Tammuz 28, 5784 / August 2-3, 2024
Parashat Mattot-Mas’ei
Torah: Numbers 30:2-36:13 (Chazak!)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4 (Ashkenazim); Jeremiah 2:4-28, 4:1-2 (Sephardim)
(Second Haftarah of Admonition
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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah
and a speedy and safe return of all the hostages being held by Hamas.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been
wounded in the terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as
well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and
Facebook Live. On August 5, we'll be at BT
Chagigah 5a, page 6 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 3:
"... רבי יחנן כי מטי להאי קרא בכי והיה כי תמצאן"
"When R. Jochanan came to the following verse, he wept And it shall come to pass ..."
Volume 3 of Ein Ya'akov is now available and downloadable
on Google drive at:
NOTE: After August 5, Lunch and Learn will not meet until September 9.
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Please pass this on to a friend - and please cite the source.
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KOSHER WORDS, KOSHER THINGS
"If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath prohibiting something
to himself, he shall not profane his word; all that has come from his mouth he
must do." Numbers 30:3
”Any articles that can withstand fire, you shall pass through the fire,
and they shall be pure, except that they shall be purified with the water of
sprinkling (water imbued with red heifer ashes); and that which cannot
withstand fire you shall pass through the water." Numbers 31:23
Vows and oaths have extraordinary power - they can turn ordinary objects into
things of holiness or prohibition. "I hereby vow to donate this silver cup
to the synagogue"; "By my oath, I will not eat meat for six
months" - these words have transformative effect over mundane things. This
is why Jewish tradition frowns on the recitation of vows and oaths.
Kashering a Metal Sink with Fire
Changing the (ritual) nature of objects is accomplished either by words,
according to the first verse, or by kashering, making them fit to use, as
stated in the later verse. What about the converse? What happens
if you profane your word?
If an object is kosher, and is used only for kosher purposes, it remains
kosher. If it is defiled, it requires an elaborate process of kashering.
Similarly, if you want to retract a vow, the rabbis devised a ritual for doing
so. If you have already violated your word, you must do teshuvah - the steps of
repentance. Just as it is far easier to maintain the kashrut of an object
by not defiling it, so is it easier to maintain the purity of our words by
fulfilling them (or not uttering them in the first place!).
So perhaps it is not coincidental that the Hebrew word for "things"
and the Hebrew word for "words" is the same word - "devarim". Our
words have meaning and power that are tangible. Be a person of
your word.
Peace and blessings. Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom - Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו כולנו יחד בברכת אחוה, ובברכת אהבה, ובברכת שלום
May the Merciful One bless us, all of us as one, with the
blessing of brotherhood, the blessing of love, and the blessing of peace.
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