Torah Thoughts on Parshas Matos-Masei by Rabbi Donny Schwartz
"אִישׁ כִּי יִדֹר נֶדֶר לַה'...לֹא יַחֵל דְבָרוֹ כְּכָל הַיֹצֵא מִפִּיו יַעֲשֶׂה" בְּמִדְבַּר ל':ג'
“If a man takes a vow to God...he shall not profane his word; according to whatever comes from his mouth shall he do.” BeMidbar 30:3
As we look back at Sefer BeMidbar as a whole, we can detect a message that it is trying to impart. The personalities we encounter are able to find their unique contribution to the Klal and their place in the Torah. On the positive side we have Bnos Tzlafchad, who, after claiming “Why should we lose out?”, were able to have an impact on the laws of inheritance, and Pinchas, who was able to earn the covenant of the Kehunah through taking action. On the negative side, we have Korach, who, through an argument which was misguided and not for the sake of Heaven, brought horrible tragedy to Klal Yisrael. In all these scenarios, we see a theme of Bnei Yisrael learning their unique role within the community, and that their actions make a difference. In the closing parashios of Sefer BeMidbar there is a lesson of the importance of speech and the impact it can have as we try to make our mark in this world.
The Otzros HaTorah cites the Chidah in the name of his grandfather, who says that every word that a person says for a mitzvah creates a holy angel, and if it is for the opposite he creates a “destructive” angel. Idle chatter creates an angel of passivity and waste. The Tefillah and the Torah that a person articulates breaks through the heavens and goes straight up to shomayim. The negative speech goes up to a place of impurity and remains there until great work is done to retrieve it. As it says in the Zohar, in Parashas Shelach, “Every word that leaves a person’s mouth goes up, whether it is good or bad.” Rav Chaim Vital explains that everything that a person says is a direct external expression of his soul. He brings a comment from HaRav Shimon Tirno on our verse: "לֹא יָחֵלֹ דְבָרוֹ" – a person should not make his speech unholy, for every word which he utters shall have an effect. Everything that leaves his mouth (whether good or bad) makes a difference.
As we know, the ultimate speech is the speech of Hashem. The world was created through Hashem’s “speaking” it into existence. The ultimate and highest level of speech is that which builds and creates, and this is why the world was spoken into existence. It is also noteworthy that the Hebrew word for speech is "דִבּוּר", which is the same shoresh as "דָבָר", the word for “thing”, something that actually takes shape and manifests in the physical world.
How fitting is it that as we end Sefer BeMidbar we are reminded and sensitized to the importance of the words that we say. Let us all merit that as we try to make our mark in the world we utilize our speech in the greatest way possible to build the world and make a positive difference wherever we can.
Rabbi Donny Schwartz (FYHS 1998) continued his learning at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh. He received Semichah from HaRav Zalman Nechemya Goldberg, זצ''ל, & a Master's of Education & Administration at Loyola University Chicago. Since 2002, he has served in various positions in Midwest NCSY, was instrumental in launching NCSY's public high school outreach initiative, & was Program Director for NCSY’s summer program in Israel. Rabbi Schwartz has been Regional Director of Midwest NCSY for the past 10 years.
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