Acharei Mos / Kedoshim: Is it Immoral to Desire Arayos? (According to the Rambam)

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 35 minutesSynopsis: This morning (4/28/23), in our Machshavah Lab series for women, we took up a charged topic: arayos. The term "arayos" ("ervah" in singular) refers to the Biblically prohibited sexual relations that are liable for kareis (spiritual excision), including incest, bestiality, homosexual sodomy, adultery, and niddah. These prohibitions form the basis of what is colloquially referred to as the Torah's sexual morality. But are arayos immoral? And if a person has a sexual desire for an ervah, is that an immoral desire? If so, then why do Chazal teach us that a person SHOULDN'T say, "I don't desire to sleep with an ervah" but should instead say, "I desire, but what can I do? My Father in heaven forbade me?" In today's shiur I attempt to provide answers to these questions according to the Rambam.-----מקורות:ויקרא פרק יחרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר נשים, הלכות אישות א:ה-חרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי ביאה, כותרתרמב"ם - פירוש המשניות, הקדמה למסכת אבות, פרק ותלמוד בבלי מסכת סוכה דף נב עמוד ארמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר עבודה, הלכות מעילה ח:חרמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:לז,מח,מטשמות כג:יד-יט; לד:יח-כוChristopher Eames, ‘Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk’: Peculiar Scripture Illuminated by Archaeology ספר החינוך - פרשת יתרו, מצוה ל"הרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות ט:ה -----This week's Torah content has been sponsored by my dad in loving memory of our friend, Alan Woog (a"h), who took his final breath on April 18th, just a little shy of his 99th birthday. It has been a privilege to learn with him and from him over the course of these past ten years, and although we will all miss him, we are grateful that he is no longer in pain.-----If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comBlog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/