Difficulty in Abstinence After Childbirth
Question
Answer
Hello,
A. Indeed, it is not easy to abstain for a long period.
However, it is important to remember that besides being a simple prohibition, it has a purpose. For example: restoring freshness after a pregnancy that was permitted for a long time, the woman's recovery from the trauma of childbirth, the woman's focus on the newborn, which takes all the body's and soul's strength, and many more. When you understand that it has a purpose, it is much easier to accept it and calm down.
B. Thank God you do not have nocturnal emissions. The emission of seed not in a permitted way defiles the soul and brings only harm.
C. It is, of course, forbidden to look at covered places during days of impurity.
Besides the inherent prohibition of looking, looking at covered places to calm desire is like a thirsty person drinking salty water. The satisfaction lasts for one second, and then the thirst increases immeasurably.
'Lefum tsa'ara agra' - the reward for overcoming during difficult times is immense, and a person who accepts the difficulty with submission to the will of God atones for all those times he failed in similar prohibitions.
Source
Avot, Chapter 5, Mishnah 23.