Torah Diet

The Hashem's Protection System and Hashgachah System Integrity Alerting Machine

Forum

Untitled Page

Glossary

Untitled Page

     THE PRODUCT LIST
                 PART 1

        RUCHNIUS IDEAS
· The Sefiras HaOmer Chart
· The Chag Log -- Your Spiritual Diary
· Life-At-A-Glance - The 25 Year Diary
· Talking Numerically-Significant-Minute Clock
· Gashmius Reports Magazine
· The Don't Wants Club
· The Conduit

        DAVENING IDEAS
· The Geulah Siddur
· Removable Sticky Arrows
· The Prayer Pacer
· The Talking Brachos-For-Kavannah Machine
· The Birchas HaMazon Booklets
· The Krias Sh'mah al HaMitah Booklet

        DIVEIKUS IDEAS
· The Ribone Phone
· The Shechinah Phone
· My Partnership Agreement With Hashem
· The Talking Diveikus Machine
· Diveikus Cards
· Letter From G-d
· Inspiring Quote From The Baal Shem Tov
· The "What A Wonderful World" Video with Louis Armstrong
· The To-You Turner
· The Yichudim Simulator
· Shabbos Meal Prayer
· The Geulah Club
· The Geulah Bracelets
· The Connector
· The Director
· Free Help on How to Get Closer to Hashem
· The Simulator
· Yeshivah Gedolahs Sing
· The Sleep Log

         EMUNAH IDEAS
· The Prognosticator
· The Hashem's Protection System and Hashgachah System Integrity Alerting Machine
· The Heavenly Wake Up Service
· The Heavenly Fall Asleep Service
· The Heavenly Insect-Prevention Service
· The 40-Day Yisurim Log
· Free Help for Trouble With Emunah
· The Gratitude Book

        SELF-HELP IDEAS
· The Ablator
· The Liberator
· The Excitement!!! Popper
· Mussar Songs
· The Identity Finder
· Your Personal-Weather Report
· The Frustration Tolerator
· How To Stop Feeling Sad
· The "It's Okay To Be Insignificant" Plaque.
· The Work-On-Feeling-Okay Plaque
· The “Liberate Yourself By Saying No” Sign
· The Happy "No" Picture

         LEARNING IDEAS
· Gemora Messages
· Video Shiurim From Our Gedolim
    · Watch and Learn
    · Eat-and-Learn Restaurants
    · Read and Learn
    · Call and Learn
    · Fly and Learn
    · Ride and Learn
· Portable Torah Facts
· The Talking Brachos-In-Learning Machine
· Wait-and-Learn
· Applause While Learning
· The Torah Pocket-Library
· The Thinking-In-Learning-Room Picture
· The Punishments Book
· The Kavanah Headband
· The Portable Arba Minim Buyer's Guide
· Free Help for Problems with Learning
· Complete Eyen Mishpat, Plus
· Succah-Builder's Guide, Concise
· Difference Between Inside and Outside Sixth
· The Handy Havdalah Chart
· The Parshios Chart

        TZADDIKIM IDEAS
· The Arba Ammos Trainer
· The Reconfirmation-Of-The-Oath Plaque
· The Zap Images Bookmarklet

   ANTI-yetzer hora IDEAS
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Light Saber
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Flamethrower
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Machete Knife
· The Slicer
· The Scalpel
· The Anti-Smoking Campaign
· The Anti-Overeating Campaign
· The Talking Silver Cigarette Case
· The Torah Diet
· The Maoz Tzur (Rock Of Ages) Battle Song
· The “You have to get more organized and take better care of yourself” Plaque
· Portable Torah Facts
· The Amalek Revealer
· The Disconnector

MISCELLANEOUS IDEAS
· The Megillas Esther Holder
· The Soap-Remnant Remaker
· Free Help with Hiccups

(Donations collected through my friend, Burt West's PayPal account.)

Translate

Untitled Page

     THE PRODUCT LIST
                 PART 2

ARMAMENTARIUM FOR           THE FAINT HEARTED
· The Ablator
· The Unwanted-Thoughts Scatterer
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Light Saber
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Flamethrower
· The Mental Anti-yetzer hora Machete Knife
· The Slicer
· The Scalpel
· The Maoz Tzur (Rock Of Ages) Battle Song

     TORAH TOYS IDEAS
· Toy Yeshivah
· Play Chasunah
· Toy Beis HaKinesses
· Play Shabbos Table
· Play Lail Pesach
· Play Simchas Torah
· Play Hakafos
· Toy Eged Bus, #1 or #2
· Toy Succah
· Play Hachnosas Sefer Torah
· Toy Western Wall
· Toy Noach's Ark
· Toy Eshel Avraham

