Civil Discourse

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The Power of Gentle Speech

TANAKH

Gentle speech has the power to diffuse anger and prevent conflict. The book of Proverbs, part of the Hebrew Bible, offers wisdom on the impact of speech, emphasizing how a gentle response can calm anger while harsh words can incite it.

A gentle response allays wrath;
A harsh word provokes anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Creating New Worlds Through Civil Discourse

COMMENTARY

Civil discourse can create new worlds of thought by suspending prejudices and embracing incompleteness. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg draws on the mystical teachings of R. Nahman of Bratzlav and R. Isaac Luria to explore the transformative power of open-minded dialogue.

R. Nahman of Bratzlav, the nineteenth-century Hassidic master, reshapes this cosmological model, first developed in the kabbalistic teachings of R. Isaac Luria, in order to speak of the creation of cultural worlds, worlds of human meaning. This creation, too, depends on the gap of incompleteness, where the discourse of scholars, for instance, can leave space between them for new worlds of thought to form. Between any two who speak or argue, it is the void allowed by each, the willingness to suspend prejudices, that opens to unpredictable insight.

Moses; A Human Life, 4 Moses in the Family; Mirrors and Foils 111

The Art of Effective Rebuke

COMMENTARY

Rebuking someone when it will not be accepted can be counterproductive and harm future efforts. Rabbi Francis Nataf explores the Talmudic principle that it is a mitzvah to refrain from giving rebuke at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

Also, in seeking the right timing, Yehudah shows his awareness of something the rabbis would later formalize: motivatory speech is only appropriate when it can work. The Talmud points out that it is just as much of a mitzvah not to give rebuke when it will not be accepted as it is to give rebuke when it will be accepted (Yevamot 65b). It is true that we can rarely be sure of the outcome of our efforts. Nevertheless, a leader has to keenly determine which outcome is more likely. Giving rebuke when it will be rebuffed is just as risky as failing to give it when it will be accepted…

Redeeming Relevance; Genesis 6:39

The Value of Respectful Disagreement

MISHNAH

The example of Shammai and Hillel teaches us the value of flexibility and openness in civil discourse. The Mishnah records the debates between these two prominent sages, emphasizing the importance of respectful disagreement in the evolution of Jewish legal thought.

And why do they record the opinions of Shammai and Hillel for naught? To teach the following generations that a man should not [always] persist in his opinion, for behold, the fathers of the world did not persist in their opinion.

Mishnah Eduyot 1:4

Debate and Majority Rule in the Sanhedrin

HALAKHAH

The importance of rigorous debate and majority rule within the Supreme Sanhedrin encourages a thorough and fair deliberation, especially in matters of life and death. Maimonides' Mishneh Torah outlines the procedures of the Sanhedrin, emphasizing the necessity of these practices in legal decisions.

When there is a difference of opinion in the Supreme Sanhedrin, whether with regard to a law involving capital punishment, monetary law, or other matters of Torah law, we do not add judges. Instead, they debate against each other and the ruling follows the majority. If their difference of opinion involves whether a person will be executed, they should debate against each other until they either exonerate him or hold him liable.

Mishneh Torah, The Sanhedrin and the Penalties within Their Jurisdiction 9:3

The Duties of Communal Institutions

HALAKHAH

Communal institutions have a duty to address grievances and encourage harmony. The Shulchan Aruch’s section on Jewish civil law, Hoshen Mishpat, emphasizes the responsibility of communal institutions to address criticisms and uphold justice.

[A communal institution] has a greater duty to appease complaints and arguments … and it is duty bound to deflect criticism from its institution …

Rabbinic Authority I, Part II; Rabbinic Authority; The Reality, Chapter 5; Decisions in Hoshen Mishpat, a) Tenure Rights and Severance Pay 37

The Divine Blessing of Unity

KABBALAH

The Zohar emphasizes the divine blessing that comes from maintaining love and affection among friends. This mystical text uses the verse from Psalms 122:8 to illustrate the importance of civil discourse and unity.

You, therefore, Companions that are gathered here, as you have been close friends hitherto, so may you never part until God shall give you glad greeting, and for your sake may there be peace in the world.’

Zohar, Achrei Mot 9:66

Transformation Through Positive Speech

COMMENTARY

Positive speech can transform individuals and communities. Rabban Yoḥanan b. Zakkai, a sage from the Second Temple period, explains how praise can foster growth.

