{"id":98728,"date":"2022-11-20T03:24:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T01:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/?p=98728"},"modified":"2022-11-20T03:24:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T01:24:33","slug":"foreign-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/foreign-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026And not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray\u201d <\/em><\/strong>(Bamidbar<\/em> 15:39)<\/p>\n

Rabbi Chananiah S\u2019gan Hakohanim<\/em> says: Whoever places divrei Torah<\/em> upon his heart is spared thoughts of sword, hunger, folly, promiscuity, Yetzer Hara<\/em>, adultery, idle matters, and the burden of flesh and blood. This is in line with the statement of David Hamelech (Tehillim<\/em> 19:9), \u201cThe orders of Hashem are upright, gladdening the heart; the command of Hashem is clear, enlightening the eyes.\u201d But one who does not place words of Torah on his heart is subjected to destructive thoughts, as we are warned in the Mishneh Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu (Devarim<\/em> 28:46), \u201cThey will be a sign and a wonder, in you and in your offspring, forever, because you did not serve Hashem, our G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart\u2026\u201d (Avot D\u2019Rabbi Natan<\/em> 20:1).<\/p>\n

The beginning of sin is inappropriate thought, the next step is mockery, and the third is coarseness of spirit (Derech Eretz Zuta<\/em> 6).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shall guard against anything evil\u201d (Devarim <\/em>23:10). Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair says that from here we learn that one should not have improper thoughts by day, which might cause impurity at night (Ketubot<\/em> 46a).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Ami states that one who entertains improper thoughts is prevented from being close to Hashem, as the pasuk states, regarding inappropriate thoughts, \u201cIt was wicked in the eyes of Hashem,\u201d and further (Tehillim<\/em> 5:5), it states, \u201cFor You are not a G-d who desires wickedness, no evil sojourns with You\u201d (Niddah <\/em>13a).<\/p>\n

Thinking about a sin is more severe than doing the sin itself. Thinking about a sin is similar to the smell of meat, which is stronger than its taste (Yoma<\/em> 29a).<\/p>\n

Rashi remarks: The temptation to sin with a strange woman can weaken a man\u2019s strength, even more than actually sinning. This is similar to one who smells roasting meat and has an urge to eat it.<\/p>\n

The Maharal avers that this saying can be understood literally. This is not referring to actual sinning, for which one is punished with death or lashes. Rather, it refers to one who adheres to thoughts of abomination and licentiousness. In this matter, thinking about doing a sin is more severe than the sin itself. This is because thoughts are more powerful than deeds, since they are in the realm of the intelligence and are not mere physical acts (Netiv Haparashiyot<\/em> 2).<\/p>\n

Many rule that inappropriate thoughts are not considered sins. One receives neither reward nor punishment simply for his thoughts. There are many proofs to the contrary, but here is not the place to expound. I will just quote a few pesukim as examples of the significance of thought: We read (Mishlei<\/em> 6:18), \u201cA heart plotting iniquitous thoughts;\u201d also (Divrei Hayamim<\/em> II, 6:8), \u201cYou have done well by having this in your heart;\u201d\u00a0 also (Tehillim <\/em>125:4), \u201cTo the upright in their hearts;\u201d and (Devarim<\/em> 30:14) it says, \u201cIn your mouth and in your heart \u2013 to perform it.\u201d The central aspect of any mitzvah is the righteousness of the heart, as mentioned above. This is proven by the concept of intentional and unintentional sins (Ibn Ezra<\/em>, Devarim<\/em> 5:15).<\/p>\n

The Ramban writes that merely thinking thoughts of licentiousness is called incest.<\/p>\n

The Radak<\/em> (Zechariah<\/em> 7:10) asserts that merely thinking about a sin is forbidden, as we see from the transgression (Vayikra<\/em> 19:17), \u201cYou shall not hate your brother in your heart.\u201d Moreover, wrong thoughts bring one to sin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026And not explore after your heart and after your eyes after which you stray\u201d (Bamidbar 15:39) Rabbi Chananiah S\u2019gan Hakohanim says: Whoever places divrei Torah upon his heart is spared thoughts of sword, hunger, folly, promiscuity, Yetzer Hara, adultery, idle matters, and the burden of flesh and blood. This is in line with the statement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":58942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1085],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foreign-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdpinto.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}