     TALMUD TOYS IDEAS
· Avodas Beis HaMikdash
· Mishkan and Shevotim in Midbar
· The Mishkan and 39 Melachos
· Avodas Parah Adumah
· Bikkurim
· Succahs, Kosher and Posul
· Toy Eglah Arufah

INTERPERSONAL IDEAS
· The Chutzpah Smasher
· The Feel-Their-Distress Ball
· Brachah Cards
· Frumy Friendship Cards
· Chag Cards
· The “Leave Them The Way They Are.” Plaque
· The Find-The-Similarities Activity Book

          THOUGHT IDEAS
· Thought Mail
· Thought Cleaners
· The Unwanted-Thoughts Scatterer
· The Thought Mail Scrambler
· The Interfering-Thoughts Counter
· The Thoughts Organizer
· The Eitz HaChaim Thought Guarder

         TSHUVAH IDEAS
· The Point-Of-A-Needle Hole
· Removable Point-Of-A
Needle-Hole Stickers
· The Middah K'neged Middah Revealer

          MIDDOS IDEAS
· The My-Own-Faults Finder
· The See-The-Good Glass
· See-Their-Good / See-Their-Bad Glass
· Bad Middos Ablatement Buttons
· Middos Refinement Buttons
· The My-Faults Book
· The Personality-Trait Blender
· The What's-Right-With-This-Picture Coloring Book

       KABBALAH IDEAS
· The Kabbalah Alarm Clock
· The Identity Finder
· Megillas Esther, Revealed

        MUSSAR SONGS
· Mussar Songs - home page
· Welcome To The Olum HaZeh Correctional Facility (Hashem’s Prison Planet)
· Everything That Happens
· Have A Smile For Everyone
· You Have That Fault Yourself
· Don’t Get Mad Or Hurt
· These Are Your Guides
· Make Your Enemy Your Friend
· Find A Word Nicer Than Stupid
· Everyone’s Had Better Days
· Just Don’t Get Angry
· A Nice Little Happy Day
· Give Me My Mussar With A Beat

       ESSAY NUGGETS
· "I Saw An Upside Down World."
· The Down and The Up
· The Value of Low Self Esteem
· They Don't Play Basketball in Heaven
· Middah K'neged Middah
· On Yisurim
· “You have to get more organized and take better care of yourself.”
· "Good!"
· On Learning Torah L'Shmah
· On Looking For Happiness
· On The Animosity Between Father and Son
· On One's Changing Madrega
· There HAS To Be Something Wrong With Everyone
· Dealing With Adversity
· Life In This World
· How Words Of Torah Help
· “Help me. Save me. Help me. Save me.”
· How To Stop Feeling Sad
· Getting In The Mood For Tisha B'Av

(Donations collected through my friend, Burt West's PayPal account.)

Eating from the Tree Of Life instead.

Seforim hakadoshim tell us that we should eat only to maintain our souls rather than our bodies, and that we should eat like a tzaddik, that is, with no trace of gluttony or desire.

Therefore, The Torah Diet is not a diet in which you have to consider calories or food groups or even different kinds of fats or cholesterols (although you can if you want to). Rather, The Torah Diet helps you to behave and think properly while eating, by filling you up with words of Torah that give you the Torah perspective on eating and living properly. After many repetitions, the words finally sink in and you no longer want to eat more than you require, b’ezras Hashem.

Some of the general principles which derive from the numerous quotes (see below) from the gemora, mussar seforim and seforim hakadoshim that appear in The Torah Diet book are:

· Forget about food and forget about eating. You are no longer going to eat because you enjoy the taste or the texture. You are only going to eat to satisfy your soul - to make sure you don’t die and so you can do mitzvos.
· Don’t tell yourself that after you lose your weight that you’ll then be able to eat again like you have been doing up till now. No. From now on and for the rest of your life, food is not going to be important to you. The only thing that will be important to you about food is how little you can eat and still get along.
· Instead of eating, learn. “Eat Torah” instead of food as much as you can. Every time you are hungry, learn first until you can’t learn anymore and then eat as little as you possibly can.
· Hunger pangs are no longer something to be dreaded and avoided at all costs. Now, hunger pangs are going to let you know that you are losing weight, and even more importantly that your Yetzer Tov is suppressing your yetzer hora - a suppression which is recommended by Chazal. Therefore expect and want to have hunger pangs (slight or more than slight) all the time.

· Say goodbye to your relationship with food. As if you are saying goodbye to a very dear and close loved one whom you are not going to see so often anymore and when you do it will be from a distance. Imagine how sad you’re going to be to no longer have the intense enjoyment from food, to no longer be so occupied with it. Imagine how lonely you’re going to be, how vacant you’re going to feel - to never again have those “big gulps of food,” or those big binges. From now on you and food are just going to have a casual relationship. No more the intensity of eating, no more the big embracing your food. No more satisfying that craving in your throat, no more big gulps. No more satisfying your desire to devour, to ingest, to incorporate with your mouth.

