If a man vows a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Bemidbar / Numbers 30:3
Our teacher, the S’fat Emet,1 begins his reflection on this verse by quoting the great medieval biblical commentator Rashi who says, “One should not make one’s words ordinary”, using the Hebrew “chol” which is the contrast to the word “kodesh/holy”. The S’fat Emet explains the necessity of Rashi’s words by asserting that the power of holiness is inherent in the power of speech and was acquired by the Israelites through their engagement with Torah through forty years in the wilderness with Moshe as their teacher. Our teacher also notes that this passage comes in the wake of the lengthy description of sacrifices brought in the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem concluding this observation by citing the Talmudic statement, “… one who engages in words of Torah is equivalent to one who brought near an offering” or uttered words of prayer, the replacement for sacrifice following the destruction of the Temple, again emphasizing the holiness of words.
Since we do take words seriously, we expect that when someone promises that they are going to do something, we rightfully expect them to keep their word. If they fail to do so, what words do we use to describe their behavior? Dishonest? Deceitful? Corrupt? Insincere? The Torah describes it as a “desecration” of their word.
The incredible sanctity of words should inform all aspects of our speech, treating every articulation with the seriousness of the vows being discussed here in our Torah portion. I am reminded of the movie The Freshman featuring a young Matthew Broderick as a college freshman and Marlon Brando as a mafia don in which the character played by Broderick asks, “Is that a promise, sir?” to which Brando responds, “By definition, everything I say is a promise.”
The S’fat Emet asserts that the Torah is giving us an entirely different perspective on our power of speech. Speech is associated with our highest level of spirituality, an instrument of sanctity, with the potential to imbue holiness into every word that we utter.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
1 Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (April 1847 – 11 January 1905), was known as the S’fat Emet, the title of his collected works, including a commentary to the weekly Torah portion, discourses on the Talmud, ethical aspects of the midrash, and even elements of Jewish mysticism. Rabbi Alter was a Hasidic rabbi who succeeded his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir, as the head of the rabbinical court and Rav of Gora Kalwaria, Poland, more well known in Jewish circles as the town of Ger. Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib would eventually ascend to be the Rebbe of the Gerrer Hasidim.
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