הלכות שמירת עיניים

The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that Rabbi Elazar did not state that it is derived from this verse quoted by Rabbi Natan? The Gemara answers: He requires that verse for the statement of Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair, as it was taught: “Then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing”; from here Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair said: A person should not think impure thoughts by day and thereby come by night to the impurity of an emission.

The Gemara asks: And why must one refrain to that extent from holding his penis? Because as the result of holding his penis he might emit semen for naught. As Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Anyone who emits semen for naught is liable to receive the punishment of death at the hand of Heaven, as it is stated with regard to Onan, son of Judah: “And it came to pass, when he engaged in intercourse with his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. And the thing that he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and He slew him also” (Genesis 38:9–10). Rabbi Yitzḥak and Rabbi Ami say: One who emits semen for naught is considered as though he sheds blood, as it is stated: “But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot…Are you not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, you that inflame yourselves among the terebinths, under every leafy tree, that slay [shoḥatei] the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?” (Isaiah 57:3–5). Do not read this word as shoḥatei; rather, read it as soḥatei, i.e., one who squeezes out [soḥet] semen is considered to have shed the blood of the children who could have been born from that seed. Rav Asi says: It is considered as though he worships idols, as it is written here: “Under every leafy tree,” and it is written there, with regard to the mitzva of eradicating idols from Eretz Yisrael: “You shall destroy all the places, where the nations that you are to dispossess worshipped their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree” (Deuteronomy 12:2). § With regard to the issue of holding one’s penis for the purpose of urinating, the Gemara relates that Rav Yehuda and Shmuel were standing on the roof of the synagogue that was destroyed and rebuilt in Neharde’a. Rav Yehuda said to Shmuel: What can I do? I need to urinate. Shmuel said to him: Shinnana, hold your penis, so that the water does not fall onto the synagogue roof, and urinate outward, away from the synagogue.

Elazar ben Durdayya said: Clearly the matter depends on nothing other than myself. He placed his head between his knees and cried loudly until his soul left his body. A Divine Voice emerged and said: Rabbi Elazar ben Durdayya is destined for life in the World-to-Come. The Gemara explains the difficulty presented by this story: And here Elazar ben Durdayya was guilty of the sin of forbidden sexual intercourse, and yet he died once he repented. The Gemara answers: There too, since he was attached so strongly to the sin, to an extent that transcended the physical temptation he felt, it is similar to heresy, as it had become like a form of idol worship for him.

§ The Gemara stated earlier that Aḥer chopped down the saplings, becoming a heretic. With regard to him, the verse states: “Do not let your mouth bring your flesh into guilt” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). The Gemara poses a question: What was it that led him to heresy? He saw the angel Mitatron, who was granted permission to sit and write the merits of Israel. He said: There is a tradition that in the world above there is no sitting; no competition; no turning one’s back before Him, i.e., all face the Divine Presence; and no lethargy. Seeing that someone other than God was seated above, he said: Perhaps, the Gemara here interjects, Heaven forbid, there are two authorities, and there is another source of power in control of the world in addition to God. Such thoughts led Aḥer to heresy. The Gemara relates: They removed Mitatron from his place in heaven and smote him with sixty rods [pulsei] of fire, so that others would not make mistake that Aḥer made. They said to the angel: What is the reason that when you saw Elisha ben Avuya you did not stand before him? Despite this conduct, since Mitatron was personally involved, he was granted permission to erase the merits of Aḥer and cause him to stumble in any manner. A Divine Voice went forth saying: “Return, rebellious children” (Jeremiah 3:22), apart from Aḥer. Upon hearing this, Elisha ben Avuya said: Since that man, meaning himself, has been banished from that world, let him go out and enjoy this world. Aḥer went astray. He went and found a prostitute and solicited her for intercourse. She said to him: And are you not Elisha ben Avuya? Shall a person of your stature perform such an act? He uprooted a radish from a patch of radishes on Shabbat and gave it to her, to demonstrate that he no longer observed the Torah. The prostitute said: He is other than he was. He is not the same Elisha ben Avuya, he is Aḥer, other.