· So before you start out on such a life-altering adventure, mourn what you are going to lose. Mourn - cry - over the pleasures you will no longer have, mourn the satisfactions that you’ll no longer feel, mourn the loss of the full feelings and the ability to gorge yourself, mourn the loss of feeling big, of feeling accomplished, of feeling full. Mourn losing the excitement of eating a lot. Because no longer are you going to feel those things. Instead you’re going to feel light, thin, small, self-controlled. These latter feelings don’t carry with them the intense sense of physical satisfaction that the former group of feelings do. These latter feelings are more subtle, quieter, more steady and continuous, calmer - and much more satisfying.

· You can also “mourn” the loss of chastising and blaming yourself after each time you overeat, and the loss of feeling so heavy and hard to move - because you are not going to feel those things anymore either.

· No longer are you going to allow yourself the false luxury of eating as much as you can or want, and no longer will you eat foods or portions that are not good for you to eat. From now on you are going to eat only according to specific guidelines that others have made up for you. You will no longer have a free choice where eating is concerned, regardless of the inner turmoil that might initially cause. Because you now are going to believe that eating properly is the right thing to do regardless of your impulses or the enticements of your yetzer horrah.

· No longer are thoughts of eating going to fill your mind. From now on thoughts of learning are going to fill your mind.

· Don’t try to rid yourself of hunger pains. Rather, welcome them, be glad for them and try to keep them with you for as long as you can.
· Don’t eat as soon as you come home or wake up from a nap or as soon as you finish something. Rather learn for as long as you can before eating. Then once you can’t learn anymore, see if you can find something else to do before you have to eat.
· Don’t eat or drink anything while you’re learning. But,
· Learn while you’re eating. It’s not impolite.
· The more you eat, the worse it is.

· Stop drinking coffee. Coffee causes you to have a reactive false feeling of hunger. Drink hot water instead - with sugar only if you need it. You’ll be surprised at how delicious it is, and you’ll save on milk and coffee expenses to boot. And if people make derogatory comments, just tell them that you’re on The Torah Diet!
· Don’t eat when you’re sad in order to feel better. Instead, learn Torah as the way to lift yourself out of feeling sad and have a true Simchas Torah! Eating as a way of making you feel less sad will only make you more sad in the end when you start telling yourself how much weight you gained, how you have no self control, how you can’t be successful at anything, etc., etc.
· Don’t eat just because you’re bored and you have nothing else to do. When you’re bored, learn something.
· Try to be hungry for as long as you can. All the time you’re hungry you’re losing weight.

· Don’t try to make your food “appetizing.” You don’t need to increase your appetite in order to eat. When you are hungry you’ll eat.
· Don’t use a many spices in your food. Make your food as bland as possible. Spices only make you want to eat more than you need to eat. Avoid anything that’s going to make you want to eat more of any certain food. Use Torah as your spice (“Torah tavlin”, Kedushin 30b).

· It’s a kiddush Hashem to take proper care of your body.
· You can easily get rid of fake hunger pains just by swallowing. One swallow will suffice for most fake hunger pains, only rarely will you need to swallow a second time.
· Cravings are the yetzer hora or middos in the klipos. If you “have to” give in to a craving and you “have to” eat that certain food, then all the time you’re eating it repeat over and over again, “This is the yetzer hora, this is the yetzer hora.” Even though it probably won’t stop you that time, over a few times it will help you to overpower your yetzer hora. Do the same thing while shopping and deciding which foods you should buy.

· Never eat any food that you really like a lot or that you love the taste of. As soon as you realize that you love that food, never eat it again. Don’t buy it and throw out that which you already have in the house. Your act of throwing out that which you already own will stand you in very good stead. Only eat foods that you don’t particularly care for. Remember, you’re no longer eating for enjoyment. And if you really “must” eat a food that you really love, eat only a little bit of it, just to taste it, all the while saying, “yetzer hora, yetzer hora, yetzer hora.”

· Each time you eat, eat only the minimum amount that will obligate you to say an after-blessing for each food that you would normally serve yourself at that meal - i.e., one kezayis each of chicken, potatoes and vegetable. Then go do something else. The gemora says in a number of places that only a k’beitzah (2 k’zais) will calm one’s mind from the hunger, but since you will be eating more than one food (a k’zais of each) your mind should be settled.
· Try to always leave something over on your plate. Save it for your next meal.
· Don’t eat the little bit that’s left over in a serving dish. Either save it for next time or throw it out.

