Matot-Masei: How Could Sticks or Stones Ever Compare to That?

It may seem like a million years away to you, but for those of us doing a lot of the prep work, the High Holidays feel just around the corner. The summer is prime time for writing sermons, planning out services, preparing readings, and picking tunes. And it was in the middle of outlining the High Holiday services that I discovered an interesting link to this week's Torah reading. It has to do with the power of speech.

We are all familiar with the children's rhyme, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!" Well, I'm going to take a scandalous position here, and say that I think the kids have it all wrong. Based on what we read about at the end of the Book of Numbers, I think it should probably be restated as, "Sticks and stones only break my bones, while words can truly hurt me." In the long run, most of us know that physical wounds heal, but malicious slander and verbal abuse often cut so much deeper, and take longer to repair... if at all.

Our Torah reading begins by talking about people who make vows

or oaths to God, and how they must always keep them. This is what reminded me of the High Holidays, because the famous opening of the Yom Kippur evening service is "Kol Nidrei," which basically talks about the nullification of vows and oaths. This seems foreign and irrelevant to us today, because vowing and taking God's name as witness to our promises is not common practice. However, as the parasha continues, we see that there is more to it than just a simple vow or oath.

Further along in the reading, we also learn about the promises made by Israelite tribes to fight on behalf of one another. This leads us to contemplate honor and loyalty, and what it means to give your word to someone else, especially in times of war and hardship. Finally, our reading ends with the establishment of Cities of Refuge, where people can

go if they have accidentally killed someone. This sounds odd, but the Torah is worried about blood feuds, where one family swears to avenge a slain relative, and then the enemy-family makes a similar declaration, and pretty soon entire clans are wiped out. Once again, we return to the issue of honor and code, and the power of the spoken word.

Later on in the summer, I would like to write more about the power of

prayer. For now, I think we can acknowledge the lesson of our Torah portion, which is that words work. Whether uttered in anger, love, support, or spite; or whether mumbled quietly to oneself or shouted from mountain tops seeking a response from God - we are able to change ourselves and the people around us using only the words that come out of our mouths.

At the beginning of the Amidah - a series of prayers recited three times a day - we silently declare to ourselves, to God, and to anyone standing close enough to listen: "Open my mouth, O Lord, and my lips will proclaim Your praise." Every time we speak, we have the power to inspire or to injure, to help or to harm. How could sticks or stones ever compare to that?