POWER OF TONGUE

[amandeep]

Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel said to his servant, "Go to the market and
buy me something good to eat." The servant did as he was bidden, and
bought a tongue. Another time the rabbi said, "Go to the market and
buy me something that is not good." The servant went and returned with
a tongue.
His master said to him, "What does this mean? When I told you to buy
something that was good you also brought a tongue." The servant
answered, "From the tongue issues the good and also the bad. There is
nothing better than a good tongue, and nothing worse than an evil
one."
The rabbi soon after invited his disciples to partake of a meal at
which tongues both hard and soft were served. They selected the soft
ones and allowed the others to remain untouched. Said the rabbi, "As
you choose the soft tongues and reject those that are hard, so also
use only a soft tongue in your conversation with one another."
(Courtesy: Jewish Welfare
Association's Bulletin, Dec. 1989)
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