Reb Eliezer:
One of the fundamental differences between man and animal is the ability to think. Humans can contemplate a sense of purpose, plan actions, withhold innate and instinctual desires, and make decisions based on a wide variety of bases, including the projection to the future and the outcomes. Those who are swallowed in a hedonistic, pleasure driven lifestyle are hardly better than lower forms of animal life.
It is with a most powerful message that we are told of the severity of הרהורי עבירה and the great value of הרהורי תשובה.
Note that every single physical desire has an end point at which the desire is gone, usually to return after a period of latency. One can only eat a certain amount, after which one is satiated and no longer hungry. Yet, those desires that reside in the brain do not have such an end point. They are, for lack of a better word, infinite. One can remain stuck in them until exhaustion. One of the dangers of הרהורי עבירה is this lack of limits. Even if one doesn’t end up acting upon them, they have captured the consciousness and the control over one’s mental faculties. And the yetzer horah insures that the draw to these הרהורי עבירה never wanes. Once inside, the yetzer horah proudly proclaims, “Gotcha”. This would be quite a solid explanation for the statement of the Baal Akeida.
It is also a statement of warning we should give ourselves, with as much repetition as needed. The yetzer horah is insidious. Of course we can run around banning everything in sight. But the yetzer is crafty enough to find a way inside. What we should never abandon is the quest to build our Yetzer Hatov to a point of strength at which we no longer need to engage in battle to remain Ovdei Hashem. I pray that Elul helps us become proper recipients of the messages of teshuvah and connection to Hashem, which can then last through the days afterwards when we return to the daily life of nisyonos.