Matos: The Science of Speech
Matos: The Science of Speech

Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein

The laws pertaining to vows are transmitted from Moshe to the nation in an unusual way. Instead of speaking directly to the masses, Moshe speaks to the heads of the tribes, the elders and wise men, in terse and succinct language. The elders will then transmit and explain these laws to Bnei Yisroel. Why do these laws merit this unusual protocol?  

Rabbi Sternbuch in A Voice in the Desert discusses these very questions. He understands that the Torah is trying to teach us the great power of each word of speech both by the limited use of words and by first teaching these laws to the leaders who best know their people and, after fully understanding these laws, will best be able to teach and clarify them to the rest of the nation in their appropriate idioms.

Through speech, one comes to sanctify the mundane. One can dedicate a possession for a holy purpose, or a specific item to be donated for tzedakah, or one can elevate one’s daily food to spiritual purposes through the recitation of a blessing. Conversely, as Rabbi Reiss points out, we can take something totally permissible and, through uttering some words, we can make it completely prohibited. For example, if someone says, “I will never again eat red meat,” red meat has the status of treif for him even if it is “glatt kosher”, and if he eats it, he has violated a Torah law.

When one realizes the extraordinary power of speech, one can fully appreciate the difference between mankind and beast, for it is only into Man that G-d blew into his nostrils the “soul of life,” transforming him into a “living being” that the Targum translates is “a speaking spirit.” It is speech that connects man’s inner world to the external world around him, to things, to other individuals, and to society as a whole. In other words, says Rav Reiss, Man, through his ability to speak, has tremendous potential toward holiness. As such, it behooves him “not to make his speech profane” or empty.

Rav Reiss cites Rav Chaim Vital in further developing the idea of the power of speech and offering a novel interpretation to the verse included in these laws, “He shall not violate his speech; all that comes out of his mouth shall he do.” Rav Reiss posits that if a person is truly careful with his speech, never speaking falsehood or failing to carry out that which he has spoken, then He, Hakodosh Boruch Hu Himself, will not violate his speech nor make it empty words, but will fulfill all that this righteous man has spoken. Man’s words are not empty. They have both the power to build and to destroy.

In order to understand the power of speech, one must appreciate the purpose of speech. The entire purpose of our people (Isaiah 43) and indeed of all creation was to sing praises to Hashem. As such, says the Netivot Shalom, the human mouth is meant to be a sacred vessel of purity and service to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Our blessings to Hashem, our Torah learning, even our speech around the Shabbos table all constitute using our mouth as a vehicle with which to serve Hashem. Therefore one must treat one’s mouth and one’s speech with the respect due it, as one would treat any other sacred object. One must not treat one’s speech lightly and certainly not profanely. Even the speech of everyday living must always be truthful, must remain meaningful, never flippant or extraneous. Our speech is always powerful, for even when we do not intend it to, it has the power to create or destroy worlds, to create angels who carry out all that our lips have spoken. In today’s vernacular, our words have the ability to create positive energy or negative energy. It is all in the power of the tongue. It is for this reason that all our words are recorded on high and played back to us on our day of judgment.

Rabbi Friefeld in Rabbi Friefeld Speaks brings yet another dimension to our discussion. He cites the Gemarrah that states (Nazir 23b), “The Holy Blessed One does not begrudge anything, not even the reward for pleasant conversation.” Rabbi Friefeld is puzzled by the term “pleasant conversation”. Surely this could not refer to Torah learning or other mitzvoth we have been specifically commanded. He therefore concludes that this phrase must refer to casual conversation which must also be pleasant.

Our entire purpose in this world, continues Rabbi Friefeld, is based on recognizing the divinity of the Almighty within creation. This recognition forms the very basis of Jewish life, for we are commanded to emulate His ways. While we are aware of many of Hashem’s attributes and try to be merciful and compassionate, for example, one attribute may seem elusive. We say in our prayers, “Ve’atah mechayeh es kulam, and You give them all life.” It is Hashem’s constant life force emanating from His Being through which the entire world is sustained. If G-d should withhold this life force even for a moment, the entire world would cease to exist.

So how are we to emulate Hashem in this regard? While we may create life by giving birth to a child, while many of us may donate blood and some of us may merit being marrow or kidney donors and thus help sustain life, there are other less invasive ways that we can still emulate Hashem and be builders and sustainers of His creations, and on a more consistent basis. With words we can build confidence in someone struggling in life; with a pleasant and warm thank you, especially if we mention the name on the ID tag, we can validate the existence of the salesperson trying his best to help us. This too is breathing life into those who may have had their breath knocked out of them.

The people who are in the best position to transmit the message of the power of speech are the leaders, the “super parents” within the tribes and the communities. They usually already know how to speak pleasantly, but often they must retrain themselves to speak truthfully, not to make empty promises that they have no intention of fulfilling. And so Moshe taught the leaders first how to be role models for others so that they would be the standard bearers of truthful and pleasant speech.

The Ohr Doniel offers a cogent metaphor for opening one’s mouth to speak. He tells us to imagine someone using the remote to open his car doors. He can now get behind the wheel of his car and enter all kinds of realities. But he must exercise caution, he must buckle his shoulder harness and lap restraint, for driving can be dangerous. In the same way, says the Ohr Doniel, we must exercise caution and restraint when we open our lips and put our mouth into gear, for danger lurks at every turn even though we may be planning on traveling a scenic route.

We are now in the middle of the three weeks of mourning the destruction of the Holy Temple. Our sacred and comforting second Temple was destroyed due to baseless hatred, the root of evil speech about our fellow man. When we recognize the sacred nature of speech, we will train ourselves and our children to be restrained in our speech, to speak only truth, and to speak only pleasantly, and thus to create the positive angels that have the ability to create the positive change in the world that will bring us peace, salvation, and a rebuilt sanctuary.