It has been a while, but I finally picked up my chevruta study again for Daf Yomi [as opposed to studying by myself]. It's nice to study Tractate Pesachim because the last tractate was so dull and insipid in comparison. So I'm studying with my chevruta today. Unsurprisingly, the Talmud goes on a tangent from talking about the Hebrew word אור in the context of Pesach practice to talking about why it's halachically proper to apply euphemisms (לשון נקיה) in one's speech. As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi brings up (Pesachim 3a), one should not express not express a crude [or distasteful] matter, which is why Genesis 7:8 refers to the animals as not pure (אשר איננה טהרה) instead of impure (טמא). The Gemara continues listing further proof-texts, whether in baraita or Biblical form, to convey the use of euphemisms to avoid more blunt or crass language. However, an exception is made for when a teacher is teaching a student because in that instance, the teacher should strive for brevity and conciseness, although the caveat of "this only applies when a teacher teaches his student."
Since Chazal spends a good portion of this Talmud portion focusing on usage of euphemisms, the lesson I draw from today's Daf Yomi portion is that it's not simply what we say, but how we say it, which further illustrates that complexity known as Jewish speech ethics. Without sounding too much like a "bleeding heart," what the Gemara is conveying is that in many instances, there is no need to be "blunt and to the point." One can find a way to express the same exact sentiment or thought without the coarse language that the Talmudic sages want us to avoid.
At the end of the Daf Yomi portion, there is an exchange in which Yochanan ben Chakuk is talking to some villagers. The villagers ask Yochanan ben Chakuk about how the wheat crops are doing. He could have said they're not doing well or even that the crops are doing absolutely terrible. He brought up that the barley crops were doing well, but the villagers derisively mocked him by quoting I Kings 5:8. As the Gemara points out, what he should have done instead is divert the villagers from the bad news and said that the lentils are developing nicely.
What the situation with Yochanan ben Chakuk did was, at least in my humble opinion, genius. Instead of focusing on the bad, what he should have focused on were the lentils because the villagers could actually do something beneficial with them, such as use the substitution effect to consume the lentils instead of the wheat. What Yochanan ben Chakuk should have done was turned a problem into a solution: he should have focused on the good instead of the bad, which is an essential to the Jewish concept of gratitude (הכרת הטוב). This sort of "more positive reframing" that the Yochanan situation exemplifies probably explains why upon hearing bad news, Jews utter the formulation of ברוך דין האמת. In some instances, we have to view the glass as half full. In others, we can find a pitcher of water to fill up the remainder of the glass.
Bringing these ideas to the broader picture, Judaism recognizes that we have the potential to elevate the mundane into the holy. Our words, as well as our outlook on life, are no exception. We can express our thoughts, sentiments, and emotions in a crude, crass, or angry manner. Alternatively, we can express all of that by wording it slightly differently (e.g., euphemistically) and getting a better result. When we opt for the latter, we not only bring a sense of equanimity within our own souls, but we also usher in a sense of peace and tranquility amongst our fellow human beings.
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