(לח) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר בִּלְעָ֜ם אֶל־בָּלָ֗ק הִֽנֵּה־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ עַתָּ֕ה הֲיָכ֥וֹל אוּכַ֖ל דַּבֵּ֣ר מְא֑וּמָה הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָשִׂ֧ים אֱלֹהִ֛ים בְּפִ֖י אֹת֥וֹ אֲדַבֵּֽר׃
(38) But Balaam said to Balak, “And now that I have come to you, have I the power to speak freely? I can utter only the word that God puts into my mouth.”
What do we learn from the Torah portion from 2 weeks ago?
(ג) אִישׁ֩ כִּֽי־יִדֹּ֨ר נֶ֜דֶר לַֽיהוָ֗ה אֽוֹ־הִשָּׁ֤בַע שְׁבֻעָה֙ לֶאְסֹ֤ר אִסָּר֙ עַל־נַפְשׁ֔וֹ לֹ֥א יַחֵ֖ל דְּבָר֑וֹ כְּכָל־הַיֹּצֵ֥א מִפִּ֖יו יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
(3) If a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips.
What's the difference 8 chapters later? What do we learn?
Balaam is only able to say the words God tells him to say.
"Moses offers a contrasting message with respect to the power of speech; he teaches Israel through their tribal leaders: you are free to speak, indeed to vow, to take an oath, to make a promise. However, your word is your bond! Freedom does not imply irresponsibility; you must intend to live up to any pledge even as you verbalize it...." (Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, Voices of Torah. 2003, p. 448-449.)
"Moses offers a contrasting message with respect to the power of speech; he teaches Israel through their tribal leaders: you are free to speak, indeed to vow, to take an oath, to make a promise. However, your word is your bond! Freedom does not imply irresponsibility; you must intend to live up to any pledge even as you verbalize it...." (Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, Voices of Torah. 2003, p. 448-449.)
What do we take away from this lesson?
In Mishkan T'filah, our prayer book, on page 139, we have a reading in which we acknowledge the amazing things God brings to our lives. The reading ends by saying:
"We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds." (adapted from Eugene Picket)
How does this relate to the text in our Torah portion?
"We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds." (adapted from Eugene Picket)
How does this relate to the text in our Torah portion?
On this Shabbat, may we take time to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk. May we use the words we say to propel us towards positive action and warmth towards others.