Q:
Is it proper for husband and wife to hold hands in the street?
A:
About that it says in the chumash – it’s not said in the chumash but somebody said it on the last words in the chumash: If it’s le’einei kol Yisroel it’s a sof tzu der Torah – If it’s “before the eyes of Yisroel,” that’s already the end of the Torah (see V’zos Habracha 34:12).
You don’t do things in public. Don’t do things in public! Nobody should see it. Even children shouldn’t see it. It’s absolutely important to have proper conduct at all times. And nobody can realize how much Hakodosh Boruch Hu is makpid on improper conduct.
I can tell you stories from my experience, what I have seen happen to people who did that, people who did just that. It’s remarkable what I saw in my experience.
And therefore everybody should be chas on himself because Hakodosh Boruch Hu wants perfect tznius. And a husband and wife should beware of showing any form of especial endearment in the presence of other people. They should be perfectly polite to each other; but in public only politeness they should show.
TAPE # 459 (June 1983)
