A word is worth a sela, but silence is worth two.

Excerpt

My silence has earned me a discourse from my father concerning the building of the Temple above and the Temple below; and thus is fulfilled the proverb which says: “A word is worth a sela, but silence is worth two”; for the words I spoke before are worth one sela, but the silence I kept afterward is worth two, since through this silence I learned that God created both worlds, that above and that below, at once.

Source Zohar I, Préliminaires, fol. 1b · 📖 Read the full passage

✨ To meditate on today

According to the Zohar, Rabbi Eleazar discovers that his silence taught him more than his words, hence the proverb: a word is worth a sela (an ancient silver coin), silence is worth two. Today, in a conversation, listen to the end without preparing your answer, and notice what this silence lets you discover.

Receive a lesson of this teaching every day by email or Telegram