One who gazes at immodest images does not have the "eyes" to see wisdom.
This Is based on a commentary on tora us fm
Proverbs 17:24
24 [1] Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man, [2] but the eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth.
Rashi:
Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man:
The wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man.
but the eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth:
Saying, “Wisdom is inaccessible to me [lit. The wisdom is not found before me] because it is far from me. How will I be able to learn the Order Nezikin, which consists of thirty chapters; Tractate Kelim, consisting of thirty chapters; Tractate Shabbath, consisting of twenty-four chapters?” But, for the wise man, it is an easy matter: “Today I learn two chapters and tomorrow two chapters.” And he says, “This is what those who preceded me from time immemorial did.”
מצודות
[1] Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man = Wisdom is in front of an understanding man. He has the ability to learn and draw conclusions in any situation he may find himself…, "he will learn from all men" (מצודות).
[2] … But the eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth.
A fool however looks to the far borders of the land for excuses to not learn now, "he thinks, there is no one in this place to learn from , he can only learn from the sages who sit far away" (מצודות).
This same comparison exists in other areas.
For example in the area of character development:
[1] Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man = "The ways of wisdom are close to the human mind as long as one does not succumb to the temptations of the world and to the evil inclination "
[2] ...But the eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth.
"A fool however, whose soul is redeemed with lost, … erases any trace of wisdom from it... He looks for wisdom at the ends of the earth, as if it were something far from his nature or opposing his nature. In his opinion he has to go far and through much toil to find it. "( Malbim and similar משה דוד ואלי)
Or in the area of good deeds, such as charity and helping others:
[1] Wisdom is directly in front of an understanding man= An understanding man will intelligently look at the facts before him, and try develop ways to help the needy that he has the ability to help. He first helps those closest to him.
[2] ...But The eyes of a fool are at the end of the earth.
A fool looks for excuses for why he cant help the needy; he stares at the end of the country - he blames the government for not doing enough, enemies who threaten the country's security , foreign powers that intervene in the economy, etc. ...He ignores the needy that come to him. He expresses solidarity with the needy across the country or those in distant countries, whom he has no practical way of helping.
"End of the earth" can refer to the far end and it can refer to near end. An example of a near end extreme: a person that subscribes to a certain philosophy and is not willing to listen to anything else.
Other places in Tanach where the expression "ends of the earth" is used.
Exodus 16:35 And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
Numbers 33:37 They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.
Jeremiah 10:13 At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heaven, and He brought up clouds from the end of the earth, He made lightning for the rain, and He took wind out of His treasuries.
Numbers 11:1 The people were looking to complain, and it was evil in the ears of the Lord. The Lord heard and His anger flared, and a fire from the Lord burned among them, consuming the extremes of the camp.
We can see that the expression, "the ends of the earth" can refer to things such as the borders of the land, the security situation of the land, the weather, or ruling parties (which are at the far end of the social spectrum).
According to the verse it is foolish to look to these places for wisdom or to delay getting wisdom because of far away considerations.
The verse teaches that to learn Torah that there is no need to go to the limits of the heavens, the sea, or the land . Wisdom is close to us.
My Comments
In this verse the eyes are body organs that give us meaning, direction, understanding. We use our eyes to perceive a situation and our inner eyes to judge the situation.
One can clearly see the dangers of gazing at immodest images. To stare at promo and depend on it in any way is a lamentable thing. Not only does it not provide you with a true direction or recourse, it harms you.
It ruins the physical and spiritual power of the eyes. It decreases your ability to perceive situations and make judgement calls on them. The eyes are wasted on immodesty. They don’t serve you as they should.
Gazing at immodest images is a fruitless search for yet another vanishing moment. To think that it will benefit you in any way, is focusing on the "end of the earth" for meaning and gratification. Even the claim that you are calming a desire is false, you are encouraging a desire by feeding it .
One cannot expect to go through a normal day and not be exposed to some form of immodesty but one must not go and search for it. Instead, focus on wisdom.
If you gaze at immodest images and you are troubled by this, I hereby present to you, right before your eyes, some techniques I have found helpful:
1 The most important: fixed daily Torah study for period of time.
2 Special effort to study intensely on Shabbat.
3 Prayer to G-d for help. Any addiction center will give you this advice.
4 Charity and kind deeds. They pull you out of the mud towards the good.
5 Guard Your Eyes and Guard Your Speech
6 Mikvah
7 Tzitizt
Talmud Kidushin 30b. Even so did the Holy One, blessed be He, speak unto Israel: ‘My children! I created the Evil Desire, but I [also] created the Torah, as its antidote; if you occupy yourselves with the Torah, you will not be delivered into his hand."