And, there are, furthermore, five transgressions among this group of twenty-four, the presumption of one who commits each and every one of them being against his inclination to turn toward repentance, because the majority of people consider them of minor importance, as a consequence whereof one stoops in sin imagining that what he does is no sin at all. They are: (1) he who dines at a table knowing that the meal is of insufficient quantity to satisfy even the appetite of the host, for such is an offshoot of robbery, whereas he imagines, saying: "Have I not eaten with the consent of the host?" (2) he who makes use of a poor man's pledge, for a poor man's pledge is none else save an article such as an axe or plough, whereas he will say in his imagination: "Nothing thereof was diminished, I have not robbed him"; (3) he who wantonly stares at the opposite sex, for he thinks that it is of no matter, saying: "Have I stilled an urge, or even been near her"? whereas he remains oblivious to the fact that purposeful eye-staring is a great iniquity and begets actual unchastity, even as it is said: "And that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes" (Num. 15.39); (4) he who acquires honor by disgracing his neighbor, for he thinks that he committed no sin, as his neighbor stood not by, and did not feel the shame, as he did not insult him personally, save by comparing his own good conduct and his own education against the conduct of his neighbor or his education so that the audience may infer that he is honorable and his neighbor disgraceful; (5) he who casts suspicion upon the upright, for he thinks within his heart that he sinned not, saying to himself: "What have I done to him, is there anything more to it than mere suspicion? perhaps he did it, and perhaps he did it not;" whereas he does realize that this is an iniquity to place an upright man in his mind on the same level with an evil-doer.⁷Ibid. G.

(39) That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the LORD and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge.

In response, the Gemara cites a baraita where these elements were derived from allusions in the verse, “You shall stray neither after your hearts nor after your eyes, after which you would lust” (Numbers 15:39). As it was taught: “After your hearts” refers to following opinions of heresy that may arise in one’s heart. The Gemara offers a proof, as it is stated: “The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God’; they have been corrupt, they have acted abominably; there is none who does good” (Psalms 14:1). The phrase: “After your eyes,” in this verse refers to following thoughts of transgressions of licentiousness, that a person might see and desire, as it is stated: “And Samson said to his father, ‘That one take for me, for she is upright in my eyes’” (Judges 14:3). The passage: “You shall stray after” refers to promiscuity, which in the parlance of the prophets is a metaphor for idol worship, as it is stated: “The children of Israel again went astray after the Be’alim” (Judges 8:33).

“Be on your guard against anything bad” (Deuteronomy 23:10). They, may their memory be blessed, explained (Ketuvot 46a), “A person should not think [impure] thoughts by day and thereby come to impurity by night” - and even though his thought is not to [follow it up with action]. And it is something learned from its [context]. As after it, it is written (Deuteronomy 23:11), “If anyone among you has been rendered unclean by a nocturnal emission.”

Rabbi Aḥa, son of Rabbi Yoshiya, says: Anyone who watches women will ultimately come to sin, and anyone who looks at the heel of a woman will have indecent children as a punishment. Rav Yosef said: And this relates to all women, including his wife when she has the status of a menstruating woman. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The heel of a woman that is mentioned is not the heel of the foot, but the place of uncleanliness, i.e., the genitalia, and it is called a heel as a euphemism, as it is situated opposite the heel.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: It is permitted to look at the face of a bride throughout all seven days of the wedding celebration, in order to endear her to her husband, whose appreciation of her beauty will be thereby enhanced. The Gemara notes: And the halakha is not in accordance with his opinion, as it is prohibited to look at any married woman, even a bride.

One who engages in these behaviours is suspected of committing Arayos. And it's forbidden for a person to intimate with his hands or feet or to hint with his eyes to any of the Arayos or to laugh with her or to engage in light-headedness. And even to smell her perfume or to gaze at her beauty is forbidden. And one who engages in this deliberately receives lashes of rebelliousness. And one who gazes even at the little finger of a woman intending to derive sexual pleasure is comparable to one who looks at her genitalia. And even to hear the voice of an Ervah or to look at her hair is forbidden.

