Faith
Segulot for Preventing Nighttime Impurity
What Can Be Done About Nocturnal Emission?
Question
I began drawing closer to religion two and a half years ago. At first I began going only on Friday. A year later I already went on Shabbat morning and evening, and a year after that I began keeping Shabbat as well. But I was failing in other matters, such as wasting seed, forbidden speech, and guarding my eyes. In the last half-year I told myself I would stop doing these bad things, and I began attending Torah and Gemara classes in the evening and in the morning. Most of all, I try to guard my eyes. Still, once every 10 days or once every two weeks, nocturnal emission happens to me. What can be done about this?
Answer
Peace and blessing,
If the emission did not come as a result of forbidden thoughts, it is not considered a transgression. Also see in Sefer Sichot HaRan (first discourse), where it is written that there are those for whom it happens because of excessive eating and drinking, or because of weakness and fatigue, or because one is not lying properly, and all of this is nothing.
Below are several segulot for preventing impurity at night -
A. To lie down wearing the small tallit. One should also lie on his left side. He should also be careful to recite Keriat Shema properly, word by word, and in the order arranged by the Arizal (as brought in the siddurim). When he lies down, he should reflect on words of Torah from what he learned during the day or at night; even if he knows only Scripture, he should reflect on the verses with which he is familiar, and from this he will fall asleep and his sleep will be sweet (the Chida zt"l in Tziporen Shamir, siman 8).
B. He should say these verses several times: Torah tzivah lanu etc., esh tamid etc., sefa'im saneiti etc., or zarua etc., until sleep overtakes him, and it is a segulah to be saved from a nighttime occurrence, Heaven forfend (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, siman 71, seif 4).
C. To learn from the holy book Tanna Devei Eliyahu every night before going to sleep. Afterward, he should mention the name Eliyahu seventy-two times. He should be careful to lie down in a clean place and with clean clothes, and it is a tested practice (Segulot Yisrael, Maarechet K, letter mem-beit).
Go up and succeed greatly,
Hillel Meirs
