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[rali]

I wasn't sure where to put this, so I just put it here

So my question is this:
I heard that if you have an intention or you think about doing a Mitzva, then you still get the Mitzva e.g. if you think to yourself that you are going to give Tzedaka later, even if you don't, you still get a Mitzva.
If you are thinking, or intend to do an Aveirah, chas veshalom, do you still get the Aveirah? E.g. if you are thinking about breaking Shabbat, do you still get the punishment as if you actually had??
And does this apply to the 3 cardinal sins (adultery, idoletry, murder)?

[Rabbi Shapiro]

I wasn't sure where to put this, so I just put it here

So my question is this:
I heard that if you have an intention or you think about doing a Mitzva, then you still get the Mitzva e.g. if you think to yourself that you are going to give Tzedaka later, even if you don't, you still get a Mitzva.
If you are thinking, or intend to do an Aveirah, chas veshalom, do you still get the Aveirah? E.g. if you are thinking about breaking Shabbat, do you still get the punishment as if you actually had??
And does this apply to the 3 cardinal sins (adultery, idoletry, murder)?

Depends.

• If you plan on doing a Mitzva and you were stopped from doing it due to circumstances beyond your control, you get reward as if you did the Mitzvah. The reason is, we assume you would have done it if not for the circumstances.
• If you were planning on doing an Aveirah but you were stopped by circumstances beyond your control, you do not get punished as f you did the Aveirah. The reason: We assume you would have backed out of doing the Aveirah at the last minute.
• Therefore, if you actually attempted to do the Aveirah but accidentally did not, for example, you ordered a hamburger from Chazer King and ate it, and later found out that you accidentally got a burger from Kosher King, you still get an Aveirah because in a case it is not possible to apply nay assumption that you would have backed out at the last minute. However, the Aveirah is not the same as if you would have eaten the trief hamburger itself. What the Gemora says is simply, you "need a Kapara" for trying to do the Aveirah.
• Sometimes, we apply this rule even after a person is not alive anymore. the reason giving Tzedakah, for example, is beneficial in memory of a deceased person, is because we assume that had the person been alive and able to do the MItzvah, he would have. This means such "zecher nishmas" donations are only beneficial if the person they are given in memory of did such Mitzvos when he was alive. Otherwise this assumption that he would have done the Mitzvah is false (Taz, Hilchos Tzedaka)
• Some Mitzvos and Aveiros are committed via thought alone, even without any action. Examples: Emunah, Ahavas Hashem, Avodah Zorah,lewd thoughts, jealousy, etc. There are many obligations, including actual Mitzvos, that we have that we perform with our minds. The Sefer Chovos Halevovos was written to describe these obligations (though it does not claim to include all of them). For these obligations, obviously, we are rewarded and punished based on our thoughts and attitudes, because the Mitzvah itself is to have the right thought or altitude. Just as we are commanded regarding what to do, we are also often commanded what to think, what to believe, and what attitude to have.
• This applies to the 3 Chamuros as well - if a person intends to commit murder, but cannot find a gun to do it with for example, so he ends up giving up, he does not get an Aveirah. But if he does find a gun and tries to shoot the guy and accidentally misses, he does get an Aveirah (though not Retzichah), because in such a case we cannot assume he would have backed out at the last minute. Re Avodah Zorah - here thoughts are punishable, because if the person believed in that god as a god and that is why he wanted to perform the act of worship, he gets an Aveirah because we are commanded not to believe in other gods Same thing with Giluy Arayos - a person is not punished for plans that were thwarted, but Hirhurei aveirah are prohibited in and of themselves. That's not the same as Giluy Arayos - Hirhurim are prohibited by a Laav - you do not get Karus for them. But they are Aveiros even without any action.