Silence offers deeper engagement with the world.
Silence is the ultimate purity in speech. By immersing ourselves in moments of silence (apart from technology and social interactions), we can begin to listen to greater things as Hashem speaks to us through our souls, minds, and hearts.
Perfecting this trait allows one to know when to speak and when not to speak. When we exemplify silence so as to not commit lashon hara (evil speech), we are using our speech in the purest way possible. However, silence can also be a detriment if someone is counting on you to say something to uplift, defend or contribute. A perfect balance of this trait is using every word for higher reasons, not just to fill the air. Before you open your mouth, be silent and reflect: “What benefit will my speech bring to me or others?”
Say only positive words regarding a situation or person.
Listen more than you speak this week.
Practice being comfortable with silence in a conversation and don’t seek to fill the quiet spaces with awkward conversation.
If a situation arises and someone or a group needs defense, do not be silent. Rather gently defend by commenting or speaking your truth to correct and bring honor. Do not be complicit.
Meditation
Daily Questions
What were the "seeds" that started to affect your ability to hold your silence on a matter today?
Think of several good things that happened today. What was your reaction to them in contrast to your moments of challenge? Did you speak out righteously, or use your speech in a negative and non-productive fashion?
Is there a common situation where you find that you are consistently unable to keep silent?
Was there a moment where you should have spoken and didn't? Why?
If you were on the verge of speaking out in a negative way but didn't, what did you employ that worked?
Were you able to use prayer or meditation to help you through the circumstances?
Featured Articles
Quotables
Merciful God, merciful God, powerful God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in kindness and truth. Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, forgiver of iniquity, willful sin and error, and Who cleanses. — Exodus 34:6-7
Rabbi Shimon taught: There are three crowns: The crown of Torah, the crown of Priesthood, and the crown of Royalty. The crown of a good name surpasses them all." — Avot 4:17
Shammai taught: "Say little and do much." — Avot 1:15 Rabbi Natan said, “What does this mean? It teaches that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not even a little.” — Avot 13:3
"Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of gifts he does not give." —Proverbs 25:14
Nittai, of Arbel, taught: "Keep far from an evil neighbor, be not a partner with an evil person..." — Avot 1:7
"The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are. Instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be—and when they’re not, we cry." — Jewish proverb
"Trust, but verify." — Russian proverb
"It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?" — C.S. Lewis
"The wild things of this earth are not ours to do with as we please. They have been given to us in trust, and we must account for them to the generation which will come after us and audit our accounts." — William T. Hornaday
"Trust is the feeling that makes one man believe in another." — Henry Louis Menchen
Many people have a hard time with silence. It makes them uncomfortable and they feel they have to fill the void.
For those who are aquainted with snow in winter, you know what I mean when I say that all the world is filled with silence when it snows. There is nothing like a snow-covered land. The cars make less noise, everything glistens and everything is pure: pure white and insulated.