GEN257 The power of words is everywhere acknowledged in the Jewish tradition.  God created the world by speech.  When Genesis says that God breathed into man and made him a “living soul” [this verse], the classic rabbinical translator, Onkelos, renders it as a “speaking soul.” God reveals Himself to man in words, the words of the Torah, and, in response, man approaches God with words.  Words are also the major instrument of contact between man and man – in all his transactions, whether intellectual, cultural, or mercantile. For men words are the means of creations, and also of destruction. They can clarify and they can confuse; they can stimulate and they can intoxicate. They may be a blessing; but they are often a curse. The heart of Jewish worship, the Amidah, opens with a prayer for pure speech: “O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise.” And it concludes with a prayer for self-control in speech: “My God, keep my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking falsehood.” Since speech is the cement of society, loose tongues can weaken its structure subtly but critically. The dangers of gossip, slander, and tale bearing have been widely discussed in Jewish ethical writings.  GOODSOC 56