תָּא שְׁמַע, דְּתָנֵי דְּבֵי שְׁמוּאֵל: לֵילֵי אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בּוֹדְקִין אֶת הֶחָמֵץ לְאוֹר הַנֵּר. אַלְמָא ״אוֹר״ אוּרְתָּא הוּא. אֶלָּא: בֵּין רַב הוּנָא וּבֵין רַב יְהוּדָה דְּכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא ״אוֹר״ אוּרְתָּא הוּא, וְלָא פְּלִיגִי, מָר כִּי אַתְרֵיהּ וּמָר כִּי אַתְרֵיהּ. בְּאַתְרֵיהּ דְּרַב הוּנָא קָרוּ ״נַגְהֵי״, וּבְאַתְרֵיהּ דְּרַב יְהוּדָה קָרוּ ״לֵילֵי״. וְתַנָּא דִּידַן מַאי טַעְמָא לָא קָתָנֵי ״לֵילֵי״? לִישָּׁנָא מְעַלְּיָא הוּא דְּנָקֵט. וְכִדְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: לְעוֹלָם אַל יוֹצִיא אָדָם דָּבָר מְגוּנֶּה מִפִּיו, שֶׁהֲרֵי עִקֵּם הַכָּתוּב שְׁמוֹנֶה אוֹתִיּוֹת, וְלֹא הוֹצִיא דָּבָר מְגוּנֶּה מִפִּיו. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״מִן הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה וּמִן הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנָּה טְהֹרָה״. רַב פָּפָּא אָמַר: תֵּשַׁע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי יִהְיֶה בְךָ אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִהְיֶה טָהוֹר מִקְּרֵה לָיְלָה״. רָבִינָא אָמַר: עֶשֶׂר, וָיו דְּ״טָהוֹר״. רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב אָמַר: שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי אָמַר מִקְרֶה הוּא בִּלְתִּי טָהוֹר הוּא כִּי לֹא טָהוֹר״. תַּנְיָא דְּבֵי רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל: לְעוֹלָם יְסַפֵּר אָדָם בְּלָשׁוֹן נְקִיָּה, שֶׁהֲרֵי בַּזָּב קְרָאוֹ ״מֶרְכָּב״, וּבָאִשָּׁה קְרָאוֹ ״מוֹשָׁב״.
Come and hear another proof, as it was taught in the school of Shmuel: On the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan, one searches for leavened bread by candlelight. Apparently, or is evening, as this baraita replaces or with the word evening. It is clear from these proofs that the expression or in the mishna means the evening before the day. How, then, could the amora’im dispute whether it is referring to the morning or evening? Rather, the Gemara rejects its previous assumption with regard to the dispute, as everyone, both Rav Huna and Rav Yehuda, agrees that or is evening, and they do not disagree with regard to the halakha. However, this Master stated the halakha in accordance with the expression accepted in his place, and that Master stated the halakha in accordance with the expression accepted in his place. In Rav Huna’s place, they call the evening light, and in Rav Yehuda’s place they call it night, although both terms refer to the same period. The Gemara asks: And the tanna of our mishna, what is the reason that he didn’t explicitly teach: The night of the fourteenth, as it was taught in the school of Shmuel? The Gemara answers: He employed a euphemism. Since the tanna of our mishna did not want to mention darkness, he preferred the term or to refer to the night of the fourteenth. And this is in accordance with a statement of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. As Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A person should never express a crude matter, as the formulation of a verse was distorted by the addition of eight letters rather than have it express a crude matter, as it is stated: “From the pure animals and from the animals that are not pure [asher einena tehora]” (Genesis 7:8). To avoid using the Hebrew term for impure [teme’a], which is four letters: Tet, mem, alef, heh, the verse replaced the term with the euphemism meaning “that are not pure,” which is spelled with twelve letters: Alef, shin, reish; alef, yod, nun, nun, heh; tet, heh, reish, heh. Rav Pappa said: A different verse added nine letters, as it is stated: “If there be among you any man who is not ritually pure [asher lo yihye tahor] by reason of that which happened to him by night” (Deuteronomy 23:11). To avoid using the three-letter Hebrew word for impure, tameh, spelled tet, mem, alef, the verse employs the twelve-letter phrase “who is not ritually pure,” spelled: Alef, shin, reish; lamed, alef; yod, heh, yod, heh; tet, heh, reish. Ravina said: The verse actually adds ten letters because of the letter vav of the word tahor, as the word is spelled in its plene form. Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Yet another verse adds sixteen letters, as it is stated: “For he said, something has happened to him, he is not ritually pure; surely he is not ritually pure [bilti tahor hu ki lo tahor]” (I Samuel 20:26). To avoid using the three-letter word tameh, the verse employs the nineteen-letter phrase “he is not ritually pure; surely he is not ritually pure,” spelled: Beit, lamed, tav, yod; tet, heh, vav, reish; heh, vav, alef; kaf, yod; lamed, alef; tet, heh, vav, reish. Likewise, a baraita was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: A person should always converse euphemistically, as one finds in the following verses. The first: “And whichever saddle that the zav rides upon shall be ritually impure” (Leviticus 15:9), which discusses the impurity imparted by a zav to an object on which he sits, calls this action riding. And the verse: “And anyone who touches anything on which she sat” (Leviticus 15:22), which discusses the parallel ritual impurity of a woman, a zava, calls the action sitting. Since riding is slightly demeaning for a woman, as it involves an immodest splaying of the legs, the verse avoids the term riding and opts to convey the more modest image of sitting. And it says in another verse: “And you choose the language of the crafty” (Job 15:5), meaning that one should be clever when speaking and avoid inappropriate phrases. And it says in another verse: “My words shall utter the uprightness of my heart; and that which my lips know they shall speak sincerely” (Job 33:3).