Questions tagged [speech-talking]
speech, verbalization
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When does one need to be careful not to incite the Satan?
The Gemara (Berachos 19a) learns out from Yeshayah 1:9-2:1, that one should not say that something bad could have happened to him, so as not to incite the Satan.
The question is: doesn’t David ...
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1
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Lashon Harah about a bully
If somebody is intentionally rude or mean to you, you explain they are being rude, and they continue, are you allowed to speak lashon Harah about them to someone close?
For example, you are being ...
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5
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What were the first words spoken by Adam?
What were the first words spoken by Adam?
Is there any lesson involved in that?
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Taanit dibbur breaking
If one vows to do Taanit dibbur, when are they allowed to violate it? Could they violate it in cases of substantial financial or reputational harm? Are there any sources for this?
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Does sign language count as a Hefsek between Netilas Yadayim and Hamotzei?
May one communicate via sign language (like ASL) with others (whether or not one is deaf-mute) after washing one's hands before Hamotzei, or would this constitute a Hefsek?
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Is it considered listening to loshon hora to look at a biography of a Jewish person on Wikipedia? [duplicate]
Is this considered listening to loshon hora? Let’s say a celebrity happens to be Jewish and Wikipedia has a page about them. Is it mutar to read it if it has negative things said?
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Balancing privacy of spouses' relationship with revealing important information to others [closed]
In general, the Torah places a lot of supremacy to the spousal relationship in marriage, compared to other relationships, and one must generally put one's spouse first over almost any other commitment,...
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Some senses open, some we can shut
I recently heard a question, why can we close our eyes and mouth without our hands, but not our nose* and ears?
I believe this sounds like the perfect question to ask the Torah. Does anyone have any ...
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Responding politely to "I will cross my fingers for you" in a way that rejects avodah zara
If a well-meaning person were to say he'd cross his fingers for you, what would be the correct response to be both halachically and socially correct? Would a non-response be sufficient (i.e. not ...
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Will the donkey of Moshiach talk?
B"H
The question and answer here
https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/52493/32743
Touch on the idea that the donkey that Moshe rode (his family and placed his belongings on (not him himself, the ...
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Is it permitted to call Hashem, or a human (made in Hashem's image) an "it"?
I have heard it stated in shiurim, in response to the question of why do we refer to Hashem as "Him", one of the reasons is that it would be not kavodik (i.e. it would be dishonourable) to ...
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Corona Beer - Jewish minhag to avoid speech that hints of evil
NOTE: I have changed this question to make it more general as the previous question seemed to be too focused on something that has no bases ("Kefir" drink sounding like Kefira etc).
Would ...
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וְאֵין דִּבּוּרוֹ בְּנַחַת עִם הַבְּרִיּוֹת - Chillul Hashem for Torah scholars not speaking pleasantly to people - Limits and definitions?
Yoma 86a discusses various types of chillul Hashem, and one is as per the title. This is quite a serious statement, yet is also very vague (a terrible combination!).
What are the definitions and ...
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Halachot relevant to dealing with people with extreme views
This question is assuming that there is a prevalence of extreme views, especially since the age of the internet, and particularly in the last 10-15 years. It is not a blanket statement against all ...
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How to bring subject to Torah at Shabbat table - tips
When the topic is secular, such as football, politics, or similar, such as at a shabbat meal, do people have any tips about how to bring it back in a pleasant way to Torah?
Consider this a very ...
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Is it really against the Torah to speak Loshon Hora about yourself? [duplicate]
Is it true that it is an aveirah to speak badly about yourself to someone else?
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Why didn't Hashem tell the snake that his power of speech would be removed?
B"H
In the curses Hashem tells the snake it says "because you have done this, you are cursed from all beasts of the field..", without specifying exactly what that means.
If you would ...
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Question on the Drashos HaRan
The Ran in his drashos (drush 5) explains Moshe's speech impediment as bolstering the emunah that klal yisroel had in the Torah, because someone with slick speech could easily convince a group of ...
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Informality in addressing God
In Hebrew or English, people are addressed as "you". But in many other languages, such as French or Italian, there is a formal way to address people (vous, lei) and an informal way (tu, tu). ...
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Is there a source in the Torah for the belief that words a person speaks can change the course of their life for better or worse?
Is there a source in the Torah for the belief that words a person speaks can change the course of their life for better or worse? Meaning can someone seal their own fate with the words that they ...
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Sefarim on proper speech?
Besides for the classic and wonderful Sefer Shemiras HaLashon by the Chofetz Chaim, are there other Sefarim (English or Hebrew) that discuss mussar/hashkafic/positive aspects of proper speech?
I am ...
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Rambam or the Rambam? [duplicate]
It has become regular that when referring to Rambam (and many Rishonim like Rosh, Tosfos etc) people say THE Rambam instead of omitting the seemingly redundant THE.
Is there are a reason for this? Why ...
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Talking In Bathrooms
The Rema in או"ח סי' ג סעיף ב says that it is impermissible to talk in the bathroom. The Mishna Berura adds the Gemara in Berachos 65b, that even in order to let someone trying to enter know that ...
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What happens when you jokingly said 'I'm a nazir'?
If somebody gave you a bottle of wine, and you say I don't drink. They ask why, and you answer, jokingly 'I'm a nazir'. Did you take on a vow even though you only intended to joke?
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Not Your Business, Not Lashon Hara
If you overhear someone talking about you, “he just got into a car accident, or “his wife just got into a car accident,” and it’s not technically lashon hara since it’s not technically negative. Yet, ...
