Our Gemara on amud beis describes an interlude where the sage Levi asked a question of his master, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, in a particular way that was multivalent. It is hard to get into the lomdishe particulars, but I'll explain it in terms of process. There were three possible scenarios going from more obviously valid to less obvious, with only the most obvious scenario taught explicitly to Levi. Of course, Levi could have asked about the remaining two, but he did not, to save time and words. Instead, he asked about the least likely to be valid case, the third case.
The Gemara explains that Levi figured he would be able to tell from both the tone and the response of his master what the rule was regarding the middle case. To wit: If his master simply responded in a neutral tone that the third case is not valid, Levi would be able to infer that his master accepted this as a wise question, and that the middle case was still valid. On the other hand, if his master replied with some irritation, implying, “Of course you should know this is invalid,” it would connote that the middle case was also invalid.
This is a great lesson in our ancient sages’ regard for the sanctity of speech and words. Levi would not deign to waste his master’s time asking one extra question. Additionally, he was so sure of his master’s precision in his response that he knew if his master thought he was asking an ill-informed question, he would be legitimate in showing rebuke. Moreover, Levi trusted that he could derive a halacha merely from the tone of his master’s response. This is way beyond being careful with l,shon hora — these were serious people who paid attention to everything they said and everything that was said to them.
This is reminiscent of what we discussed in our blogpost on Psychology of the Daf Zevachim 18: Rav Soloveitchik (Reshimos Shiurim, Horiyos 2a) notes that the Rambam (Hilchos Bi’as HaMikdash 1:4) has a high standard of responsibility for a posek who gives a Torah class, in that even when he does not intend to teach halacha, it still counts as teaching halacha:
“It is permitted for a person who is intoxicated to teach Torah, even Torah law and the interpretation of verses, provided he does not deliver a ruling. If he was a sage who delivers rulings on a regular basis, he should not teach, for his teaching constitutes the delivery of a ruling.”
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com