If you were asked "What entity in the world brings the most joy" - how would you respond? If we were to take a poll of the answers, there might be as many different responses as there are participants. I can imagine someone answering that his pet pooch "Bowser" brings the most happiness. One clever rabbi once lectured on this topic and gave a very direct reply he said, "Children, by far, bring the most happiness." Then he did a 180 and in the same breath proclaimed, "and they cause the most pain!"

Provocative? Do you agree? How can something like children afford comfort and pain at the same time?

The Talmud posed a similar challenge. One sage asked his assistant to go out into the market- place and bring him something tasty. The dutiful servant returned shortly with roasted tongue and mustard. Then the rabbi asked him to return and find the most repugnant and detestable item in the marketplace. The assistant went out and returned to the master with roasted tongue and mustard. Whereupon the intrigued rabbi asked "Why did you fetch the same item to my opposite requests?" Without missing a beat the wise servant retorted, "When one prepares tongue correctly no delicacy can compare to its delectable taste. But when it is cooked improperly it is absolutely the worst tasting thing in the world." The Talmud uses this anecdote to punctuate the power of the spoken word - it can bring either the greatest pleasure or the most pain.