Thought of Lust but Not of Actual Prohibition
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Question
Hello, I recently asked about using a certain clothing item that evokes a type of lustful attraction (it is not a gender-specific item, meaning it is not a women's item...), and I was told that it falls under 'after your eyes'. I would like to know if, in the case of contemplating wearing it (only in imagination), it falls under 'after your heart'? (It is important to note that it does not cause an erection, nor a thought of z''l)
Answer
Hello,
Let me explain a bit the answer you received earlier.
There is no problem with someone desiring very much to wear a certain garment, in which there is no prohibition from the act of wearing itself [sha'atnez, not wearing, thought of sin], and it also does not cause any prohibition as a result of wearing [lustful desires, pride, anger, etc.]. It simply brings comfort and enjoyment.
Similarly, there is no prohibition for a person to eat tasty food, if it meets the standards of kashrut and other Torah laws.
The case you describe is when a specific item causes a person 'forbidden desire', meaning a desire to sin. And you were told that it is forbidden for a person to arouse the evil inclination within himself, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, Siman 240).
Any action that is forbidden due to sin, it is forbidden to contemplate and desire to do, as our sages said: the eye sees, the heart desires, and the organs of action complete.
I hope I understood your case correctly.