The Pursuit of Wholesome Pleasures
I had the dubious honor of sitting next to an Argentinean priest on a flight from Argentina to New York. I generally sit together with my escort, but this time, we were unable to find two seats next to each other. None of the passengers agreed to switch seats with us, so I found myself rubbing shoulders with this man of the cloth.
Throughout the flight, the priest, as if to spite me, found reason to touch me and contaminate me with his impurity. I tried with all my might to concentrate on divrei Torah, while constantly praying to be spared the priest’s negative influence. Whenever I happened to glance his way, I found him deeply immersed in illicit literature. And whenever the stewardess came by, he found reason to engage her in conversation.
His behavior gave me pause for thought. The Christian religion forbids men of the cloth from marrying in order to promote abstention from all physical pleasures. Here before me, stood a representative of that religion, pursuing physicality with wild abandon. L’havdil, we Jews are stringent not to touch someone of the opposite gender even when handing over an object.
How wonderful is the Torah, which protects us from debased indulgences! In retrospect, I think it was a good experience to sit near the priest, in order that I should become more aware of this truth. The mitzvot guard us from sin. I truly felt the import of the pasuk in Divrei Hayamim (I, 17:21), “Who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth?”
With this privilege, comes the responsibility of every Jew to protect his soul from becoming sullied. He must never let down his guard, as our Sages teach (Avot 2:4), “Do not believe in yourself until the day you die.”
