Aliya Summary: Of kosher animals and birds, Noach was commanded to
take seven pairs of each species (as opposed to one pair of all other
species). Noach, his family, and the required animals boarded the teivah
and the mabul began: "The springs of the great depths burst forth and
the windows of the heavens opened."
The Talmud (in
Pesachim) points to G-d's instructions to take "Animals that are Tahor
(i.e. Kosher) and those that are not Tahor", as a lesson in speaking
with a "clean" language, i.e. not vulgar. The Torah could have used the
word TAMEI (unclean) but chose a longer periphrasis to use more pleasant
terms. Commentaries ask, if this is so, how come the Torah uses the
word TAMEI in many other contexts. The answer is, that when the Torah is
setting down Mitzva and Halacha, it must use straightforward terms to
avoid any possible confusion. When recounting a story (and for us,
whenever possible) it is preferable to use more polite language.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment