The following anecdotes give some insight into the astonishing steadfastness and inordinate precautions gladly undertaken by our gedolei Yisrael in their unceasing vigil to guard their eyes, much as we would guard jewels from lurking thieves.
The Steipler Gaon, ztz״l
The Steipler Gaon, ztz״l, would never permit a woman to enter his study; should one enter, he would immediately leave the room. (Ladies' requests were relayed to him by the Rebbetzin.) When he was young his overcoat needed frequent replacing as, in his fear of seeing women, he would walk right at the innermost edge of the sidewalk heedless that his coat was being scratched and ripped against the walls.
Reb Chatzkel Levinstein, ztz״l
In the midst of the Nazi terror, the Mir Yeshiva fled en masse and miraculously reached safety in Shanghai. There, the yeshiva's mashgiach ruchani, the saintly Reb Chatzkel Levinstein, ztz״l, urged them to unparalleled heights in Torah and avodah. Isolated from the rest of their brethren, they applied themselves with legendary fervour, knowing full well that Hitler's hordes were all over Europe and that Yidden and Yiddishkeit were going up in flames.
At war's end, The Mir Yeshiva set sail for America. After six weeks on the high seas their ship finally docked in at the Goldene Medina. Safe haven at last? Not to Reb Chatzkel's way of thinking. Holiness is a highly perishable commodity and a free and easy melting-pot lifestyle would hardly be conducive to its preservation. Not surprisingly, Reb Chatzkel and his family soon left America to settle in Eretz Yisrael where he later became the mashgiach in the famed Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak.
During his stay in America, his fear of the influence of New York's streets was such that before venturing forth, he would learn some mussar as a protective measure. Upon reaching his destination, he would learn some more mussar to counteract the damaging influence of the streets.
Reb Chatzkel didn't mince his words. He said, ״One wedding in America is enough to wreak tremendous damage on the hard-won spiritual attainments of six years' Torah study in Shanghai.״
Rav Moshe Feinstein, ztz״l
A young man once enquired of Rav Moshe Feinstein, ztz״l, about using a certain local street; he asked if its despicable store-window displays render one halachically obliged to take an alternative route? The inquirer also slipped in a polite mention that Rav Moshe himself walked down that street daily when going to the Yeshiva. Rav Moshe was aghast. ״Pardon me? You mean to say that road is plastered with forbidden pictures? I never noticed ״