we just ask the GYE member "Why do you want to stop?" and leave it at that. We also focus on the great sechar and benefits for overcoming temptations. This way, as a member makes progress he'll feel that he can celebrate the successes, even if if he's not perfect. The most important part of Teshuva is עזיבת החטא, and overcoming the Nisyonos is in itself a tremendous tikun that repairs the damage that has been done by the falls.
• If a member asks why Hashem doesn't allow it, we'll respond that there are many Mitzvos for which we don't necessarily know the reason (e.g. Kosher). We also talk about the fact that Kedusha is one of the only mitzvos that is still a nisayon today, and that Hashem may be testing us how much we're ready to do for him.
• This approach has been tested a lot at GYE and it works quite well.

Dealing with Motivation

The Torah consider Shmiras Habris to be very important, see Zera Levatala. The reasons are complex and are discussed in depth in והתקדשתם. This leads to a dilemma with how to approach the motivation of stopping masturbation. If we focus too much on the negatives, it will lead to despair. We'll think we're so terrible, that Hashem is not interested in us anymore, and there's no point in trying to do other Mitzvos. Many young GYE members report that they have a hard time learning and davening the next day because they feel so distant from Hashem. Worse, these uncomfortable feelings lead to engaging in masturbating even more, because we want to do something pleasurable to escape the excessive guilt. In such cases, there's no point in discussing reasons why to stop masturbation, as they already know that. Instead the focus should be on Normalization and learning skills to be able move forward.

On the other hand, after struggling for a long time, our senses can be come dulled, and we feel like we don't care anymore. In those cases, we need clarity about why we should start working on this again. In such cases, we find that the most motivating reasons when it comes to masturbation are ones that focus on the positives, i.e what can be gained by changing and perhaps moderate negative results from masturbation that don't lead to excessive guilt. This way there is no risk of falling into despair, and we feel energized and excited to start working on it.

"Rav Dessler cautions us that resisting illicit temptations solely via repression is like pressing on a spring. The harder you press the harder it pushes back. Based on this concept, Rav Chaim Friedlander advises that we should frame our avodas Hashem in positive terms, focusing on the benefits of following the Torah rather than on the negative consequences of breaking the rules. Rav Wolbe gives similar advice regarding learning mussar. [... ]Interestingly, studies show that diets and attempts to stop smoking that emphasize the positive consequences of eating healthy and not smoking are more effective than messages that emphasize the negative consequences of smoking and obesity. This should caution us not to become overly reliant on negative consequences as an educational tool." –Dr. Bentzion Sorotzkin

Approach 2

• The Hebrew edition of Zos Brisi (printed in 5773/2013) does not avoid talking about the severity of z"l from various mekoros. It has received Haskamos from many Gedolim, R' Chaim Kanievsky, R' Aharon Leib Shteinman, R' Shmuel Vozner, R' Nissim Karelitz, R' Moshe Shterbuch, R' Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, R' Dovid Kohn, and many more. Most of this material has been ommited from the English version of the book.
• The new 2 volume encyclopedia set of seforim called והתקדשתם by Rabbi Kalman Krohn zt"l of Lakewood, has Haskamos of R' Chaim Kanievsky, R' Shmuel Vozner and more. It includes everything on the topic. In his view, learning about the topic from Torah sources, will never cause any harm. And playing down the importance of shmiras habris can lead to laxity and a lack of awareness. In his introduction he discusses the difference between the various approaches to the topic.
• Play the Yetzer Hara’s game and Win! A proposal for an approach that does focus on the negative effects written about in Seforim, but in a light, fun way.
• "When the person is told of the seriousness of the matter, there is at least the redeeming feature of having told him the truth. Therefore, even if it may have a temporary undesired effect, one is at least certain in not having misled him, while when he is told that it is “natural” and he need not take it to heart, etc., it is not the truth, and he will sooner or later discover that he has been deceived or lulled, and the excuse that it was intended for his benefit may or may not satisfy him."

Approach 3

General Chassidish approach

• See intro to והתקדשתם where he discusses this approach.

