Guarding The Eyes

According to the secrets of Torah, the holy eyes of a person are situated in an exceedingly exalted and holy spiritual realm, the dwelling place of the holy light of the soul of the soul, called the light of the holy “Chiya.” A great aspect of this holy light called Chiya is that it safeguards a person in both his spiritual and material affairs, at all times and in every manner.

It acts to protect the person from all forms of evil occurrences. This is the case in a person who has guarded his holiness and the purity of his thoughts, and most especially, a person who has guarded his eyes from  looking at any evil thing. This person guards his sense of sight in the holiness demanded by our holy Torah, as is written, “You shall not stray after your hearts and after your eyes after which you go astray.” [Numbers: 15:39]

However, if, G-d forbid, a person acted in the opposite manner and did not guard his eyes and his thoughts in the proper manner, and his eyes strayed, and looked, and gazed on things that were not to the honor of Hashem, the Blessed One; or if even occasionally his glance lingered, in moments of carelessness, on improper sights, polluting his eyes and his thoughts, then the holy light called Chiya becomes detached from its place. For the fleetest of moments, this light flees the person, then immediately returns to its place. But during this briefest of moments, a person loses his Heavenly protection and providence, and he is put in horrible jeopardy, vulnerable to evil mishaps, and to punishments that the Celestial Tribunal has decreed upon him for the sin of having willfully polluted his holy eyes.

Thus, a person should know that the Divine providence and protection that left him was derived from gazing at these images that were not in G-d’s honor, and thus they were unholy and forbidden, bringing spiritual pollution to his eyes. This transgression that he committed is what is known as, “And they put an idol in the Temple of the Holy One Blessed Be He.”

The holy light called Chiya can not bear images that have the ability, G-d forbid, to pollute the mind’s pristine purity and the holiness of the eyes, for it is here that the Shechina [Divine Presence] resides. From these sources of inner purity, an enormous power of spiritual vision constantly graces all the powers of the body, enabling the “eyes” of body and its organs “to see” in a spiritual fashion, and when a person transgresses with his eyes, then the eyes and mochin, and the spiritual sight of the body and its organs is seriously blemished, causing Divine providence and protection to momentarily flee, in order that the light of the Chiya not be damaged with them. For the moment that the light of the Chiya abandons the individual, he is susceptible to being overcome by harmful spiritual forces, to their cruelty and harsh judgments. For a proclamation is immediately sent out from the lights of these impure forces, declaring that this person, so-and-so, has been cast forth from the realm of the Holy One Blessed Be He, and that the Blessed One has left him, all because he willfully polluted his eyes and his thoughts, thus polluting the Tabernacle of G-d within him, and now permission has been granted to us to deal with him as our eyes see fit for plunder. In this manner, the transgressor draws upon himself, or upon his children, sufferings and great tribulation, including terrible illnesses, and a long list of other horrors – may the L-rd save us from them and their multitudes.

May it be the will of our Father in Heaven that we and our children, along with all of our Jewish brothers, not be subjected to difficult trials like these, and that all of those impure and destructive spiritual forces be cast upon our enemies who seek our harm, Amen.

Therefore, my holy child, please guard your holy, precious eyes and thoughts from every harmful thing, for they are your life and length of days. For it is in this matter that it will be known if you have sanctified yourself to the L-rd, G-d of Israel. When you go out to the street, I beg you with all of the warnings of our holy Torah to be careful and on your guard that your eyes should not wander here and there. Take great heed not to err, and not to forget the holy words that we have written. Know and understand with a clear recognition the extent of damage that this terrible blemish of seeing forbidden things can cause, and the great suffering that awaits those who are careless in this. Understood?

May the L-rd watch over us and rescue us, Amen. By guarding yourself in this matter, may G-d’s providence always be upon you, granting you great blessing, and may you merit to be one of the righteous, that your prayers always be answered, Amen, may it be the will of G-d.

(Reprinted with kind permission of JewishSexuality.com,  from his book, “Mishbatzot Zahav Livusha”)