By April 10, 2008 Read More →

Sefer Hasidim, § 978

Jewish Mysticism
The essential strength of pietism is that, even though [people] insult him, he does not abandon his piety, and his intention is directed to God and he does not look at women whereas others apart from him do look. Thus he merits the abundant goodness that is hidden and his eyes will be satiated by the splendor of the Presence, ‘when your eyes behold a king in his beauty’ (Isa. 33-17), [that is] whoever does not look at women in their nakedness or at a virgin, as it says, ‘[I have covenanted with my eyes] not to gaze on a maiden’ (Job 31-1)….Every one whose [sexual] impulse does not derive pleasure from lewdness will merit to see the splendor of the Presence in the future.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “The Face of Jacob in the Moon- Mystical Transformations of an Aggadic Myth,” in The Seduction of Myth in Judaism- Challenge and Response, 235-270. Edited by S. Daniel Breslauer. Albany- State University of New York Press, 1997.

Posted in: Uncategorized

Comments are closed.