{"id":9598,"date":"2014-09-04T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T03:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=9598"},"modified":"2019-11-21T11:44:12","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T09:44:12","slug":"14-04-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/14-04-06\/","title":{"rendered":"06. Sinful Thoughts: Two Prohibitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two kinds of sinful thoughts are prohibited: thoughts about adultery and thoughts likely to lead to nocturnal emission. The reason for both prohibitions is the same: they harm the sacred bond between spouses and divert elsewhere the desire that should be used to increase the couple\u2019s love and devotion, causing the <em>Shekhina <\/em>to leave them.<\/p>\n<p>The first prohibition is that a man may not think about sinning, that is, he may not imagine himself committing adultery with a woman other than his wife, and certainly he may not plan the sin in his mind. As the Torah says, \u201cDo not follow your heart and your eyes, by which you are led astray\u201d (Bamidbar 15:39). The Sages interpret \u201cyour heart\u201d to refer to apostasy (idolatry or heresy) and \u201cyour eyes\u201d to refer to sinful thoughts (<em>Berakhot<\/em> 12b). Therefore, a man may not gaze at women or their clothes in a way that is liable to lead him to sinful thoughts (SA EH 21:1). In addition to the fact that the thoughts themselves are forbidden because they damage the love between husband and wife and contaminate his thoughts with forbidden things, they are liable to lead him to actual adultery. That sin starts with lustful thoughts, whose intensification gives the sinful impulse control over the person, causing him to commit adultery. The Sages say that sinful thoughts are more serious than the sin itself (<em>Yoma<\/em> 29a). True, the punishment is more severe for committing the sin than for thinking about it. However, it is the sinful thoughts that cause a person to betray his covenant with his wife and commit adultery. These thoughts begin before and persist after the sin, thus further defiling the mind and soul.<\/p>\n<p>One of the reasons that the Sages instituted \u201c<em>Va-yomer<\/em>\u201d as the third paragraph of the daily recitation of <em>Shema<\/em> is to remind people to guard themselves against sinful thoughts. This paragraph contains the verse, \u201cDo not follow your heart and your eyes, by which you are led astray,\u201d and also records the mitzva of wearing <em>tzitzit<\/em>, for by remembering the <em>tzitzit<\/em>, a person can be saved from sin (<em>Mena\u1e25ot<\/em> 44a; above, 3:6).<sup><a href='#_te01ftn4_9' id='_te01ftnref4_9' class='aup1'>[9]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The second prohibition is for a man to think about anything that sexually stimulates him and may cause him to have a nocturnal emission or \u201cwet dream,\u201d that is, to ejaculate while sleeping. The Torah says, \u201cStay away from every evil thing\u201d (Devarim 23:10), which the Sages explain to mean, \u201cA man must not entertain thoughts during the day that will cause him to become impure at night\u201d (<em>Avoda Zara <\/em>20b). This prohibition includes thinking about, reading, or looking at anything that arouses his urges and causes an erection, even if the man does not actually imagine himself with a woman who is forbidden to him. Even a married man, when he is away from his wife, or when she is a <em>nidda<\/em>, may not think about being intimate with her in a sexually stimulating way, as it can lead to a nocturnal emission. All his desire must be safeguarded for his wife alone.<sup><a href='#_te01ftn4_10' id='_te01ftnref4_10' class='aup1'>[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>A nocturnal emission is called <em>keri<\/em> or <em>tuma. <\/em>The word \u201c<em>keri<\/em>\u201d is used because it occurs unintentionally, by chance (<em>be-mikreh<\/em>) at night (<em>layla<\/em>). Thus, it is also referred to as a \u201c<em>mikreh layla.<\/em>\u201d The word \u201c<em>tuma<\/em>\u201d is used because a nocturnal emission makes a person impure; he may neither ascend the Temple Mount nor eat <em>taharot<\/em> (food that must be eaten while one is ritually pure). To purify himself, he must immerse in a <em>mikveh<\/em>. Then, after the sun sets, he may eat <em>taharot<\/em> (see 3:8 above).<\/p>\n<p>A nocturnal emission happens due to a combination of a natural process \u2013 such as the body\u2019s production of semen \u2013 and the waking thoughts that a man has that cause him to get an erection. Even if he successfully controls himself during the day and does not masturbate, these thoughts return in his dreams and cause a nocturnal emission. Nevertheless, even the righteous who control their thoughts during the day occasionally experience a seminal emission, because this is the way a man\u2019s body works. It constantly produces semen; as time goes by and semen builds up, the body becomes aroused to ejaculate. This happens more frequently with younger men than older men. (The prohibition of sinful thoughts and masturbation for women is explained below, in sections 10-12.)<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<div>\n<a href='#_te01ftnref4_9' id='_te01ftn4_9'>[9]<\/a>. The prohibition to think about committing adultery is from the Torah (Rambam, <em>Sefer Ha-mitzvot<\/em>, <em>Lo Ta\u2019aseh<\/em> 47; <em>Smag<\/em>, <em>Lo Ta\u2019aseh<\/em> 15; <em>Smak<\/em> \u00a730; <em>Sefer Ha-\u1e25inukh<\/em> \u00a7387). The sinner does not receive lashes, though, since no action is involved (<em>Atzei Arazim<\/em> 21a). Rabbeinu Yona adds that this prohibition includes gazing at a woman who is forbidden to him in order to enjoy her beauty, even if he has no intention of committing adultery with her, for even if this is not his present intention, gazing at her may lead him there. This is the admonition, \u201cDo not follow\u2026your eyes, by which you are led astray\u201d (<em>Igeret Ha-teshuva<\/em> \u00a718). According to <em>Smak<\/em> (\u00a730), this is a rabbinic prohibition to keep him away from truly sinful thoughts. Nevertheless, if this gaze stimulates him sexually, he violates the Torah prohibition of the second kind of sinful thought (<em>ibid. <\/em>\u00a724).<\/p>\n<p><a href='#_te01ftnref4_10' id='_te01ftn4_10'>[10]<\/a>. Many <em>poskim<\/em> say that if a man thinks about whatever is likely to cause him a nocturnal emission, he violates a Torah prohibition. They understand the Sages\u2019 interpretation of Devarim 23:10 to be a <em>bona fide <\/em>expounding of the verse (<em>Smag<\/em>, <em>Lo Ta\u2019aseh<\/em> 126; <em>Smak<\/em> \u00a724; Ran on <em>\u1e24ullin<\/em> 37b; <em>Beit Shmuel<\/em> 21:2). In contrast, <em>Yere\u2019im<\/em> \u00a745 understands the prohibition to be rabbinic. <em>Pri Megadim<\/em>, <em>Ezer Mi-kodesh<\/em>, and <em>A\u1e25iezer<\/em> 3:24:5 maintain that Rambam and SA left out this admonition because, in their opinion, this interpretation is an <em>asmakhta<\/em>. See <em>Otzar Ha-poskim<\/em> 23:7-8.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two kinds of sinful thoughts are prohibited: thoughts about adultery and thoughts likely to lead to nocturnal emission. The reason for both prohibitions is the same: they harm the sacred bond between spouses and divert elsewhere the desire that should be used to increase the couple\u2019s love and devotion, causing the Shekhina to leave them. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14-04"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>06. 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