Our sages explore this very idea in Vayikra Rabbah 26, drawing out fascinating contrasts between human promises and divine pronouncements.
” It seems straightforward. But Rabbi Tanhum ben Rabbi Hanilai uses this as a springboard to a much deeper meditation, quoting (Psalms 12:7): “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings.”
What does it mean for God's sayings to be pure?
Rabbi Tanhum offers a powerful analogy. Think about a flesh-and-blood king visiting a province. Everyone showers him with praise, which he, naturally, enjoys. He makes grand promises: "Tomorrow, I will build you public buildings! Bathhouses! An aqueduct!" But... what if he doesn't wake up the next day? Where are his promises then? Empty words. "But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so," the text emphasizes. "Rather, 'the Lord God is truth' (Jeremiah 10:10)." Why is He truth? Rabbi Avin explains: “Because He is a living God and eternal King” (Jeremiah 10:10). God’s words are enduring, backed by His very essence.
So, how does this "purity" manifest? Rabbi Yudan, quoting Rabbi Yoḥanan, and Rabbi Berekhya, quoting Rabbi Elazar, along with Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin, all citing Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, offer a remarkable insight. They point out that God sometimes uses roundabout language to avoid uttering something considered… less than pure.
They bring an example from (Genesis 7:8), describing the animals entering the ark: “From the pure animal and from the animal that is not pure.” Notice anything? The verse doesn't directly say "impure animal." Instead, it uses the phrase "that is not pure" (asher einena tehora). The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) notes that this circumlocution adds eight letters to the Hebrew text. Eight extra letters just to avoid saying something potentially distasteful!
In another instance, regarding animals that were not pure (asher lo tehora hi), the Torah uses four words instead of the single word "impure" (hateme’a). The commitment to purity of language is palpable.
It's fascinating, isn’t it? It shows us a profound respect for language, especially when connected to the Divine.
Rabbi Yudan ben Menashe takes this idea even further. When introducing the signs of impure animals, God begins with what is pure about them! For example, (Leviticus 11:4) doesn't say, "The camel, because it does not have split hooves..." Instead, it says, "The camel, because it brings up its cud..." Similarly with the hyrax, the hare, and the pig. God leads with the positive characteristic before addressing the missing one.
What does this all tell us? Perhaps it’s about the power of our own words. If God, in His infinite wisdom, takes such care to purify His speech, shouldn't we strive to do the same? Maybe it's not just about avoiding "impure" language, but also about choosing to lead with kindness, with the positive, whenever possible. It's a challenge, for sure. But it's a challenge worthy of consideration, a way to echo, in our own small way, the purity of the Divine word.
“The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall become impure from a corpse among his people” (Leviticus 21:1). “Speak to the priests, sons of Aaron.” Rabbi Tanḥum ben Rabbi Ḥanilai began: “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings” (Psalms 12:7). “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings,” but the sayings of flesh and blood are not pure sayings. The way of the world is that when a flesh and blood king enters a province, all the residents of the province laud him, and their lauding is pleasant to him. He says to them: ‘Tomorrow, I will construct for you public buildings and bathhouses, tomorrow I will bring you an aqueduct.’ If he then went to sleep and did not arise, where is he and where are his sayings? But the Holy One blessed be He is not so. Rather, “the Lord God is truth” (Jeremiah 10:10). Why is He truth? Rabbi Avin said: Because “He is a living God and eternal King” (Jeremiah 10:10). “Pure sayings” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar, and Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanin, all said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: We find that the Holy One blessed be He employed a circumlocution of eight letters and did not express a despicable matter from His mouth, as it is stated: “From the pure animal and from the animal that is not pure” (Genesis 7:8).1The verse could have been more succinct if it stated “and the impure [hateme’a] animal.” In Hebrew, eight additional letters are needed for the phrase “that is not pure [asher einena tehora].” In another place, He employed a circumlocution of two and three words in the Torah so as not to express a matter of impurity from His mouth. That is what is written: “And of the animals that are not pure” (Genesis 7:2). “The impure [hateme’a]” it does not say, but rather, “that are not pure [asher lo tehora hi].”2In this instance, the verse uses four words instead of one. Some emend the text of the midrash to read: “He employed a circumlocution of three words.” Alternatively, the meaning is that in the previously-cited verse (Genesis 7:8) there are two unnecessary words, and in this verse there are three. Rabbi Yudan ben Menashe said: When He came to introduce to them the signs of the impure animal, as well, he began only with purity: “The camel, because it does not have split hooves” (Leviticus 11:4) is not written here,3It is not written first. In order for mammals to be considered kosher they must have split hooves and chew the cud. The verses (Leviticus 11:4–7) mention four exceptional animals that have one of the two aforementioned characteristics, but are non-kosher because they lack the other. For each of these animals, the verse mentions the sign that they do have before mentioning the one they are lacking. but rather, “because it brings up its cud” (Leviticus 11:4); “the hyrax, because it does not have split hooves” (Leviticus 11:5) is not written here, but rather, “because it brings up its cud” (Leviticus 11:5), and likewise with the hare, and likewise with the pig.
