Speech And Silence

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

Elie Wiesel

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

In prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then listen!

Johannes Tauler

Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross


Ahhhhhh sweetest friends!! We have written many posts about the power of speech but none [that I can recall] about silence. Is silence a good thing or a bad thing?

The Jewish answer [as always]: It depends! Sometimes it is the greatest level of positive expression. Aharon loses his two sons and the pasuk says - Vayidom Aharon - Aharon remained silent. He COULD have complained to Hashem but he accepted the Divine judgement with complete faith.

The Navi teaches that Hashem is to be found "Bikol Demama Daka" - The sound of silence.

The Mishna in Avos says that a certain Tzaddik exclaimed that he grew up amongst the wise and he found nothing greater for the body than silence. The commentaries [I think the Sfas Emes if my memory serves me correctly, or maybe the Maharal] explain that when ones body is silent, the soul is activated. But when the mouth is busy blabbering nothings, the soul is quieted. The best thing for a person is to get his soul moving and for that silence is required.

Silence allows a person to reflect and stimulates a deeper thought process.

However, silence can also be harmful. When two people are angry at each other and not on talking terms the Mishna in Sanhedrin defines their relationship as one of hatred [CHAS VI'SHALOM] and they are disqualified from testifying about each other.

Sometimes, people are silent because they are at a loss as to what to say. Talking helps clarify issues and can be very helpful. One of the 48 ways of acquiring Torah is "Arichas Sfasaim" [Pirkei Avos] - "speaking things out" as they say in Yeshivish vernacular.

If one has a problem and remains silent, it is often unhealthy. "Daaga bilev ish" - Are you worried [says the gemara in Yoma]? "yiseechena liacherim" - talk about it with a friend. You will feel better afterwards.

When people are suffering and we remain silent this is a grievous sin. Silence can hurt. Some people take revenge by giving the "silent treatment". Spouses do this at times. We at Mevakesh Lev do NOT recommend this!!

So silence can be very valuable and can also be harmful - to oneself and others. It requires great wisdom to determine when to be silent and when to speak.

May we always have the powers to discern what the right approach is to any given situation.

LOVE AND BLESSINGS!!