§ It is stated in the mishna that the Rabbis say: Dissolution is broached with him by suggesting a different extenuation, and he is taught not to take this kind of vow so that he will not take vows lightly. It is taught in a baraita: Never be accustomed to taking vows, because ultimately you will disregard them, and you will even abuse oaths, which are more grave. And do not regularly be around an ignoramus, because ultimately he will feed you untithed produce, as he is not careful to tithe. Do not regularly be by an ignorant priest, because ultimately he will feed you teruma due to his close relationship with you, and teruma is forbidden to a non-priest. And do not talk extensively with a woman, because ultimately you will come to adultery.

Rabbi Hananya, deputy of the priests, would say: Anyone who takes words of Torah to heart is no longer troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, or thoughts of human burden. So it was written in the book of Psalms by King David (Psalms 19:9), “The precepts of the Eternal are true, bringing joy to the heart. The commandments of the Eternal are clear, illuminating the eyes.” But anyone who does not take words of Torah to heart is troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, and thoughts of human burden. So it was written in Deuteronomy (28:46–48) by Moses our teacher, “They will be a sign and a proof against you and your offspring for all time. Because you would not serve the Eternal your God with joy and gladness over the abundance of everything. You will have to serve, in hunger and in thirst, naked and lacking everything.” “In hunger.” How so? (When a person wishes) to eat even barley bread, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for wheat bread and fatty meat. “In thirst.” How so? When a person wishes he could drink just a drop of vinegar, or beer, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest wine in the land. “Naked.” How so? When a person wants to wear a wool or linen shirt, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest silk in the land. “Lacking everything.” Without a candle, without a knife, and without a table. Another interpretation of “lacking everything”: Without vinegar and without salt. For this is a curse that people often give: May there be no vinegar or salt in your house!
He would also say (with regard to Song of Songs 1:6): “Do not look at me, for I am blackened, scorched by the sun.” These are all the Jewish girls who cast off the yolk of the Holy Blessed One, and accepted human kingship upon themselves.
[The verse continues:] “My mother’s children were angry with me.” This is Moses, who killed the Egyptian, as it says (Exodus 2:11–12), “Sometime after that, when Moses had grown older, he went out among his brothers and saw what they were enduring…and he turned this way and that, and saw that there was no one there.” What do we learn from “there was no one there”? This teaches that Moses brought the question before the council of angels who serve God, and asked them: Shall I kill this man? They said to him: Yes, kill him. And did Moses kill him with a sword? No, he killed him with words, as it says (Exodus 2:14), “Are you saying you will kill me, just as you killed the Egyptian?” This teaches that Moses killed him by saying the [Ineffable] Name of God.
(Another interpretation of) “My mother’s children are angry with me”: this is Moses, who fled to Midian, as it says (Exodus 2:15,17), “Pharaoh heard what happened, and sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well…And some shepherds came and tried to drive [Jethro’s daughters] away. And Moses got up and saved them, and gave water to their flocks.” Then Moses came and sat among them to render judgment. He said: The general practice in the world is for men to fill the buckets and women to give water to the animals. Here, women draw the water and men give the water to the animals. There is a perversion of justice in this place! (They are guilty by law, and have become guilty through this incident.) Some say that the whole time Moses was standing near the mouth of the well, the water was bubbling up to meet him, and when he left, the water went back down. Then Moses said: Woe is me! For I have left my people and come to live among these heathens.
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: This is Israel, who made the Golden Calf. At first, they said (Exodus 24:7), “Everything the Eternal has said, we will do and we will understand.” And then they went back and said (Exodus 32:4), “These are your gods, Israel!”
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: These are the spies, who slandered the land and caused Israel to die in the desert, as it says (Numbers 14:29), “In this desert your carcasses will fall.”
“They made me guard the vineyards” (Song of Songs 1:6). The Holy Blessed One said: Who is it that caused Me to favor the heathens? Israel! (For while) the heathens live well, [Israel] are oppressed, scorned, and scattered about.
Another interpretation of “They made me guard the vineyards”: This is Israel, who were exiled to Babylon. And prophets rose among them and told them to separate their donations and tithes. The people said to them: We were exiled because we did not separate our donations and tithes, and now you tell us we should separate them? [And that is why it says, “They made me guard the vineyards.”]

