By: Yisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
The Sefat Emet teaches on the verse in this week’s parashah:
“…You shall not make your words commonplace; whatever your lips utter, you shall fulfill.”
He explains that this verse refers to two levels of speech.
- “Commonplace words” are words that possess no inherent holiness—words that do not truly bind the speaker.
- “Whatever your lips utter, you shall fulfill” refers to a higher level of speech: words that emerge from the depths of the heart and reflect a person’s innermost being.
Such speech obligates the speaker to translate those words into action.
To these words of the Sefat Emet, the Chalban adds a profound insight.
He writes:
A mitzvat aseh (positive commandment) represents absolute truth.
A mitzvat lo ta’aseh (negative commandment) represents absolute falsehood.
But the realm in between—actions that are inherently “neutral”—can, through a vow (neder), acquire the status of either a commandment or a prohibition.
A vow reveals the way you view the world—the way you perceive the world that Hashem created.
If you regard something as good, you can pledge to attach yourself to it and use it as a means of drawing closer to Hashem.
If you regard something as harmful, you can pledge to distance yourself from it; in your world, it becomes something to be avoided.
Everything that is “neutral” depends on how we choose to use it in our relationship with Hashem.
May we be granted the strength to rise above ordinary speech, to bring our words into harmony with our inner truth, and to view the world with a positive and elevated perspective.
Through this, may we merit the final redemption.
