Some thoughts cannot be spoken

Hi,

"Not everything that a person thinks should he produce with his lips. Thought flies on the wings of the wind, and due to the multiplicity of thoughts, all of them should pass like sheep before his intellectual assessment. That which the intellect decrees he should speak, this he should be certain to utter. But there are many matters in which he cannot produce that which his heart comprehends, for his inner comprehension cannot be clothed in words."

(Rabbi Yehonatan Eliasberg, Darchah shel Torah 10)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

48 Ways: #20 - Minimizing chatter

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twentieth of the 48 is miut sichah, reducing chatter.

This "way" is, I think, self-evident. Aside from the fact that most of us learn more by listening than by talking, the type of chatter indicated by sichah is addictive, drawing a person into pleasant conversation which may be friendly and socially constructive, but which will not add to his scholarship.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Maintaining peace

Hi,

"One who degrades his neighbor lacks heart, but a man of discernment holds his peace."

(Mishlei [Proverbs] 11:12)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Silence is worthwhile

Hi,

"If a word is worth one coin, silence is worth two."

(Talmud, Megilah 18a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai