Transcript
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You would not believe what I learned
about paras matos.
This week's Torah portion opens with an
unusual phrase. God introduces the laws
of vows in the darim by saying zahar
which means this is the matter.
The sages point out that this wording is
unique. Almost every other biblical
prophet Na'vi introduces God's message
by saying something like so says God.
But regarding Moshe, it says
>> this is the matter Z. It's more
specific. What's the difference? So our
rabbis teach us that God communicated
his message to every prophet but not
necessarily the exact words that they
were to use in expressing it. Each
prophet expressed that message through
his own personality, vocabulary, and
perspective.
Think about asking two people the same
question. Is this person wealthy?
So person A who grew up with very little
might say, "Oh yeah, he's incredibly
rich." But somebody who is a millionaire
himself might say, "That other guy's
doing okay." The facts have not changed.
The people describing them have. And
that's how prophecy worked for every
other prophet. The message came from
God, but the prophet's own perspective
influenced the way that was expressed.
This is the explanation of Raviakov of
Kamki.
But Moshe was different. Jewish
tradition teaches that his prophecy was
so direct that he conveyed God's words
exactly as given
with no intervention.
It was as if the God's presence spoke
from Moshe himself. And that's the
deeper meaning here of Zahavar. When it
comes to Moses, this exactly is the
matter. These are God's exact words.
But here comes a question. Why does the
Torah teach us that here in the section
about vows, which is rather late in the
order of the Torah? Why wasn't this
taught earlier in the Torah?
Rabbi Yakov Kamineski,
Zatsal,
famous rabbi who happened to have been
the dear teacher of my own father,
offers a remarkable answer. A vow is
unusual because your own words can
create a new religious obligation. If
you make a valid vow, a nether not to
eat a particular food,
something that was perfectly permissible
and kosher a moment ago now becomes
forbidden to you. Your words create a
new spiritual reality. Which raises
something very interesting. If ordinary
people can create religious obligations
with their own words, maybe Moses
also contributed something of himself to
the Torah. Maybe his personality shaped
God's commandments.
And to avoid that understanding, the
Torah places this lesson here right in
this section where human speech has the
power to create new obligations. God
reminds us that the Torah itself is
different. Moshe never injected his own
opinions, personality, or style into
God's law. He transmitted it exactly as
given. Davar, this is the matter. And
that is why the lesson
of Moshe's pristine prophecy waits till
this portion of the Torah.
And this is a powerful reminder that
while our words can shape our own lives,
even with regard to religious
obligations, the Torah presents itself
as something completely different. It's
God's message faithfully transmitted
letter for letter, word for word through
Moses without any alteration.
Personally, this thought gives me great
confidence in keeping the Torah because
I know
that it is truly the word of God. Thank
you. Shabbat shalom. Good shabas.
