PROFANITY

Judaism has always stressed the importance of the spoken word and hence cleanliness in speech was inculcated in addition to strict prohibition of certain forms of speech such as lying, slander, calumny, or insults. Not only was outright indecent speech to be avoided, but even gross expression was to be shunned. According to the Talmud the Torah uses eight additional letters rather than utter a graceless expression in order to illustrate this principle, for it is written "and of the beasts that are not clean" (Gen. 7:2), instead of "unclean" (Pes. 3a). Likewise, the single word "unclean" would have saved nine letters in the Hebrew text in the verse, "If there be among you any man that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth by night" (Deut. 23:11; Pes. 3a). The Talmud relates that two disciples sat before Rav. One said: "This discussion has made us as tired as an exhausted swine"; the other said: "This discussion had made us as tired as an exhausted kid." Rav would not speak to the former. Similarly, there were three priests; one said, I received as much as a bean of the shewbread: the second said, I received as much as an olive; while the third said, I received as much as a lizard's tail. They investigated the third priest and found that his genealogy was impure and that he was unfit to serve in the Temple (Pes. 3b). The Talmud considered obscene speech a grievous sin. Many calamities befalling the community were considered by the sages to be punishments for this offense. R. Ḥanan b. Rabbah remarked that even though all know for what purpose a bride enters the bridal chamber, yet God would punish him who say it expressis verbis. gehinnom is deepened for the individual who puts his mouth to folly, and punishment is meted out also to one who hears obscenities and does not protest (Shab. 3a). The Rabbis explained that fingers are jointed like pegs so that if a man hears an unworthy statement he should be able to plug them into his ears. The whole ear is hard and the earlobe soft so that if a man hears an unworthy thought he should be able to bend the earlobe into the ear (Ket. 5a–b). Proper language at times of warfare was particularly stressed; the interdiction that "thy camp be holy; that He see no un-seemly thing in thee, and turn away from thee" (Deut. 23:15)   is interpreted to mean that God shall hear no improper language in the military camp (Lev. R. 24:7). (Aaron Rothkoff)