"Tzippi" was originally from the Los Angeles area. After finishing university with honors, she discovered her roots and became a baalat teshuva, a newly observant Jewess. That was about seven years ago. She landed a job in the midwest, met a seemingly-Orthodox guy, and married him. The marriage was a disaster on all counts. She wanted a husband who loved Torah, but her husband neither loved Torah, hard work or her. He liked looking at movies, magazines and women in the street. Tzippi went through a painful divorce, was left with almost nothing, and began a new life in Israel.
In Israel, Tzippi met a sweet, humble, G-d fearing righteous convert who strongly follows the teachings of Breslev and Rav Shalom Arush. Recently, Tzippi and her husband Avi celebrated their third wedding anniversary. They have a gorgeous toddler who just turned two years old. Tzippi recently wrote me, thanking me for the spiritual guidance I was privileged to give her along the way. She asked me to quote her, as follows:
"Rabbi Brody, you can quote me: being married to a guy who doesn’t guard his eyes is worse than Gehinnom (purgatory - LB), and being married to a guy who guards them is mamash Gan Eden (truly the Garden of Eden - LB). I am incredibly humbled by how far Hashem has brought me. thank you again for your major role in bringing me here, and to more true happiness, fulfillment, and shalom bayis (marital bliss - LB) than I ever dreamed was possible."
Guys, if you want a great marriage, start guarding your eyes. Girls, if you don't want your husband to look at other women, then don't make other women's husbands look at you, for that's not fair. Modesty applies in the summer, too. Hashem wants us to be a nation of holiness; once we are, we'll see even bigger miracles than we do today!
