Written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis
(based on a derasha Leil Shabbos Matos - Maasei
from HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita,
Ravad of Yerushalayim)
Short and to the Point
Generally the Torah introduces a statement, "And Hashem said to Moshe…". In Parshas Matos we find a deviation form this pattern. The Torah writes "And Moshe spoke to the heads of the Matos (tribes) saying..." What is the reason for this change in phrasing?
The pasuk continues, " …this is what you should tell the Jewish people..." In other sections the Torah merely states the concept without this introductory phrase, " This is what…". What justifies adding these words in this parshah?
Most of the Torah was taught to Moshe Rabbeinu in a brief form, and then taught to the rest of Klal Yisrael in a more elaborated version. Parshas Nedarim differs from the rest of the Torah in two ways. Moshe Rabbeinu told it directly to the leaders of Klal Yisrael, and relayed the parshah in the condensed form that he had heard it directly from Hashem.
The Parshah of Nedarim comes to teach us the great power of speech that we have been endowed with. A simple object can be sanctified with kedusha merely by uttering a few words. By saying "This is like a korban" we can even give an object the status of hekdesh.
Similarly, Jewish mouths should be sanctified with words of Torah and Tefilah. Someone who pollutes his speech with lashon hara and other verbal transgressions is destroying this holy gift. His Torah will not affect him and his tefilos will not be accepted by Hashem.
"Life and death are regulated by the tongue". Our Sages revealed to us that eternal life in the next world, or conversely spending the rest of eternity in oblivion depends on how one uses his faculties of speech. Shlomo HaMelech drove this lesson home when he said "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, spares himself from devastating punishment."
For this reason Parshas Nedarim is written differently than the rest of the Torah. By using the exact concise wording that Hashem had relayed it to Moshe Rabbeinu, Hashem wished to convey how carefully one must deal with the power of the tongue involving Nedarim and all speech related areas. Each word must be weighed prudently lest the wrong word slip out and wreck havoc in the world.
This is why the Torah introduces Nedarim with the words, "This is what Hashem said…" Unlike other parshos which were altered for the sake of clarity and explanation, the Torah used the exact wording to relay this section. This choice of brevity comes to stress how careful one must be when choosing words in any setting.
After the above explanation we can understand why the section of Nedarim had to be taught directly to the leaders of Klal Yisrael. Only great Torah scholars ar capable of fathoming the terse version and then accurately communicating it to the rest of the Jewish people. After they had sufficiently absorbed this section they could teach it to the rest of the Jewish people in their own words.
We should learn from the terse nature of the parsha of Nedarim and apply it to our everyday speech. Great precaution must be exercised when selecting each word that leaves our mouths. Guarding our tongues in this manner will help us to avoid the many speech related transgressions that can easily creep their way into our conversations.
The Final Accounting
On one hand the parsha of Nedarim was written succinctly to teach us how much we have to weigh every word. However at the same time the Torah elaborates on these halachos to teach us how stringent they are. The final judgment on one's speech is from the most arduous aspects of our final din.
Rav Yitzcka Blauzer transcribed the works of his Rebbi Rav Yisrael Slanter, and was one of Rav Yisrael's most famous students. After Rav Yitzchak Blauzer's death, he came to his colleague Rav Chaim Berlin in a dream. Rav Yitzchak reveled to him that while all of the judgments in the next world are difficult, that of speech related sins is amongst the hardest.
Doing teshuva on these transgressions during one's lifetime is no easy task. Constant repetition makes these aveiros almost an inseparable part of our personalities. Only with great effort can we dissect these words from our conversations.
Our Sages teach us that a person is judged on all of his words. Even the simple conversations that he had with his spouses will be included in his final reckoning. Every word needs to be accounted for.
In the past century technology has brought us an array of new gadgets which can transmit and record our words. The Chafetz Chaim noted that these inventions are meant to teach us the great surveillance that takes place on our speech. When the day of din comes all of our words will be played back to us.
The Zohar describes just what this moment will be like. After listening to the words that we said we will beg, "Please give me another opportunity!" The Heavenly Assembly will reply, "Whoever made the effort in their lifetime will reap the reward in the world to come."
How can we guard our tongues successfully? Learning the halachos of Lashon Hara from the sefer Chefetz Chaim certainly has a major impact on the way one speaks. The previous Ger Rebbi, Rav Avraham Mordehai testified on himself that he could feel the effects of one day that he did not learn the halachos of Lashon Hara.
The Nine Days
During the Nine Days, when we make an effort to mourn the Beis Hamikdash, we must be especially careful to guard our tongues. Senseless hatred which expressed itself as lashon hara was one of the main causes of the Temple's destruction. Every generation that the mikdash is not rebuilt, is held accountable as if they had propagated its ruin.
Rav Shternbuch remembers as a bachur in yeshiva, what the Nine Days looked like. Talmidim would fall onto the floor crying over the great loss they felt that the mikdash has not been rebuilt. What a moving sight it was to see such a heartfelt expression of mourning!
Churban Hamikdash means that the Shechinah has left us. Our mourning during these times brings the shechnah back and will eventually lead to the rebuilding of the Temple. May we see the fulfillment soon of what Chazal promised, "All those who mourn the destruction of the Mikdash will merit to experience the joy of its rebuilding.
Protest in Yerushalayim
In a derasha about speech, we cannot ignore the chain of events that has taken place here in Yerushalayim during the past weeks. The authorities have acted atrociously to members of the religious community, treating them as sub humans and animals. One is forbidden to remain quiet while such atrocities take place around us.
Lest we ask what will it help if I protest. Rav Shternbuch Rebbi, the famed Gaon Rav Yiyzchak Zev the Rav oof Brisk offers the following answer. We must internalize his words and recognize that they are halacha lma'aseh during these times/
The Medrash says that when Pharoh decided to sunjagate Klal Yisrael he spoke the issue over with three of his advisers. Billam consented, Yisro fled, and Eyov was quiet. Because Eyov was silent he was tortured with great affliction.
The Brisker Rav asks, why are yesurim considered an appropriate punishment for silence? When a person feels he is being tortured, he screams. Even though his yelling does not help, since he feels excruciating pain he screams. So too when we see chilul Hashem chas vashalom, we too must scream and express our pain.
When we see or hear about the events that the police and authorities performed in the holy city of Yerushalayim, we must feel that the full force of the churban is being felt. We must make our voices heard and show Hashem how much pain we feel. This will arouse Divine mercy and bring an end to their leadership.
However as much as we feel pain one thing is clear. Acting with violence is lowering ourselves to their level and accomplishes nothing. We must make our voices heard while at the same time maintain our dignity. In this way we are standing up for the truth and at the same time sanctifying Hashem's name.
