Sacrilege
I’m more in touch with myself and the subtleties of my personality and I saw a very clear difference how I felt after listening to non Jewish music and after listening to Jewish music. We have to go no further than analyzing rap music, its utter filth and it has been proven that those who listen to rap are influenced and become much more inclined towards a life of crime. I will tell you a story which I saw with my own eyes. One summer in camp when I was a staff member there was a fellow staff member who was a bit of a troubled guy. He was from a broken home and he seemed troubled. But he was a frum guy. Davened 3 times a day hat and jacket by davening, learning…well anyways somebody lent him a rap cd from a famous white piece of human trash rapper. This guy had never listened to rap before. He fell “in love” with the cd and started listening to it for hours and hours a day. It was pathetic how many times he must have listened to that cd. Well within a week or 2 there was a marked change in this guy. He started talking very prust and cursing, walking with a certain swagger, giving attitude…and shortly thereafter he started sleeping late and acting very depressed a short while after the summer I found out he was on drugs and off the derech. I was so upset. There was NO DOUBT that it was from the music, so nobody can tell me that music doesn’t have amazing power.
Regarding movies, for me as a guy it was easier to fill that time. I started learning more and reading inspirational books. You made a point earlier, about inspiration leaving after being out of school. The way I look at it, Yeshivah, BY…is a training ground. They inspire us and teach us how to live when we are out in the world. Now that we are adults and out of school it is our responsibility to inspire ourselves, be it by attending shiurim, listening to mp3 or watching video shiurim (there are many amazing torah websites on the net) reading sefarim and inspirational books, speaking to Ravs, Rebbitzens if we have questions or need chizuk…(going to shul on shabbos for girls)