A Sage from the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: My son, if this wretched one, the evil inclination, encounters you, pull it into the study hall, i.e., go and study Torah. If it is a stone it will melt, and if it is iron it will break, as it is stated with regard to the Torah: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). Just as a stone shatters a hammer, so too one can overcome his evil inclination, which is as strong as iron, through Torah study. With regard to the second part of the statement: If it is a stone it will melt, this is as it is stated with regard to the Torah: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come for water” (Isaiah 55:1), and it states: “The water wears the stones” (Job 14:19), indicating that water is stronger than stone.

The Sages taught: “And you shall place [vesamtem] these words of Mine in your hearts” (Deuteronomy 11:18). Read this as though it stated sam tam, a perfect elixir. The Torah is compared to an elixir of life. There is a parable that illustrates this: A person hit his son with a strong blow and placed a bandage on his wound. And he said to him: My son, as long as this bandage is on your wound and is healing you, eat what you enjoy and drink what you enjoy, and bathe in either hot water or cold water, and you do not need to be afraid, as it will heal your wound. But if you take it off, the wound will become gangrenous. So too the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, I created an evil inclination, which is the wound, and I created Torah as its antidote. If you are engaged in Torah study you will not be given over into the hand of the evil inclination, as it is stated: “If you do well, shall it not be lifted up?” (Genesis 4:7). One who engages in Torah study lifts himself above the evil inclination.

And Rabbi Shimon ben Levi says: A person’s inclination overpowers him every day, and seeks to kill him, as it is stated: “The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him” (Psalms 37:32). And if not for the fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, assists each person in battling his evil inclination, he could not overcome it, as it is stated: “The Lord will not leave him in his hand” (Psalms 37:33).

In connection with the matter of laundry being washed in public, the Gemara quotes the homiletic interpretation of a verse: “He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil” (Isaiah 33:15). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says: This is referring to one who does not gaze at women while they are standing over the laundry, as it was common for them to stand in the water and raise the hems of their garments while laundering their clothing. The Gemara clarifies: What are the circumstances? If it is referring to a case where there is another way by which the one walking could reach his destination, then one who walks past the women, consequently placing himself in a situation where he will be tempted to gaze at them, is wicked. Alternatively, if it is referring to a case where there is no other way by which he can reach his destination, then he is a victim of circumstance, so why is he required to shut his eyes? The Gemara explains: Actually, it is referring to a case where there is no other way by which he can reach his destination, and even so, he is required to compel himself to avoid gazing at the women.

And in any case, according to what appears from all that they, may their memory be blessed, have warned us, a man is not permitted to budge from their good teaching. And even if he finds himself a little devoid of desire, he should not say, "Since I find myself so, what do I care if I stare at women, since I know about myself that my impulse will not be aroused by this" - as many have said like this and stumbled. And about this, they, may their memory be blessed, hinted when they said (Sukkah 52a) that the impulse is very weak at first and continues to [grow until it] greatly overpower a man. And you, my son, be very careful about this and do not let your impulse promise you [that it will not overpower you], even if it gives you a thousand pledges. And that which you find a few stories in the Gemara that appear to contradict these words of mine - meaning to say that a few of them were not concerned about even that which our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, forbade with women - this is not a contradiction to my words at all. As they were only a little lenient in the place of a commandment, as we found with Rabbi Yochanan who would sit at the gates of the [place of] immersion in order that the women would stare at him and give birth to sons as beautiful as he (Berakhot 20a), but he did not stare at them, God forbid; and Rebbi, and Rav Acha, who would take a bride on his shoulders for a commandment, as he did this in order to have her rejoice (Ketuvot 17a); and a few matters similar to this.

