{"id":9608,"date":"2014-09-04T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T08:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=9608"},"modified":"2019-11-21T11:47:39","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T09:47:39","slug":"14-04-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/14-04-11\/","title":{"rendered":"11. The Prohibition of Improper Thoughts for Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as it is forbidden for men to entertain sinful thoughts \u2013 imagining themselves committing adultery, or (even worse) planning it \u2013 it is forbidden for women to entertain sinful thoughts, that is, to imagine themselves committing adultery or being intimate with another man, and certainly to plan such an encounter. The verse says, \u201cDo not follow your heart and your eyes, after which you are led astray\u201d (Bamidbar 15:39). \u201c\u2018After your eyes\u2019 refers to sinful thoughts\u201d (Berakhot<\/em> 12b). As Sefer Ha-\u1e25inukh<\/em> points out (\u00a7387), this mitzva applies \u201cat all times and in all places, to both men and women.\u201d It states elsewhere: \u201cWomen, too, are forbidden to think about any man other than their husbands. All their desire and longing should be directed toward them. This is how upright Jewish women behave\u201d (ibid<\/em>. \u00a7188).<\/p>\n

In addition to causing a woman to have less love for her husband and contaminating her mind, thinking sinful thoughts can lead to actual adultery. This is the method of the evil inclination: first it arouses thoughts, then it draws people closer to sin, and ultimately it traps them in its net, causing them to commit adultery and thus ruin their lives. In this respect, men and women are the same.<\/p>\n

As we explained above (section 6), for men there is another category of sinful thoughts, namely, those that cause an erection and can lead to a nocturnal emission. A man may not even think about his wife in an arousing way while she is a nidda<\/em>. For women, though, there is no such concern. Therefore, a woman may think about sexual matters, as long as these thoughts are not about sinful behavior. Likewise, she may think sexual thoughts about her husband while she is a nidda<\/em>.[16]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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\n[16]<\/a>. SA YD 352:3 states: \u201cA man may not enshroud the corpse of a woman, but a woman may enshroud the corpse of a man.\u201d Shakh<\/em> (ad loc. <\/em>2) explains: \u201cBecause of [sexual] thoughts; however, a woman is not as subject to [improper] thoughts.\u201d Since this is the case of a corpse, obviously there is no concern for sinful thoughts of adultery. Rather, the concern is for thoughts that stimulate and lead to a nocturnal emission. This is stated explicitly in Igrot Moshe<\/em>, EH 1:69 and implied in Birkei Yosef<\/em>, YD 335:5.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as it is forbidden for men to entertain sinful thoughts \u2013 imagining themselves committing adultery, or (even worse) planning it \u2013 it is forbidden for women to entertain sinful thoughts, that is, to imagine themselves committing adultery or being intimate with another man, and certainly to plan such an encounter. The verse says, \u201cDo […]<\/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-9608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14-04"],"yoast_head":"\n11. 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