Holy Power Of Speech

בענין הנדרים ושבועות דכתיב לא יחל דברו לא יעשה דבריו חולין מכלל שכח הדיבור קודש והוא כח הפה שזכו בנ"י בכח התורה

Regarding nedarim (vows) and shevuos (oaths), of which it is written, "He shall not profane his word" (Bamidbar 30:3) — that he shall not render his words chol (mundane) — we learn from this that the power of speech is holy; and this is the power of the mouth that Bnei Yisrael merited through the power of the Torah.

The Torah's warning not to profane one's vow teaches that speech itself is holy. Bnei Yisrael acquired this sanctified power of the mouth through the Torah.

וכל מ' שנה שעסק עמהם משה רבינו ע"ה בתורה קבע בהם כח הקול ולשון הקודש

And throughout all the forty years that Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, occupied himself with them in Torah, he implanted within them the power of the voice and of lashon hakodesh (the holy tongue).

Over the forty years of teaching Torah in the wilderness, Moshe Rabbeinu embedded within Bnei Yisrael the holy power of voice and lashon hakodesh.

לכן צוה להם על שמירת הדיבור

Therefore he commanded them concerning the guarding of speech.

Because their speech was now infused with kedushah, Moshe commanded them to guard it carefully through the laws of vows and oaths.

ונסמכה הפרשה לתמידין ומוספין להיות התפלות במקום תמידין כמ"ש ונשלמה פרים שפתינו

And this parsha was placed adjacent to the tamidin and musafin (the daily and additional korbanos), so that the tefillos would stand in place of the tamidin, as it is written, "Let us render in place of bulls the offering of our lips" (Hoshea 14:3).

The parsha of vows sits next to the laws of korbanos to teach that tefillah, which is the avodah of the mouth, takes the place of the daily and additional offerings.

וזהו בכח פיהם של ישראל כמו הראשונים שהתפללו בשם והי' ניתקן ע"י התפלה שיודעין איך להתפלל בשם הי' זה עצמו תיקון הקרבן

And this comes about through the power of the mouth of Bnei Yisrael, just like the earlier ones who davened with the Sheim (the Divine Name); the rectification was effected through the tefillah, for when they know how to daven with the Name of Hashem, this very thing is the tikkun (rectification) of the korban.

When Bnei Yisrael daven properly, invoking Hashem's Name as the early tzaddikim did, their words of tefillah accomplish the very same rectification that a korban would.

וז"ש ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה וכמו כן בתורה כמ"ש זאת התורה לעולה כו' העוסק כאלו הקריב כו'

And this is what is meant by "According to all that issues from his mouth he shall do" (Bamidbar 30:3); and so too in Torah, as it is written, "This is the Torah of the olah (burnt-offering)…" (Vayikra 6:2) — one who occupies himself with it is as though he had offered the korban.

Just as 'whatever issues from his mouth' obligates a person regarding vows, so too learning the Torah of a korban is counted as if one actually offered it — both are the avodah of the mouth.

וזה הקול קול יעקב קול בתורה קול בתפלה

And this is "the voice is the voice of Yaakov" (Bereishis 27:22) — the voice in Torah, the voice in tefillah.

The 'voice of Yaakov' refers to this sacred power of speech, expressed both in learning Torah and in davening.

וזה הקול הי' בחי' נחלה בלי מצרים נחלת יעקב והוא בחי' חירות ולכן נקבע פרשה זו בין המצרים שע"י בחי' הקול יכולין לצאת מן המיצר כמ"ש מן המיצר קראתי

And this voice was the aspect of a nachalah without boundaries, the inheritance of Yaakov; and it is the aspect of cheirus (freedom), and therefore this parsha was fixed within the period of Bein HaMetzarim (between the straits), for through the aspect of the voice one is able to go out from the meitzar (the narrow straits), as it is written, "From the straits I called out" (Tehillim 118:5).

This power of the voice is a boundless inheritance and a form of freedom; that is why the laws of vows fall during Bein HaMetzarim, for the voice lets a person break out of his narrow straits.

וז"ש שיהיו נודרין בעת צרה

And this is what is meant, that they should make their nedarim in a time of distress.

This explains the practice of making vows specifically in times of trouble — the power of holy speech is the tool of salvation.

לכן בין המצרים צריכין להתחזק בתורה ותפלה

Therefore, during Bein HaMetzarim one must strengthen himself in Torah and tefillah.

Practically, the days of Bein HaMetzarim call for a person to fortify himself precisely through Torah and tefillah, the avodah of the mouth.

ונתן להם מרע"ה פרשה זו בסוף מ' שנה שזכו לכח הפה בשלימות

And Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, gave them this parsha at the end of the forty years, when they had merited the power of the mouth in its completeness.

Moshe gave this parsha only at the close of the forty years, once Bnei Yisrael had fully attained the perfected power of speech.

וזהו תכלית האדם כמאמר כל עמל האדם לפיהו לתקן כח הפה ואז יש בידו כח החירות להיות נושע בעת צרה

And this is the ultimate purpose of man, as the saying goes, "All of man's toil is for his mouth" (Koheles 6:7) — to rectify the power of the mouth; and then he has in his hand the power of cheirus, to be saved in a time of distress.

Man's entire purpose is to refine his power of speech; once he does, he holds in his hand the freedom that brings rescue in times of distress.

וכמו כן בשבת שנקרא נחלה בלי מצרים לפי שבו נפתח כח הפה כמ"ש ודבר דבר שלא יהי' דבורך בשבת כדבורך בחול והטעם לפי שבו יש נשמה יתירה ונתחזק כח הפה כמ"ש ויפח באפיו ויהי לנפש חיה לרוח ממללא וע"י קדושת הנשמה נפתח כח הפה:

And so too on Shabbos, which is called a nachalah without boundaries, because on it the power of the mouth is opened, as it is written, "and speaking a word" (Yeshayah 58:13) — that your speech on Shabbos should not be like your speech during the week; and the reason is that on it there is a neshamah yeseirah (an additional soul), and the power of the mouth is strengthened, as it is written, "and He breathed into his nostrils… and man became a living soul" (Bereishis 2:7) — which Onkelos renders as "a speaking spirit"; and through the kedushah of the neshamah the power of the mouth is opened.

Shabbos is likewise a boundless inheritance, because the neshamah yeseirah strengthens and opens the holy power of the mouth — the very 'speaking spirit' Hashem breathed into man.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the laws of nedarim and shevuos reveal that the power of speech is intrinsically holy, a gift Bnei Yisrael acquired through the forty years Moshe Rabbeinu implanted Torah and lashon hakodesh within them. This sacred 'voice of Yaakov' expresses itself in both Torah and tefillah, which is why davening stands in place of the korbanos and learning the Torah of an offering is reckoned as having offered it. This boundless power of the mouth is itself a form of cheirus, enabling a person to break out of his narrow straits — and so the parsha is fixed within Bein HaMetzarim, the very season when one must strengthen himself in Torah and tefillah to be saved in times of distress. The ultimate purpose of man is to rectify this power of speech. Shabbos shares this quality of a boundless inheritance, for its neshamah yeseirah opens and strengthens the holy power of the mouth that Hashem breathed into man as a 'speaking spirit.'