The prohibition against sexual immorality

Hi,

Mitzvah 35, according to the count of the Sefer haChinuch, prohibits a Jew from engaging in intercourse with the spouse of another. The Sefer haChinuch explains that these types of activity are inherently harmful, both to the species and to the individual:

Species - HaShem created each species and instructed it to reproduce "according to its type," for the benefit of the species, and monogamy is considered inherently beneficial for the development of our species.

Individual - Disruption of loyal relationships leads to confusion, jealousy, hatred and violence. A strong marriage, on the other hand, builds safety, stability, trust and love.

Technically, the biblical command of Lo tinaf applies only to relationships sanctioned by the Torah, and therefore is limited to Jewish marriages. However, a separate biblical instruction of v'davak b'ishto “He shall cling to his wife,” applies to Jew and non-Jew alike and prohibits violation of any monogamous, intercourse-based relationship. (Sanhedrin 58a, Tosafot Kiddushin 21b אשת )

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Five sins people overlook

Hi,

[Note: Unlike almost all of our daily Torah Thoughts, this is not a direct translation.]

Hi,

There are five activities for which people are not likely to repent, because people do not view them as transgressions:

1. Participating a meal when the host does not have enough for himself; this is quasi-theft, but people believe this is fine because they have the host's permission;

2. Using a pauper's collateral, which the pauper needs;

3. Gazing at someone with whom sexual relations are prohibited;

4. Receiving honour by looking good in comparison with someone else, causing the other one to be embarrassed and disgraced;

5. Suspecting those who are innocent of wrongdoing.

ומהן חמשה דברים העושה אותן אין חזקתו לשוב מהן, לפי שהם דברים קלים בעיני רוב האדם ונמצא חוטא והוא ידמה שאין זה חטא, ואלו הן: (א) האוכל מסעודה שאינה מספקת לבעליה שזה אבק גזל הוא, והוא מדמה שלא חטא ויאמר כלום אכלתי אלא ברשותו, (ב) המשתמש בעבוטו של עני שהעבוט של עני אינו אלא כגון קורדום ומחרישה ויאמר בלבו אינן חסרים והרי לא גזלתי אותו, (ג) המסתכל בעריות מעלה על דעתו שאין בכך כלום שהוא אומר וכי בעלתי או קרבתי אצלה, והוא אינו יודע שראיית העינים עון גדול שהיא גורמת לגופן של עריות שנאמר ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, (ד) המתכבד בקלון חבירו אומר בלבו שאינו חטא לפי שאין חבירו עומד שם ולא הגיע לו בושת ולא ביישו אלא ערך מעשיו הטובים וחכמתו למול מעשה חבירו או חכמתו כדי שיראה מכללו שהוא מכובד וחבירו בזוי, (ה) והחושד כשרים אומר בלבו שאינו חטא לפי שהוא אומר מה עשיתי לו וכי יש שם אלא חשד שמא עשה או לא עשה והוא אינו יודע שזה עון שמשים אדם כשר בדעתו כבעל עבירה.

(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 4:4)

גמר חתימה טובה,

Mordechai

A worthwhile embarrassment

Hi,

"There was a group of Jewish women who had been taken captive, and Rav Amram Chasida arranged their ransom. They were brought to his house, and he housed them on an upper floor and he had the ladder [to prevent any immorality from men in his household].

"As one of the women was passing by the entrance to the upper floor, light from her beauty illuminated the entrance. Rav Amram took the ladder - which ten men could not have lifted - and began to ascend.

"When he got halfway up, he planted his feet and called out, 'There is a fire in the house of Amram!' The sages came running, and when they arrived they exclaimed, 'You have embarrassed us!' He replied, 'Better for the Yeshiva of Amram to be embarrassed in this world than for you to be embarrassed from me in the next world.'"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 81a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Three Daily Sins

Hi,

"One is not saved from three sins daily: Thoughts of immorality, examination of prayer, and harmful speech.

"Do you really believe people commit harmful speech daily?! Rather: Speech which is close to being harmful."

(Talmud, Bava Batra 164a-b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

On promiscuity

Hi,

"The results of lechery are unspeakable. The powers of the body become exhausted. Everything better and nobler in the man dies out. Man becomes a brute and knows only pleasure - and animal pleasure. Children, who should be the offspring for the future, from whom the future of the human race is built, enter the world - and have no father and mother to educate them to become true human beings! They have no home in which their noblest and most Divine part, their spirit and heart, may be cultivated and may develop, through the living parental example, into a useful and godly life.

"Woe to the time when the sexes do not keep themselves holy! Countries and States in vain seek for the cause of their decline - and do not see that they cease to be States as soon as their homes are ruined."

(Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, paragraph 437)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Serving Gd with one's 'wealth'

Hi,

"'Honor HaShem with your wealth (Mishlei 3:9)' - This means that one who is beautiful should not be promiscuous... Alternatively, this means that one whose voice is pleasant should lead davening [prayer]."

(Midrash, Pesikta d'Rav Kahana 10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Three unforgiveable sins

Hi,

"All who descend to Gehennom [Hell] also ascend, except three: One who lives with another’s wife, one who embarrasses another in public, and one who creates a negative nickname for another."

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 58b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Avoiding sexual impropriety

Hi,

"There is nothing in the entire Torah which is more difficult for a community to avoid than sexual impropriety...

"Therefore, one should take charge of his natural instincts and accustom himself to extra holiness and pure thought and proper character in order to be saved from this."

(Maimonides, Laws of Forbidden Relationships 22:18, 20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A reminder to think ahead

Hi,

Note: Mishlei frequently uses adultery as an allusion for other sins, specifically straying from service of Gd.

"Will a person stoke a fire in his cloak, without burning his clothes? Could a person walk on coals without burning his feet? So, one who lives with his neighbor's wife; one who so much as touches her will not be cleansed."

(Mishlei [Proverbs] 6:27-29)

Have a great day,
Mordechai