Clean Speech

“And for the sin that we have sinned before You with the utterance of our lips. 
For the sin that we have sinned before You through harsh speech; 
For the sin that we have sinned before You through foolish speech...."

Sound familiar? If it does, it’s because we recited this last Yom Kippur as part of the “Al Chet” prayer – 44 verses reflecting the range of sins for which we sought forgiveness in the past year.  Of all the 44 sins we acknowledge having committed  -  20%, are devoted to sins we committed through our speech alone, such as the examples above. Collectively known as Lashon Harah – evil talk, it refers to any statement that is derogatory or potentially harmful to others. 

 A current initiative, called “Clean Speech,” aims to unite Jewish communities throughout North America in improving human relationships through Jewish mindful speech; to build a more positive, respectful and peaceful world.  Jews are asked to pay more attention to their speech, by
                    using a workbook (from the branch in Toronto)
that provides daily words of inspiration to help you be more mindful in your speech.

                    Learn more about “Clean Speech”

Lorne Opler