The Space Suit Our Sages impressed upon us the importance of לשון נקיה – speaking in a refined, dignified manner, and avoiding speaking דבר מגונה – inappropriate words. For example, the Gemara in Masechet Pesahim (3a) notes that in Parashat Noah, the Torah refers to non-kosher animals with the expression בהמה אשר לא טהורה – “animal that is not pure.” Rather than use the less refined term טמאה (“impure”), the Torah uncharacteristically chose the longer expression – אשר לא טהורה – to teach us that we should speak in a refined manner. Similarly, the Mishna in Masechet Ketubot (13a) uses the phrase מדברת – “speaking” – in describing the case of a woman who went into seclusion with a man other than her husband. The Mishna chose a euphemistic expression to avoid making direct reference to improper behavior, setting an example of dignified speech that we should follow. Another example is a pasuk in Sefer Bereshit (39:6) which tells that when Yosef worked as a slave in Potifar’s home, Potifar entrusted him with everything he had except his wife. However, rather than say this explicitly, the Torah referred to Potifar’s wife as הלחם אשר הוא אוכל – “the bread that he ate.” Once again, the Torah chose a euphemism rather than speak directly of matters involving the relationship between a husband and wife. The Pele Yoetz writes: יזהר לדבר בלשון כבוד ובלשון נקי ולכנות שם לדברים של גנאי כגון בעשיית צרכים יאמר לעשות צרכיו נכנס או לגדולים או לקטנים וכן כשמזכיר מקום הטנופת יקרא בשם בית הכסא או בית הככוד …. ישמע חכם ויוסיף לקח כי בדבריו של אדם ניכר האיש אשר הוא נבל נבלה ידבר איש כבוד כולו אומר כבוד . “One must ensure to speak in a respectable manner and with clean language, and to use euphemisms for undignified matters… “A wise man hears and adds lessons” – for through a person’s words it can be determined what kind of person he is. The debased person speaks in a debased manner, and a respectable person speaks only respectably. For example, halachic sources use the term בית הכסא – “room of the chair” – to refer to a restroom (which even in English is spoken of euphemistically, as a “bathroom” or “restroom”), rather than speak explicitly of what the room is used for. Indeed, the Rambam writes that the Torah’s language is called לשון הקודש – “the sacred language” – because it uses euphemisms for indecent matters, rather than assigning words for such things. Certain matters should be spoken of indirectly, without explicit mention, in order to maintain a dignified and respectable mode of speech. This is why the Pele Yoetz in this passage adds the proverb, ישמע חכם ויוסיף לקח – “A wise man hears and adds lessons” – urging us to determine on our own how precisely to apply this rule. Giving examples of words that should not be spoken could itself violate this rule and compromise our standards of dignified speech, and so we are told to use our common sense and intuitive sense of decency when deciding upon which words to use and which words to avoid. This rule applies also to crude and boorish speech. For example, we should avoid using words such as “stupid” and “idiot.” A Torah Jew does not use such words, and instead maintains a noble and honorable style of speech. With this in mind, let us turn our attention to the famous comments of the Rambam in Hilchot Dei’ot (6:1), where he writes that as people are normally influenced by the people around them, one should ensure to be in the company of righteous and knowledgeable peers. This way, he will come under positive influence, and not under the negative influence of sinners. If one lives in a place with people who act improperly, the Rambam adds, he must move to a different place, where he will come under positive influence. He then writes: If all the countries that he knows and hears about act improperly, like in our times…then he should live alone, in solitude. And if they are evil and sinful people who do not allow him to reside in the country unless he interacts with them and acts the evil way that they act, then he should go out into caves, shrubs and deserts rather than act in the way of the sinners. Applying this to the topic of proper speech, we live in a time and in a society where foul language is the norm. It is not even expected anymore that people – including leaders and public figures – speak in a respectable, dignified manner, and the vulgarity seeps into our vernacular in ways that we are not aware of. Case in point, I recently noticed how often decent, G-d-fearing people use the expression, “My bad” when they make a mistake. This expression is grammatically incorrect and stems from a different culture. It is all but impossible to live in today’s world without being affected by the debased style of speech which has, unfortunately, become standard. Reflecting on this problem brings to mind a story told of the Hazon Ish. A certain Gadol approached the Hazon Ish and asked why people do not follow the Rambam’s instructions that we cited earlier. Society has deteriorated to such a point that the only hope of avoiding negative influence, as the Rambam wrote, is to go live in “caves” and “deserts.” Why, this Rabbi asked, are we not all moving into deserts and creating our own isolated communities? The Hazon Ish replied that this purpose is served by yeshivot, which are “deserts” in a certain sense, oases of purity and holiness in a world overrun by contamination. The atmosphere in yeshiva is produced by Torah and kedushah , and it is therefore a place where people can go to escape the pervasive negative influences that abound. One Rabbi used as an example the 1969 moon landing. When human beings walked on the moon, they were, in one sense, on the moon, but in another sense, they were still on Earth. They wore oxygen tanks that were filled with oxygen from the Earth, and their space suits were especially designed for them here on Earth. This provides us with an instructive analogy for how we are to function in a spiritually hostile world. We go about our affairs in the world like an astronaut walking on the moon, wearing a space suit and oxygen tank to keep him alive. We need to equip ourselves with spiritual “oxygen” to help us retain our principles and our kedushah as we live in and interact with contemporary society The weekly Shabbat table is a very important part of this “space suit.” The sanctity of the Bet Ha’mikdash and Jerusalem descends upon our Shabbat tables, and the experience elevates us into a different zone, a different level of spiritual awareness. On Shabbat we are enveloped by Hashem’s סוכת שלום (“canopy of peace”), as the Clouds of Glory which encircled our ancestors in the wilderness return to protect and uplift us. The Shabbat table has been compared to Noah’s ark – a secure, isolated environment where we are protected from the raging floodwaters that cover the world. Let us, then, pay extra special attention to the level of our speech at the Shabbat table, so that it can provide us with the “space suit” that we need to protect ourselves from the inappropriate speech that is spoken all around us. If the speech at the Shabbat table is pristine, dignified and respectable, then the experience will serve as our “oxygen tank” during the coming week to spiritually sustain us. Please G-d, we will be worthy of ורוממתנו מכל הלשונות – of distinguishing ourselves from contemporary culture through our dignified speech, which will, in turn, elevate us to ever greater spir itual heights each day of our lives, amen .