Keeping the Torah Makes Our THOUGHTS Pure

It can’t hurt to remind ourselves of the Torah’s blessings we take for granted.

I once protested a non-observant Jew using unclean language when upset.

Insulted, he thoughtfully countered: “Well, maybe you and your kind don’t say those words when you are frustrated, but you do still think them!”

He appeared quite taken aback when I honestly revealed to him this was not true.

One can homiletically say this was true of modest Shaul Hamelech, as well. The pasuk opens saying his words were left unsaid (שמואל א’ כ’ כ”ו, ולא דבר שאול מאומה ביום ההוא), yet he used the negative expression of “not pure”. But only homiletically, since the actual proof Rabbi Acha brings in Pesachim 3a, כי אמר מקרה הוא בלתי טהור הוא כי לא טהור is Scripture does so when recording Shaul’s thoughts.

(By the way, the truth is, unspoken thoughts usually transcend language. Still, there is a difference between thinking X and not thinking X. There is even a difference between the thought-equivalents of positive [profane] and negative [not pure].)