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What does it mean when G-d speaks or one hear His Voice? [duplicate]
I'd like to post a slightly odd question. When G-d speaks what does this mean?
As we know, G-d is not corporeal; does not have any physical characteristics/body. Yet it’s still possible to produce ...
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"Evil" thinking vs. lashon hara
If a person's explicit verbiage about someone else is benign on the surface, but has an unexpressed and somewhat nasty thinking behind it, is this considered lashon hara? Are there any guidelines or ...
user24795
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Does Shemot 23:13 literally mean Marvel & DC Comics are forbidden?
Does Shemot 23:13 literally mean Marvel & DC Comics are forbidden?
"and the name of the gods of others you shall not mention; it shall not be heard through your mouth." ( וְשֵׁ֨ם ...
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Leaving a phone perpetually on on the Sabbath
I have never been sufficiently religious to understand everything on this site without help from friends or family, but a question was asked by a non-Jewish friend that I was unable to answer, so I'm ...
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What phrase are people saying about 'ה and רחם?
I hear a certain phrase a lot. Are people saying ה' ירחם, that השם should be merciful, or ה' מרחם, that השם is merciful?
Thanks!
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Why don't newborns speak? Why do we need to learn a language?
In our dualistic approach, the soul is one that possesses the knowledge of a/the language (not clear to me if all souls speak Hebrew or just 70, like the angels or just any language)
AFAIC, the soul ...
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Which Animals Are Said to Have Spoken in the Torah
I'm aware that the Torah says the serpent spoke to Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:1) and Balaam's ass spoke to him on his journey to see Balak (Numbers 22:28). Are there any other instances of animals ...
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Is typing or writing the same as "saying" for the sake of Sefirat Ha'Omer?
In an effort to ensure that we only count the Omer with a bracha properly, we are careful not to say what day it is until we have counted formally -- this is discussed and explored here.
But is ...
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Who SHOULD accept a taanit dibbur?
If one is home with his family (especially these days when everyone is home, all day), would it be fair to his family members not to speak to them (besides strict divrei Torah)?
EDIT:
In what cases ...
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Is there a problem with saying "Oh my God" or "Oh my Gosh"?
It seems to me that religious Jews do not say "Oh my God" so I'm asking if there is anything wrong with saying that?
I'd also like to know if there would be an issue to say "Oh my Gosh"?
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Can a mute person do teshuva?
The Rambam in Hilchos Teshuvah 1:1 tells us that saying vidui (confessing) is an integral part of the teshuva process:
כָּל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל ...
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Why are many conversations in Tanach between two parties exclusively
Inspired by a comment on this question it seems the vast majority, if not the entirety, of conversations in Tanach are between two and only two parties. I would like to understand conceptually why ...
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Are there examples in Tanach of 3 or more parties having an ongoing conversation?
From what I have seen in reading Tanach every conversation is between two parties and two parties only. Sometimes those parties consist of 1 person and other times of several people for example "And ...
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Did Tziporah sin in what she said about Moshe?
In Bamidbar 12:1 the pasuk says
ותדבר מרים ואהרן במשה על־אדות האשה הכשית אשר לקח כי־אשה כשית לקח
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: “He married a ...
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Saying the right thing then saying the wrong thing toch kedai dibur
Someone counts the correct day of Sefiras HaOmer but then thinks he made a mistake, so he immediately "corrects" himself and counts the wrong day. Does his second (incorrect) counting, which was made ...
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Is there a tradition not to mention the pink animal?
My family always say "pink animal" in reference to, well, the pink animal. But now we find nobody remembers the reasons for this.
It seems to me I've seen the Hebrew writers say "davar acher," or "...
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Would Emoji halachically be considered a language?
While admittedly close to Purim, this is NOT a Purim Torah. 😂
Pretty much all of us know about emojis, as they're virtually everywhere nowadays. Emojis are increasingly being used as proof in court- ...
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How do I accept a taanis dibbur on myself? [closed]
In light of the recent tragedy in Kiryas Yovel (https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/1670321/4-sifrei-torah-thrown-to-the-ground-kiryat-yovel-shul-vandalized.html) I have decided to accept ...
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Does Judaism have a concept of "positive speech"?
Inspired by this question I am curious to know if Judaism has a concept of positive speech, i.e., turning a negative statement into a positive one.
The original example given above is, using a car ...
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Lashon hara to criticize world leaders? [duplicate]
If a Jew lives in an oppressive country and speaks negatively about that country's leader, is that considered lashon hara?
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Let the young ones speak first?
I remember reading that, in the Sanhedrin, the most junior rabbis were encouraged to speak first, so that they would not be swayed or intimidated by the more senior ones. Is this true and what is the ...
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Does Jewish law have a clear position on freedom of speech?
Does Jewish law have a clear position on freedom of speech?
On the one hand, the Talmud itself testifies to such freedom (within broad bounds): Minority opinions are cited, followed by the majority ...
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Greeting other people (Jews and Non-Jews alike)
At work, some amount of interaction is inevitable. There are some people that I just don't feel like greeting.
What is the Jewish view on this issue? What does the Halachah say about 'greeting one ...
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What is the source of this saying about allotment of words? [duplicate]
What is the source of the saying that each human being is born with a certain allotment of words to utter?
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Is saying Shutup to a fellow Jew a sin?
If someone says something to offend you, can you just reply with a “Shutup!”, or will this be considered as hurting one’s feelings? This is a serious question. If it is a sin how else can you let ...
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