Holy Eyes (For Women)

Let’s take a field trip to observe people with our spiritual glasses. This time, we’ll be watching a woman after work. These are not just any glasses we have put on, but rather they are glasses that show the spiritual side of life.

You put on these special glasses and find yourself in a nice apartment. There are some Jewish objects around, such as the husband’s tefillin, mezuzot on the door, and a Kosher cookbook on the dining table. You notice a holy white light surrounding the tefillin, mezuzot, and Torah books.

A woman walks into the room, sits down on the sofa with a glass of tea, a book of Psalms, and a magazine. She also has a white holy light surrounding her, the Psalms, and the modest clothing she is wearing.

She opens the book of Psalms and begins to read out loud. The white light surrounding her grows much brighter as she reads. You notice glittering spiritual diamonds coming out of her mouth as she speaks the words of King David.

The diamonds float higher and higher, up through the ceiling. The woman reads like this for several minutes, then puts the book down and picks up a fashion magazine.

You notice the pictures inside the magazine don’t have holy light coming from them. Rather, a foul spiritual odor is emanating from the immodest visuals.

As the woman reads, you can hear her thoughts, “Nice. I like that new look with the silky shirt and the off-the-shoulder sleeve. I like that tight mini skirt too. I wonder if I can find something similar that would cover my knees…Those high heels are so cute.”

She turns the page and gazes at more pictures. This time it’s a lipstick ad, and she muses, “What a pretty shade of red that is. They applied the eyeliner so expertly. How do they do that? I like how the model’s hair is windblown. I wonder if my wig stylist can make my wig look like her hair…”

You notice something disturbing. The white light from reading Psalms has now dissipated. In its place, you see a greenish cloud of impurity that is connecting the woman to the magazine she is reading. The woman hasn’t noticed the decline in her spiritual status, but you have thanks to the special glasses you are wearing.

The woman puts down the magazine after a while, and walks into the kitchen. You take your glasses off at this point and find yourself back at your current location.

It’s amazing what a strong influence our eyesight has on our level of holiness. Guarding one’s eyes doesn’t just apply to men. The Sefer Hachinuch states clearly that the commandment against gazing at immodest pictures applies to women as well (Daughters of Dignity, pg. 71).

Since women aren’t attracted to immodesty the way men are, it might seem like we are free to watch movies, go to public beaches, and read fashion magazines.

This is a mistake, our Rabbis tell us. Our eyes are the windows to our souls, and whatever we see with our eyes, enters our souls. Hashem wants us to be influenced in a holy direction, so He gave us the commandant to protect our eyes from immodest sights (Bamidbar 16:32, and Daughters of Dignity, p. 71).

We should think of our eyes as two precious sapphires. They really are. How would we protect rare sapphires if we were given the mission of safeguarding them? All the more so regarding our eyes, which allow us to do countless mitzvot and carry on productive lives.

To prevent negative influences, Hashem says we should guard these “gateways.” Notice how the woman’s aspirations changed because of what she was viewing. This type of influence is dangerous, since the Evil Inclination will whisper in a person’s ear, “That pencil skirt is kosher, it’s long enough! Just like that skirt you saw in the magazine. Good for you! Run to the register and catch the sale while it’s still going on!”

However, in reality, the skirt she is about to buy is not kosher. It may be long enough, but the pencil-style fits her too tightly. Of course, the Evil Inclination will not remind her of this modesty requirement.

Rabbi Simcha Bunim Cohen, a highly respected rabbi in Lakewood, NJ, talks about this in his Torah lectures for women. “You don’t acquire Fear of Heaven by shopping at the mall and seeing what they have hanging in the store windows.” We are influenced by what we gaze at.

A woman desiring to guard her eyes and increase her holiness will make a point not to look at immodest pictures. This is how we can show Hashem that we value our two precious sapphires.

May we all be successful in keeping our eyes clean and to come closer to Hashem, amen!