Now You Know The Gemara (Pesachim 3a) says in the name of R’ Yehoshua ben Levi: “Always, a person should not allow a vulgar word to pass his lips, for the Torah [in Parshas Noach] goes out of its way eight letters to avoid saying something “not nice.”” It says the animals which were “pure” and the animals “which were not pure.” Instead of using the word impure, which, while a proper word, isn’t the nicest way of expressing it, the Torah used a longer expression to teach us this lesson. While it does use the word impure when necessary, it is not the ideal behavior for us to say things that are inappropriate. In Beraishis, when the Torah says HaShem breathed life into Adam and made him a living being, the Targum Onkelos renders it as, “a speaking spirit.” Speech is what separates us from the animals and it must be used wisely and with respect. With the Shabbos Project this week, it behooves us to mention “v’daber davar,” the fact that on Shabbos one’s speech must be even more different and above reproach than usual. We do not speak of business matters, or things which upset us, and we are especially careful to avoid Lashon Hara and gossip, or even speaking about others which inevitably leads to sin. As we learn from this week’s parsha, speech is sacred, and so are we.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 19:16:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015