Siman - Pesachim Daf 3
- Using refined expressions
After bringing a Baraisa from the academy of Shmuel which used the wording of "לילי" for night, the Gemara asks why our Tanna did not use the word ‘לילי’ as well. The Gemara answers, לישנא מעליא הוא דנקט – The Tanna used a refined expression, as Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi taught, לעולם אל יוציא אדם דבר מגונה מפיו – A person should never emit a coarse expression from his mouth, for we see that the Torah deviated by adding eight letters so as not to express a דבר מגונה, as it says in the passuk, מן הבהמה הטהורה ומן הבהמה אשר איננה טהורה – From the animals that are tahor and from the animals that are not tahor. By writing ‘that are not tahor’, rather than just tamei, the Torah demonstrates the importance of refined speech. Rashi explains that the Gemara does not mean that the word night is coarse, but rather that just as Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi says that one should not use a coarse expression, so too our Tanna used the word אור, which is a nice way of saying the word night.
- Teaching in a concise manner
After the Gemara recorded a number of instances in which the Torah avoided using the word tamei, the Gemara asks, ובאורייתא מי לא כתיב טמא – And is the word tamei not written in the Torah? The Gemara answers that wherever the coarse expression and its more refined substitute are equal in length, משתעי בלשון נקיה – the Torah uses the more refined expression, and wherever the more refined expression is longer, משתעי בלשון קצרה – the Torah uses the more concise expression.
This is in accordance with that which was said in the name of Rav, and some say that Rav said it in the name of Rebbe Meir, לעולם ישנה אדם לתלמידו דרך קצרה – A person should always teach his talmid in a concise manner.
- The Kohen whose yichus was investigated
The Gemara brings a number of incidents to demonstrate the importance of using refined language. There were three Kohanim who had each received a share of the lechem hapanim. One said he received a portion the size of a bean. The second one said he received a portion the size of a kezayis. The third one said he received a portion the size of a lizard’s tail. They investigated the lineage of the third one and found a שמץ פסול – a pesul in his yichus.
The Gemara asks how an acting Kohen could be investigated if he is unfit since Kohanim are checked for disqualifications in their yichus before they serve and offers two reasons. One answer is to say instead שחץ פסול, meaning that he displayed some disqualifying arrogance. Since he disparaged the offerings when he spoke, he is unfit to serve. The second answer is that here his lineage was checked again because he had compromised himself. Rashi explains that the way that he spoke indicated that he had not been checked out properly in the first place and a therefore a new investigation was required.
