32 August 1 • 2019
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Words Matter
S
ome of the laws in the Torah
still guide our lives today:
Think about eating matzah
during Passover or fasting on
Yom Kippur.
Many other laws from the
Torah are no longer appli-
cable: Think about all the
specific rules for sacrifices,
for example. And then there
are certain laws that may feel
quaint or like they represent
a different era … old ways of
doing things that might pro-
vide tremendous benefit if we
paid a little more attention.
I recall watching Jerry
Maguire, a movie in which
Tom Cruise’
s character trusts
another person rather than
requiring his signature on a
contract. After being duped, Maguire
expresses his dismay by saying, “I’
m
still sort of moved by your ‘
My word
is stronger than oak’
thing.”
In that moment, viewers realize
that Maguire was naïve; after all,
in this modern world of ours, who
would take someone at his word?
Who would risk a livelihood on a
handshake?
This week’
s Torah portion begins
with these words:
“Moses spoke to the heads of the
Israelite tribes, saying: ‘
This is what
the Eternal has commanded: If a
householder makes a vow to the
Eternal or takes an oath imposing an
obligation on himself, he shall not
break his pledge; he must carry out
all that has crossed his lips.”‘
In the world of Torah, words mat-
ter. Midrash teaches us that in the
very beginning, it was God’
s words
(“Let there be light …”) that created
the world. Speaking out loud has
the capacity to do more than simply
communicate; it has the capacity to
build, to heal, to destroy.
Our Torah portion asks us to think
before we speak, to use our words
intentionally and to follow our words
with actions. But we seem to live in
a world where the opposite is
true. Far worse than Maguire’
s
situation is the reality that
public dialogue has gotten
coarser and cruder.
Years ago, people started to
realize that the internet was
providing an opportunity to
write things in a vast public
forum that they may not have
done without hiding behind a
keyboard. But the internet was
only the vanguard.
Whether online or in per-
son, words have become cheap
and the very nature of truth
itself is under assault. How
can we expect our friends,
neighbors, co-workers, role models
or leaders to live up to their words
when we throw words around so
recklessly?
In a few short months, we will
arrive at our synagogues for Yom
Kippur. The powerful statement
of “Kol Nidre” has gotten Jews in
trouble in the past when others
have mistakenly taken it to mean
that a Jew’
s word does not matter. It
seems to say that we simply nullify
our vows when we don’
t live up to
them.
But we can only invoke “Kol
Nidre” after trying our hardest to
live up to our words. Only when we
take our vows seriously can we can
be forgiven for our failures.
Perhaps if we started to insist of
ourselves and those around us that we
“
carry out all that crosses our lips” we
might strengthen the foundation of
what makes our relationships — and
our society — successful. ■
Rabbi Mark Miller is senior rabbi at Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Township.
spirit
torah portion
Rabbi Mark
Miller
Parshat
Mattot/
Massei:
Numbers
30:2-36:13;
Jeremiah
2:4-28, 3:4.
MEL DRYMAN
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