2008 Woodie Awards
To Speak Articulately: Refinement, Reverence, and Respect in Language
Olivia Wiznitzer
Issue date: 5/13/08 Section: Opinion
What does it mean to speak in a respectful and articulate matter? What does this mean, most particularly, with regard to the sacred texts we study, that is, our Tanakh, Gemara and the like? Is it appropriate to feel so close to the characters in these works that we observe their actions and speak about them as we would to our friends, casually calling them "morons" or "fools" due to their seemingly inappropriate behavior? Or is there a particular measure of respect that one needs to reserve for speaking about biblical characters and others prominently featured within sacred works?
This is not a question that appears out of a vacuum. Rather, the Gemara clearly depicts the ramifications and repercussions of speech that is too familiar. In Sanhedrin 102b, we read of a story regarding R' Ashi. R' Ashi was speaking about King Menashe, and having concluded his lecture for the day, informs his students that tomorrow he will continue speaking to them about their "friend." That night, King Menashe comes to visit R' Ashi in a dream. He tests his knowledge and finds him lacking. It is then that he rebukes him for being so familiar and disrespectful as to address him with the appellation "friend." Now, R' Ashi's comment was hardly negative! To be a friend of R' Ashi is surely a compliment; it is the farthest thing possible from our contemporary talk of "morons" and "fools." And yet, even this word, this terming of the King as one's "friend" was regarded as inappropriate and crossing boundaries.
The issue of refined speech is further discussed in Pesachim with a tale of three priests who are describing the size of the lehem-hapanim (showbread) that was distributed to them. One said his portion was the size of a bean, the other the size of an olive, and the third the size of a lizard's tail. Since the third one compared the lehem-hapanim to something that was unclean, a lizard's tail, it was determined that they ought to check into his lineage. Sure enough, his lineage was not pure and he was not meant to be participating as a priest.
This is not a question that appears out of a vacuum. Rather, the Gemara clearly depicts the ramifications and repercussions of speech that is too familiar. In Sanhedrin 102b, we read of a story regarding R' Ashi. R' Ashi was speaking about King Menashe, and having concluded his lecture for the day, informs his students that tomorrow he will continue speaking to them about their "friend." That night, King Menashe comes to visit R' Ashi in a dream. He tests his knowledge and finds him lacking. It is then that he rebukes him for being so familiar and disrespectful as to address him with the appellation "friend." Now, R' Ashi's comment was hardly negative! To be a friend of R' Ashi is surely a compliment; it is the farthest thing possible from our contemporary talk of "morons" and "fools." And yet, even this word, this terming of the King as one's "friend" was regarded as inappropriate and crossing boundaries.
The issue of refined speech is further discussed in Pesachim with a tale of three priests who are describing the size of the lehem-hapanim (showbread) that was distributed to them. One said his portion was the size of a bean, the other the size of an olive, and the third the size of a lizard's tail. Since the third one compared the lehem-hapanim to something that was unclean, a lizard's tail, it was determined that they ought to check into his lineage. Sure enough, his lineage was not pure and he was not meant to be participating as a priest.
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