The Torah says, "If someone curses you, answer with the blessing, 'Peace be upon you.' . . ." Beyond responding quietly to negative speech, you are to go one step further and actually respond positively. We are told to offer blessings, which transform pain into healing. Just as it is a great mitzvah not to gossip or speak ill of others, it is an equal mitzvah to use language to bless. In fact, blessings are a daily, vital part of Jewish practice. You are to make blessings all day long; bless the food you eat, the people you interact with, sunsets, moments of beauty, even events like seeing someone you haven't seen for a while. Bless difficult times and situations, including the death or loss of a loved one. As you offer blessings you not only affirm the best in others, but bring the best out in them. What you bless increases and strengthens.

— Brenda Shoshanna in Jewish Dharma