It is also possible to understand the words בשרירות לבי as an expression of aggressive obstinacy. This individual deliberately disregards the opinion of the multitude, “doing his own thing” openly. The meaning of the expression is similar to what is known in the Talmud (Gittin 26) as אשרתא דדייני, “a document signed by judges testifying to the fulfillment of conditions in an accompanying document,” i.e. confirmation.
The reason the Torah writes למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה, is that the wicked person prides himself with his evil deeds and determines to continue in his evil ways, thereby adding more “thirst” to his whole system which previously was adequately supplied with moisture. He had hoped to become satiated by indulging his cravings for sin. His punishment consists of the fact that instead of deriving satisfaction from his sins, he constantly feels the irrepressible urge to commit more and more sins. Instead of slaking his thirst for whatever it is he wishes to achieve, he will find that he gets ever thirstier. [A form of the principle described by our sages in Avot 4,2 עבירה גוררת עבירה, “one deliberately committed sin brings in its wake another.” Ed.] The desire to sin acts like a roller-coaster; once on that path it is almost impossible to stop and to reverse course.
It is also a well known fact that man’s heart is the “root” of the body. His thoughts are like the branches, his deeds like the fruit of the tree. The Torah has already stated (Genesis 6,5) that “all the thoughts of (wicked people) are centered all day long on doing evil.” Such people will not cease producing bitter fruit (Jeremiah 17,8). Even if all the planning of the wicked people is not translated into deeds, such wicked people are punished for the wicked thoughts they entertain. This is what Solomon referred to when he said (Proverbs 15,13) “a happy heart makes for a cheerful face; a sad heart causes a despondent spirit.” The meaning of the entire verse is that one should not think that mere thoughts have no bearing on one’s personality. If a person has a positive attitude to life, is joyful, or has a negative attitude to life, is despondent, all depends on the kind of thoughts he entertains. In other words, the thoughts have their origin in the heart; when these thoughts are translated into action they have an impact on the body, i.e. the body reveals the nature of the thoughts a person entertains. It follows that the despondent person is in line for punishment even more so when he actually enjoys contemplating the performance of sins.
This is also what the sages (Yuma 29) had in mind when they said that the contemplating of sins is a more serious offense than the actual carrying out of the sin. The sinful thoughts, when carried out, leave their mark on the body of a person, whereas spontaneously committed sins do not leave such marks on the body. This statement, i.e. psychological insight, of the sages is of very great importance. The statement has given rise to many and varied interpretations as I have already mentioned elsewhere where I said that it means that contemplating sins is more serious than committing the actual sin seeing that the contemplating of the sin is what brings about its execution. By contemplating sins on a regular basis, the heart becomes involved in one’s deeds. Seeing that the soul has its home in the heart, such evil thoughts tend to corrupt the soul. [The author clearly feels that the soul, something disembodied, abstract, must be housed in something physical in order to be able to function. One cannot think of the soul as being something detached from the body, independent. Therefore, the part of the body in which the soul is “at home” is of crucial significance. Ed.] Contaminating the soul by entertaining these sinful thoughts is therefore a more serious offense than the actual spontaneous commission of a sin which had not previously had such an impact on one’s soul.
Another interpretation of the statement that הרהורי עבירה קשין מעבירה involves often “follow-up” sins. Let us say that a person entertains the thought of breaking into someone’s house. If he is contemplating this sin instead of spontaneously stealing, he most likely weighs what action to take if his plan encounters opposition. He will think of how to deal with the opposition, i.e. possibly decide to kill the person who would frustrate his plan. Thus he already adds further sinful thoughts before even committing the original sin.

Incidental to the verse, “Tremble, and do not sin,” the Gemara mentions that Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: One should always incite his good inclination against his evil inclination, i.e., that one must constantly struggle so that his evil inclination does not lead him to transgression, as it is stated: "Tremble, and do not sin."
If one succeeds and subdues his evil inclination, excellent, but if he does not succeed in subduing it, he should study Torah, as alluded to in the verse: “Say to your heart.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should recite Shema, which contains the acceptance of the yoke of God, and the concept of reward and punishment, as it is stated in the verse: “Upon your bed,” which alludes to Shema, where it says: “When you lie down.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should remind himself of the day of death, whose silence is alluded to in the continuation of the verse: “And be still, Selah.”