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(ספר שערי תשובה (שער ג' אות מא
** ( ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם (במדבר טו

הזהרנו בזה שלא לחשוב לעשות עבירה וכל דבר פשע וחטא

Shaarei Teshuvah [Gates of Repentance] Gate 3:41

[loosely translated]...and go not about after your heart and after your eyes...

We are thus warned not to contemplate doing any type of sin.

How does this not contradict the saying of the Gemara (Kiddushin 40A) which says, “Machashavah ra’ah ein Hakodosh Baruch Hu metzarfah lema’aseh” — “If one contemplates sinning, Hashem does not regard the bad thought as a deed.” This seems to say that, Hashem will not punish one for a sinful thought alone if it was not actually followed up with committing the sin.

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  • At the very least being warned not to to is not the same as getting punished for doing. – user6591 May 6 '18 at 23:48
  • @user6591 So you're saying that V'Lo Sasuru is a sin which carries no punishment? – RibbisRabbiAndMore May 6 '18 at 23:53
  • I'm just pointing out what it looks like he is saying. He mentions azhara. – user6591 May 7 '18 at 0:02
  • @user6591 In most of the Listings of Aveiros which he lists there he uses the word "HIZHIRANU". This does not mean there is no punishment. – RibbisRabbiAndMore May 7 '18 at 0:07
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    Possible duplicate of Are thoughts of sin punished halachically? – mbloch May 7 '18 at 3:46
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The Meiri in Kidushin 39b ד"ה לעולם says, that even though you won't get punished as if you did the actual עבירה, you will be punished for having the thought.

שאף על פי שמחשבה רעה אין הקב"ה מצרפה למעשה, כלומר שאין נענש בה כאלו עשה מעשה, מכל מקום נענש הוא עליה, אחר שהוא מכוין בהרהורו לכונת עשיית העבירה, ושלא נמנע מעשייתה מצד כבישת יצרו, אלא שלא נזדמן לידו להוציא הרהורו לפועל

This is in contrast to thinking about doing a mitzvah, that you will be rewarded even though you just planned to do the mitzvah.

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