Mattot


What we say matters.  It matters so much that there is a whole tractate in the Talmud on the import of the words that we speak.  
In this parasha there are two particular kinds of speech that are given attention.  The first is a neder.  A neder is a personal vow that we made to and for ourselves.  It may be that we make a neder to not eat bananas, or study Torah, or give tzedaka.  That neder is heard Above and God accounts it to us as if it were a contract.  That is why once a year we have a service called Kol Nidrei, which is about all the vows we said we would undertake but did not fulfill.  We beg God to forgive us for being unfaithful with our speech and promises.
The other kind of speech mentioned in Mattot is when we swear.  Swearing involves invoking the name of God and declaring that such and such is true (like in a court of law).  When we make such an oath (shavua, in Hebrew) we are bound by Heaven to carry it out.  Not fulfilling that oath is tantamount to breaking the commandment “You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.”
In our faith we understand that words create and break.  They must be used with great care for we are responsible for how we use them.


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As the people of Israel prepare to take hold of their national home, God sets forth the commandment to establish sanctuary cities throughout the land. (Num. 35) These cities are meant to be safe havens for people who have accidentally killed someone and who are fleeing from enraged relatives of the deceased and who are bent of exacting revenge for their loss.

The people protected within these sanctuary cities are not completely innocent. To murder is a sin. To commit a sin accidentally is also a sin, but of a different nature. But it, too, requires repentance and atonement. This has already been made clear in the books of Leviticus and Numbers.

Nevertheless, God’s vision of a just society – for we are only being given the land on condition that we act with justice and fairness – requires that we create sanctuary cities. These cities are not created to punish sinners. They are created to shield them from people who are obsessed with punishing sinners. (And they are not subject to sanctions by the government. They are mandated by God.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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