Clean Speech
By Rabbi Daniel Travis
Take seven of every kosher animal… and of every animal that is not
kosher take two. (Bereshith 7:2)
From this we see how careful one must be to avoid unseemly speech. The
Torah is always meticulous about brevity; in fact, numerous halachoth are
derived from the addition or omission of even a single letter. Yet in this
verse the Torah used many more letters than necessary to describe “every
animal that is not kosher,” when it could have written simply “impure
animal.” The Torah went out of its way to avoid the use of an expression
that might border on the vulgar.(1)
Included in this category is the use of euphemism (sagi nahor) when the
literal expressions have negative connotations. When referring to
punishment, the Gemara writes that our “enemies” are smitten as a result
of foul language. Although the subject of the Gemara is the Jewish nation,
it is considered improper to refer directly to the punishment of the
Jewish People.(2)
Someone once informed the Chazon Ish that a person was a liar. The Chazon
Ish immediately rebuked the one who spoke to him: “That is no way to speak
about someone. Say rather that his words are not true. The Torah tells us
to distance ourselves from sheker – we should not allow ourselves near
even the language of sheker. The very word “lie” is something we should
avoid!”(3)
Sometimes though, ensuring that our words are pure may come in conflict
with avoiding falsehood. How should we react, for example, if our children
ask us to explain a verse in the Torah that deals with a less-than-
delicate topic which may be improper for us to discuss with them? Should
we fabricate an explanation that would be more appropriate for a child’s
ears? Modern-day halachic authorities concur that the Torah may never be
altered no matter how noble the reason, for it is absolute truth.(4)
Nevertheless, while we should explain such passages to our children in a
way that does not contradict the true meaning of the words, we need not go
into explicit detail.(5)
1. Pesachim 3a.
2. Shabboth 33a
3. Pe’er HaDor Vol. 3 p. 20
4. Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurebach as cited in
Titein Emeth L’Yaakov p. 61. See also the responsa Yosef Ometz who writes
that even if one is reciting Psalm 20 for a woman in childbirth (which is
commonly accepted as a positive omen) that they should not change the
gender of a verse from masculine to femanine.
5. Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurebach ibid Titein Emeth L’Ya’akov. A halachic
authority should always be consulted.
Text Copyright © 2006 by Rabbi Daniel Travis and Torah.org
