Before the flood, Hashem commanded Noach to bring two of every species into the ark, and seven of the “pure” species – meaning, kosher animals (7:2). The Gemara in Masechet Pesahim (3) notes a subtlety in the way Hashem refers to the different groups of animals. Instead of distinguishing between בהמה טהורה (“pure animals”) and בהמה טמאה (“impure animals”), Hashem speaks of the second group as בהמה אשר איננה טהורה – “animals which are not pure.” In other words, instead of simply saying, טמאה – “impure” – Hashem says איננה טהורה – “not pure.” The Gemara explains that this was done to show us the importance of using “clean” language, avoiding bad words. This passage in the Gemara is one of the important sources for the obligation to avoid foul language. But we must wonder, is טמאה really a bad word? The Torah later, in the Book of Vayikra, presents a lot of different laws related to purity and impurity, and it uses there the word טמאה all the time. Why all of a sudden now was it necessary to say איננה טהורה instead of טמאה ? The answer is that these animals were being saved so that they would begin rebuilding the world after the flood. And when we rebuild, we must avoid negativity. Even words that are not inherently “foul” should be avoided when we are trying to build, to grow, to create something new and special. The Gemara makes this comment in explaining the first Mishnah in Masechet Pesahim, which states that בדיקת חמץ (the search for hametz ) is to take place אור לארבעה עשר – on the night of the 14 th of Nissan. The word אור means “light,” but the Mishnah uses it here to mean just the opposite – night. The Gemara explains that the Mishnah used the word “light” instead of “night” because light is “clean language.” Of course, “night” is not a bad word. But when we are working to eliminate the “ hametz ” – all the harmful things from our lives – we need to be especially careful with how we talk. Even words which are not inherently “bad” should be avoided when we are involved in building and creating. This is so critically important for all of us. When we’re building a home, or a community, or any type of project, it is crucial to use only upbeat, positive language. Statements like, “Boy, this is so annoying,” “This is frustrating,” “I hate when this happens,” “This is terrible,” or “Why does this always have to happen” don’t include any “bad” words, but they are destructive. They ruin the atmosphere. Instead of saying, “How on earth are we going to handle this,” we should be saying something to the effect of, “Ok, let us think of the best way to handle the situation.” Instead of bemoaning, “This is annoying,” we can say, “Let’s try to make it better.” The words we use, the way we express ourselves, creates the “vibe” around us. They determine whether there’s an aura of negativity, of cynicism, of aggravation, or an aura of excitement, of encouragement, of joy, of enthusiasm. Let’s create a positive, upbeat vibe, by watching the way we speak, using words that are encouraging, hopeful and motivating.