Q&A: Guarding One’s Eyes
Guarding One’s Eyes
Question
When I walk on the street (especially when awake), it’s basically impossible for me not to come to improper thoughts. Is it forbidden for me to walk on the street when there isn’t a major need, or at least should I take off my glasses?
(In general, how can it be that Hasidim have more problems with guarding their eyes?)
Answer
I think the Torah does not expect a person to behave in a non-normal way. The Torah was not given to ministering angels. The Torah is meant to be implemented within the world, not outside it. Therefore one may walk on the street normally, and if improper thoughts come to you, you are under compulsion. In particular, there is also the leniency of “it is unavoidable and one does not intend it” (see Tur 487).
As for the question about the Hasidim, I didn’t understand it.
Discussion on Answer
Maybe. I’m not discussing hypothetical situations. When that happens, we’ll have to examine the situation and see what it means. There are extreme situations that justify deviating from normal life, but that is not the basic policy.
I once wondered here why we don’t all flee to the deserts in order not to stumble in gossip. Almost nobody avoids failing in that. And the answer is that a person is supposed to live normally in the world and keep the Torah in the world.
If pornographic films were being shown in the street, would the Torah still want a person to live normally and go out into the street?