The Diamond Necklace

“You are such a fanatic.” She said as I pulled back.

It was at a meetup in Tel Aviv. I was mingling with a bunch of fellow marketers when one of the women at the event agreed with something that I said by grabbing my wrist and squeezing it. I politely told her that I don’t engage in physical contact with members of the opposite sex, and she got a little upset.

Most people in Tel Aviv are pretty cool with the religious. A good 20% of Tel Aviv are observant Jews, and another 20% are non-observant Jews who grew up religious.

She demanded an explanation for people like me, American Vice President Michael Pence, and all the crazy “Haredim” that run away from women like they are contaminated.

I explained it to her:

The other day, on Quora, the social media platform where people ask questions and share their answers, a man gave his answer to the question: What was the greatest experience you had with a woman?

He said that he met his wife when he was 17. She was the love of his life and they got married at age 23. They both experienced intimacy for the first time with each other, and shared a very powerful bond together. Fifty years later, this man had type II diabetes. Among the symptoms of the condition are difficulties with intimacy.

He fought tooth and nail to reverse it. He exercised. He lost weight. After 6 months, his diabetes went into remission. For the first time in half a year, he was able “return” to his wife. He described the experience as feeling like he was 23 again.

That’s the gift Hashem gives to people who guard the laws of physical morality. The more time you are loyal to Hashem, and your wife, the more beautiful she becomes. She is sexier than Beyonce, Kim K, and Gal Gadot all rolled into one. The more time you spend being loyal to her, the more beautiful she becomes in your eyes. She is more attractive to your senses at 67 than she was at age 27.  

That’s the diamond necklace.

If someone offered you one week on a deserted island alone with the three most physically attractive women alive, how much would you pay? Even if you found the prospect repulsive, how much would the sleazy guy in the “back of the bar” pay?

Would it be more or less than the price of a diamond necklace?

Probably more.

That’s the value of physical morality. The man in the Quora answer would rather have the beauty of his wife, than the dream of the sleazy guy. He values the benefits of personal holiness far more than a diamond necklace.

If you had a diamond necklace, what would you do with it? Would you toss it in the cabinet or put it in a safe? Would you be careless in protecting it, or hire half the IDF to stand guard?

This is why I told my colleague, from the VP of marketing to the VP of America, we all stand guard over our personal morality. We’re guarding the most priceless item in our possession.

Putting up as many fences around this mitzvah is like surrounding our diamond necklace with an iron-walled fortress.