Rabbi offers prayer for Web porn surfers

JERUSALEM, Israel (Reuters) -- An Israeli rabbi has composed a prayer to help devout Jews overcome guilt after visiting porn sites while browsing the Internet.

"Please God, help me cleanse the computer of viruses and evil photographs that disturb and ruin my work ..., so that I shall be able to cleanse myself," reads the benediction by Shlomo Eliahu, chief rabbi in the northern town of Safed.

This is a fuller text from an English language Jewish publication in South Africa. It appears that Rabbi Eliahu is also a member of the Knesset:

Jerusalem - An Israeli rabbi has composed a prayer to help devout Jews overcome guilt after visiting porn sites while browsing the Internet.

"Please God, help me cleanse the computer of viruses and evil photographs which disturb and ruin my work so that I shall be able to cleanse myself of sin,"

reads the prayer by Shlomo Eliahu, chief rabbi in the northern town of Safed.

Eliahu, quoted by Israel's largest daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, said he had responded to a deluge of queries from Orthodox Jews worried that the lure of Internet sex sites was putting family relationships at risk.

The rabbi recommends Jews recite the prayer when they log on to the Internet or even programme it to flash up on their computer screens so they are spiritually covered whether they enter a porn site intentionally or by mistake.

I have been trying to find the complete text of this new prayer. This is from the ISRAEL-21st C[entury] website and apparently contains the complete text, along with the detail that this was for people who accidentally happen upon cyberporn. I should add that Rabbi Shlomo Eliahu (or here spelled Eliyahu) is a famous kabbalist, and his college-student daughter was killed in a terrorist bombing two years ago:

Israeli rabbi composes anti-pornography Internet Prayer

Jan. 21 -
The chief rabbi of the city of Safed, Shlomo Eliyahu, has composed a special prayer for those who have accidentally entered pornographic sites or have had those sites pop up unannounced on their screens.

Yediot Aharonot reported that concerned religious surfers contacted Rabbi Eliyahu,telling him that they had accidentally entered pornographic sites while surfing. On hearing this, Eliyahu composed a special prayer for protection from entering pornographic sites by accident:

"Please, God, help me to cleanse my computer of all sorts of viruses and evil images that spoil and interfere with my lawful work, and allow me to cleanse myself so that I may be pure of mind and may pray with a perfect heart, and that I may raise a family in true, stable love."

Eliyahu said that the prayer should be said every time one goes onto the Internet.

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