· Keep pushing off the time you’ll eat. One of the most effective ploys against the yetzer hora’s enticements is to say to it, “Not right now.” You’ll be surprised how many snacks you can miss that way during the course of a day.
· Keeping a log of what and when you eat helps you to see where you can possibly cut down and where you can space out your meals. On Shabbos, when you’re prone to eat more and when you can’t write down what and when you’re eating, you can use the detachable laminated card pictured below which is enclosed in each Torah Diet book. You put a paper clip over each time that you eat, and thereby keep track of when you’re eating.

· Go to sleep hungry whenever you can. The worst that will happen is that you’ll dream about eating (which, of course, is not fattening), and again, you’ll be surprised how many snacks you’ll be able to get away with not eating.
· Celebrate events (Rosh Chodesh, a sium, a kiddush or bris in shul, etc.) either by purposely not eating or by purposely eating only a very little bit of something special, like one taste, just to taste it in honor of the occasion and to make a brachah. Or if you’re very hungry, eat only a k’zais so that you’ll be able to make an after brachah.

· Don’t be upset about all these restrictions. You just think that life will be horrible if you follow them and if you never again eat a lot or fill yourself up or satisfy that craving in your throat or eat until you couldn’t eat another thing. You only think your life will be horrible but it’s not really true. Life is so much better without those behaviors. And who is it that makes you think that life will be horrible when you permanently restrict your eating? You guessed it - your good friend, the yetzer hora.
· After you get used to it, you’ll be surprised how filling a k’zais of food is. It is, after all, the halachic definition of eating.

When the Beis HaMikdash was standing, the Cohanim were warned to make sure they ate up all their kodashim (the meat of the sacrifices) during its allotted time so as not to make it nosar (left over) (Pesachim 85a). We, however, don’t have to worry about eating up all of our food. The mind-set to eat up all of one’s food may have originally come from that warning to the Cohanim but it certainly doesn’t apply to us today.
Along the same lines, the gemora in Beitzah 17b says that if, on Yom Tov, before he started he started to cook for Shabbos (which was the next day), someone ate up his eruv tavshilin, which he had made to allow him to cook on Yom Tov for Shabbos, he may no longer cook for Shabbos. But if he left over a k’zayis of food in the eruv tavshilin then he may cook for Shabbos. This is another reason to get in the habit of leaving over a little bit of food from what you eat so you’ll never get into the problem of eating up all your eruv tavshilin before you start to cook for Shabbos on Yom Tov. Rather, you’ll always have a little bit left over that you can rely on, to allow you to cook for Shabbos.

CURRENT STAGE OF PRODUCTION for The Torah Diet:

· Needs writing and producing.

WANT TO HELP? Contact us.

SELECTED RELEVANT QUOTATIONS FROM SEFORIM HAKEDOSHIM

KEating, Shmeating!”
KThat’s all you’re eating!?!” “Yup, that’s all. I’m on the Torah Diet!”
KA lot of the food hunger that you feel is really your feeling the Shechina’s longing for the Geulah. Rather than eating at those times, comfort Her instead. Once She’s been comforted you probably won’t be so hungry anymore.” (See our product idea, The Shechinah Phone.)
KI can’t believe it. I hardly need to eat anything anymore!” “I know! It’s amazing!” “And I’m learning so much more!” “I know! It’s wonderful!”
KShe eats like a bird.”
KI’m still hungry.” “Good.”

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ONE OF THE ABOVE QUOTATIONS AND ONE OTHER ONE

· (Sanhedrin 101a) Our Rabbis taught: He who recites a verse of Shir HaShirim (the Song of Songs) and makes it like a song and he who recites a verse at the banquet house not in its time [Rashi: during a Yom Tov] brings evil to the world. Because the Torah girds herself with sackcloth and stands before HaKadosh Baruch Hu and says before Him, “Ruler of the Universe, Your children have made me like a harp upon which they jokingly play.” He said to her,im,” HimHim “My daughter, at the time when they are eating and drinking with what should they occupy themselves?” She said before Him, “Ruler of the Universe, if they know Torah, let them occupy themselves with Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings; if they know Mishnah, let them occupy themselves with Mishnah, laws and Haggados; and if they know the Talmud, let them occupy themselves with laws of Pesach during Pesach, with the laws of Shavuos during Shavuos, with the laws of Succos during Succos.”

· (Rashi, Eruvin 4a, s.v. Peras) Four eggs is the food of an average meal.

The rest of the Hebrew quotations need to be translated into English.

Want to help?

(All the pages in this website are contained in our free PDF e-book, THE PRODUCT LIST. Click here to download THE PRODUCT LIST for free.)

(See our product idea, The Ablator, which will also come in handy here.)

Untitled Page