Rabban Yoḥanan b. Zakkai took a Hillel-Maimonides view of praise. He used it not so much to describe as to motivate. And that is lashon tov. Evil speech diminishes us, good speech helps us grow. Evil speech puts people down, good speech lifts them up. Focused, targeted praise, informed by considered judgement of individual strengths, and sustained by faith in people and their potentiality, is what makes teachers great and their disciples greater than they would otherwise have been. That is what we learn from Rabban Yoḥanan b. Zakkai.

Covenant and Conversation; Leviticus; The Book of Holiness, Metzora, Is There Such a Thing as Lashon Tov? 22

The Ethics of Civil Discourse

JEWISH THOUGHT

Practicing civil discourse is essential for maintaining a cohesive community. Pirkei Avot, a tractate of the Mishnah, provides guidance for empathetic participation in communal life.

…Hillel said: Do not separate yourself from the community…furthermore, do not judge your fellow-man until you have reached his place. Avot Ch. 2:4

What is the Talmud, VII What is written in the Talmud?, 4 Society and community 4

The Wisdom of Silence

TALMUD

Remaining silent in the face of provocation can prevent unfortunate consequences. The Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin, in its discussion of civil discourse, highlights the wisdom of avoiding strife.

There was a certain man who was saying as he walked: It is good for a person who hears statements said against him and yet remains silent, as a hundred misfortunes pass him by as a result. Upon hearing this, Shmuel said to Rav Yehuda: A verse is written that conveys the message of this aphorism: “The beginning of strife is as when one releases water” (Proverbs 17:14). The words “beginning [poter] of strife [reishit madon]” allude to: The beginning of one hundred litigations [reish me’a dinei]…

Sanhedrin 7a:8

Habituation of Good Speech vs. Harmful Speech

JEWISH THOUGHT

Habituating one's speech to goodness can transform one's character for the better, while deceitful and harmful speech can be destructive. The 11th-century ethical work, Duties of the Heart, by Bachya ibn Pekudah, uses verses from Psalms and Ecclesiastes to explore this idea.

Likewise, when one habituates his tongue to speak good, it will become part of his nature, as written "He who does not habituate/slander with his tongue" (Tehilim 15:3), and it says regarding the opposite of this "Your tongue devises mischief, [as a sharpened razor, working deceit], You love all devouring words" (Tehilim 52:4), and "What does it give to you, what does it increase unto you, O deceitful tongue?" (Tehilim 120:3), and "The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow him up" (Koheles 10:12)

Duties of the Heart, Sixth Treatise on Submission 6:9

The Folly of Interrupting

MUSAR

Interrupting others during conversation is not just rude but, according to Rabbeinu Yonah Gerondi in his work Sefer HaYirah, is also very foolish. This text emphasizes the importance of respectful and disciplined behavior in our interactions.

Do not interrupt them, for even one who interrupts his fellow is called a fool.

Sefer HaYirah 189

Isaac As A Model of Peace

MUSAR

Isaac's forbearance in the face of conflict serve as a model for overcoming reactivity for the sake of peace. Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz’s 17th-century work, Shenei Luchot HaBerit, uses examples from Isaac's life to illustrate his peaceloving nature.

גור בארץ הזאת ואהיה. Isaac accepted all his difficulties with the Philistines with great forbearance. Whenever the shepherds picked a quarrel about the wells, Isaac rather moved away than to feud with them. Even when it had become obvious, after he had been expelled, that his wealth had never been obtained at the expense of the Philistines, and the king and his Chief of Staff wanted to make a treaty with him, he not only agreed but prepared a feast for them. This peace-loving trait in Isaac is something that we must use as a model for our own conduct throughout life…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Toldot, Derekh Chayim 8

The Pursuit of Peace And the Danger of Anger

REFERENCE

Loving peace is an essential value in Jewish ethics, and anger is understood as a potential path to sin. This text from the Tannaim, the rabbinic sages of the Mishnaic period, emphasizes the importance peace and self-control.

“Love peace and despise disputes. Beware of anger, for anger will lead you to sin.”

The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume I; The Creators of the Mishna, Contemporaries of Rabbi Jehuda haNasi 40

The Path of Righteousness and Justice

SECOND TEMPLE

The Book of Jubilees instructs one to follow God by protecting righteousness, loving one's neighbor, and acting justly.

And he commanded them that they should observe the way of the Lord; that they should work righteousness, and love each his neighbour, and act on this manner amongst all men; that they should each so walk with regard to them as to do judgment and righteousness on the earth.

Book of Jubilees 20:2