Approach 4

The Chabad Approach

• More info

Approach 5

Breslev

Learning the Halachos

R' Avi Landa, in Maintaining Kedusha

Some bochurim might get tremendous chizuk from going through the Shulchan Aruch – Even Haezer Siman 23. Seeing how the Torah and Chazal deal with this tayva as real, and powerful, can be validating and normalizing for a bochur. Additionally, there are multiple halachos there detailing with how to be careful. These halachos can be enlightening and helpful for the bochur working on self-control in this area. - .

Ozeir Bigevurah p 39-40.

A bachur might have been under the mistaken impression that being careful with this inyan is a frumkeit, or that it’s something that’s not mei’ikar hadin. Clarifying that these issurim are explicit halachos in Shulchan Oruch often helps in terms of recognizing their severity. Many bachurim have said that while they knew it was bad and felt guilty about it, they never knew the full extent of the issur, and learning the halachos helped them a lot. Rav Yisroel Salanter ztz”l writes that by learning the halachos of what is muttar or assur, as well as the gedarim that Chazal instituted, a person gains in his zehirus.

In addition to gaining an understanding of the scope of these halachos, seeing them brought down in the Shulchan Oruch also helps a bachur see that it’s normal, not something far-fetched or uncommon. A bachur can often relate to the struggle better after learning about it inside a sefer. There is, however, one important point that one should bear in mind when discussing the halachos with a bachur. There are situations when a person is not ready to abide by the halachos, and seeing them will only minimize the chashivus of the Shulchan Oruch in his eyes. He may tell himself, “What can I do?! I guess I am unable to keep the Shulchan Oruch!” You therefore have to make sure that the bachur is at a stage where he could control himself, and that learning the halachos won’t do more damage than good.

A discussion of the onshim: Hearing about the punishments in store for someone who falls in this area can be pretty frightening, but this is not a reason to completely eliminate yir’as ha’onesh from our avodas Hashem. Chazal told us the onshim because they wanted us to be aware of them. However, when you discuss onshim with a bachur, you must be extra cautious. If he is still at a point where he hasn’t done enough good yet, then it will be too hard for him to hear them. You might chas v’shalom bring about yi’ush in the bachur’s heart, or even a hatred towards Chazal for depicting such a bleak picture of his situation. Therefore, while it can sometimes be helpful for him to know about certain onshim, that applies only after one is doing well and wants to become stronger in his avodas Hashem. The yir’as ha’onesh can then act as a deterrent when he is faced with a struggle. Overall, though, you will need to use tremendous shikul hada’as (and at times ask a she’eilas chacham) with regards to how and when to mention these punishments.

Understanding the Words of Chazal

Most of those who have been nichshal have already seen the dark picture that is painted in many sefarim for someone who slipped in this area. This creates a tremendous amount of guilt and hopelessness. Quite often these feelings do more harm than good. The person gets upset by what he sees written in sefarim and then continues to act out and becomes more upset. It is therefore imperative for any person struggling with this nisayon to gain a proper understanding into the words of Chazal on this topic.

The main idea that must be conveyed is that not everything written in sefarim was intended for every person at every time. A person needs to have a Rebbi who tells him what Chazal meant and who they were addressing. If a bachur has a hard time accepting this, it can be pointed out to him that even within the words of Chazal, there seem to be various contradictions. There are some ma’amarei Chazal that give hope and chizuk, while others discuss the negativity and punishments.

Obviously there are no real contradictions in Chazal, and all of their words are true. However, the point being made here is that just as one needs a Rebbi to teach him how to understand a sugya in Shas, so, too, must one have a Rebbi to understand this sugya in hashkafah. Additionally, it’s important to emphasize that anything written in sefarim pertaining to this topic was done with one intention in mind: to get a person to stop his bad behaviors. If a bachur sees that he’s acting out more after learning from a specific sefer, or he is falling into a deeper depression, then he is obviously coming away with a message contrary to the purpose for which the sefer was written. If he then asks you what the correct understanding is, you can offer to sit down and figure out the pshat together. However, you should stress to him that whatever the pshat might be, it’s not the one that he had in mind, the proof being that his understanding is leading him in the wrong direction.

• See מרכבות ארגמן סי' לג for a many sources on the topic.
• Battle of the Generation _ (punishments are for our good, because they are motivating).