Silence is Golden

Shavua Tov-

Parshat מטות begins with a discussion about vows and their nullification. The Torah says, ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה, that one must fulfill whatever comes out of his mouth.

Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira was very careful with the use of speech. He regularly took upon himself a תענית דיבור, a fast on speech. He realized and conveyed to his students, how dangerous the misuse of speech can be.

He took the Pasuk just quoted to mean that ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה, is actually speaking of Hashem. That if one is careful with his speech and makes sure that nothing profane comes out of his mouth, anything he asks of Hashem will be granted.

It is told that Rav Elazar’s father, Baba Meir, and his grandfather, the Baba Sali, once went to the funeral of a simple Jew. People were surprised to see these holy rabbis at this particular funeral.

They explained that they were paying tribute to a man they had known for many decades, and they were impressed that he never said an unnecessary word. He was deserving of such respect.

In Pirkei Avot, Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel testified that all his life he grew up among Torah scholars and he never saw anything better than silence. These scholars were careful not to speak Lashon Hara, profanity, or speak in a degrading way about others. This is what we must work on as well.