Reb Shmuel Katz z'l worked on the 85th level of the Twin Towers, the level that suffered a direct hit when the planes crashed into the towers in Manhattan. Everyone on that level perished, but Reb Shmuel wasn't in the office that morning, and his life was saved. He lived a full life, raising children and grandchildren. He was niftar about a year ago. This is what occurred:
He would travel to his office in the Twin Towers by train. For the sake of shemiras einayim, he had an agreement with his boss that every day, he would come an hour later than most workers. To make up for that hour, he would remain an hour later every day. This arrangement enabled him to avoid the trains during rush hour. He preferred traveling later, when the trains were less full, and there were fewer tests with shemiras einayim. This arrangement for the sake of kedushah saved his life. He wasn't there when the plane crashed into the tower. He was saved because of his kedushah.
Kedushah saves the entire Jewish people. It states (23:15) להצילך מחנך בקרב מתהלך אלקיך 'ה כי דבר ערות בך יראה ולא קדוש מחניך והיה לפניך איביך ולתת מאחריך ושב, "For Hashem, your G-d goes along in the midst of your camp, to rescue you and to deliver your enemies before you. Therefore, your camp shall be holy so that he should not see anything unseemly among you and turn away from you."
The Sifri writes השכינה את מסלקות שעריות מלמד, this pasuk teaches us that arayos causes the Shechinah to abandon us. We are protected by Hashem when there is purity in our midst.
At the Kenisiya HaGedolah, ג"תרפ, Elul, Vienna, the gabbaim of the Gerer Rebbe (the Imrei Emes zt'l) inspected the hall before the rebbe entered because they knew how cautious the rebbe was with kedushah. They noticed there was no curtain over the balcony, which seated the women at the event. The gabbaim said the rebbe would insist on a curtain over the balcony, and that he wouldn’t participate in the meeting if there is no curtain over the balcony.
There were rabbanim present who were saying that according to halachah, the mechitzah was kosher, and they were saying there was no reason to fix it. They decided to ask the Chofetz Chaim, zt'l, who was already present, and do as he would say. The Chofetz Chaim ruled, "According to halachah, the other rabbanim present are correct. The mechitzah is kosher. Nevertheless, since someone wants to be machmir, we should heed his request."
The Chofetz Chaim explained, "The greatest tragedy for the Jewish nation is when Hashem isn't present, when Hashem doesn't watch over the Jewish nation. The Torah tells us that a lack of tznius causes the Shechinah to leave us, so every hidur in tznius and kedushah is worthwhile. How could a Jewish heart not tremble from the fear of מאחריך ושב, causing Hashem to leave us."
This story was told by the Chofetz Chaim's student, Reb Avraham Kalmanovitz, Rosh Yeshivas Mir zt'l. His son, Reb Shraga Moshe, pointed out a chiddush in the Chofetz Chaim's lesson. One might think there aren't levels or gray areas; everything about kedushah is black and white. Either there is kedushah, and Hashem is present, or there isn't kedushah, and Hashem leaves. But the Chofetz Chaim taught us that there are different levels of drawing in Hashem's presence among us. There is halachah, and there are hidurim, beyond the letter of the law. Whatever a person can do to increase tznius and kedushah brings more hashgachah pratis and siyata dishmaya. It brings Hashem to be among us, and guard over us.
Reb Elchanan Wasserman zt'l hy'd said in the name of the Chofetz Chaim zt'l that Hashem is called לעד ישראל עמו שומר, the guardian of the Jewish people. There are different types of guardians, as discussed in Chazal. There is a shomer chinam, a shomer sachar (a shomer who watches an object voluntarily, a paid shomer, and so on). A shomer chinam, a voluntary shomer, has permission to back out and say he doesn't want to be a shomer anymore. Hashem is our shomer, as we say עמו שומר לעד ישראל, and no one pays Hashem for His service, so Hashem is a חנם שומר. Hashem, therefore, has permission to say that He doesn't want to be the shomer anymore, chalilah. Therefore, we must be cautious with דבר ערות, arayos, tznius, and the like because that causes Hashem to be מאחריך ושב, to leave us and to stop being our shomer, chalilah.
On the words קדוש מחניך והיה, "Your camp shall be holy," we add that the Jewish home should be holy. The items and gadgets of the house should bring Hashem's presence there and not chalilah the opposite. We specifically refer to technological devices that are so opposite Judaism and polarly against the ideals of tznius and kedushah.
