When we look at the beginning of the Torah we see a phenomenon, something that took place when the world was created, that has to be explained. Because when describing Maaseh Bereishis, the Creation of the World, the Torah could have stated very simply that ‘in the beginning Elokim created heaven and earth’, and finished. That’s what it does state but those words should have been enough.
But what do we see? יםƒ ֹ̃לו¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו – Hashem begins to speak; not that He merely willed the universe into existence. He said words: יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו רֹו‡ יƒה¿י – Hashem said, “Let there be light.” יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו ַיﬠƒ ָ̃ר יƒה¿י – Hashem said, “Let there be a firmament.” And so on. He said and He said and He said. He created by means of words.
Now, the truth is if you look in the peirush of Rav Saadya Gaon he translates Vayomer Hashem, not as ‘Hashem spoke.’ He translates it ‘Shaah Allah’ in Arabic, which means ‘Hashem willed it’; He desired it and it came into existence.
But the fact is that the Torah tells us how He expressed His will. It says black on white that He spoke words. That’s what’s written in the Torah again and again: “He said.” And we have to understand that it’s not merely a figure of speech, an idiomatic expression; there was actually an utterance. Like it states in Tehillim (33:6), 'ה רַב¿„ ּƒב ּוׂ ֲ̆ﬠַנ םƒיַמָׁ ̆ – by the word of Hashem the heavens were made. And you might think ‘word’ means a thought; so it continues םָ‡ָב¿ˆ לָּכ יוּƒפ ַחּרו¿בּו – by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. The breath of His mouth! It means all their hosts were made by means of Hashem speaking words. So the Torah is emphasizing that something was said at that time.
Mysterious Words
Now I'm not able to tell you what that speech consisted of but whatever it was, the Torah says it was a word and that word created all the heavens; and then the earth and then the light and one step after another step everything was accompanied by words. ‡ׁ∆ ּ̆∆„ ı∆רָ‡ָה ‡ׁ≈ ̆¿„ַּ ̇ יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו – Hashem said, ‘The earth should sprout forth grasses (ibid. 1:11). םƒיַּמַהּוˆ¿רׁ¿ ̆ƒי יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו – Hashem said, ‘Let the waters be filled with living creatures’ (ibid. 1:20). There was a series of dicta, of commands, of words that the Creator said.
Now, that’s a puzzle because was anybody around to hear these words? There were no eardrums available yet; there were no listeners! Isn't that a good question? So why did Hashem have to say? Let Him just will it into existence and finished.
Now I'm not going into the mysteries of this concept. Perhaps some other time we could discuss it but right now we're interested only in the externality of this procedure – it was done by words. And that has to be explained.
Words for Consumption
Now, first we must get into our heads an important principle. If you want to understand anything about our holy books, the kisvei hakodesh, you must first consult a principle of the Rambam. He states it in Moreh Nevuchim and also in Yad Hachazakah: Whatever is said about Hakadosh Baruch Hu is only said for human consumption. It's only said for our ears to hear because to actually speak about Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself would be impossible. Any words used would be an entirely different language that no human being ever spoke. We wouldn’t understand it.
Can you speak to a blind man about colors? Here's a man born blind and you're an eloquent orator and you're describing to him how beautiful this red flower is. And you go into raptures over the tints and the hues and explain to him the breathtaking beauty of this flower.
You're talking to the wall! He has no concept of color at all. He can sympathize with your enthusiasm, yes. It may be contagious too; he may also becomes enthusiastic. But no matter what you’ll say he won’t ever know what it means ‘the beautiful color of a rose’.
Speaking to the Blind
And therefore when the Torah speaks to us about Hakadosh Baruch Hu it's like talking to a man born blind. We have no idea at all about the concepts that pertain to the Deity. It's impossible for us to understand anything because we're talking not about something that is great, something that is very big in comprehension. No! It's something that is entirely outside the sphere of our understanding. And just like to a blind man, red and blue and pink are meaningless; as he feels the colors with his fingers, red and blue and pink are exactly the same color to him, so too us, no words about Hakadosh Baruch Hu actually mean anything.
And so when the Torah tells us something about Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the rule is that it’s for our consumption; it means, it’s for us to learn as a way of life. Anything said about Hashem is not said because that's how Hashem is but because that's what Hashem wants you to think He is, so that it should be what you should aspire to be yourself.
Emulating Mercy
For instance, Hashem is described as a Rachum; He has compassion. He’s merciful. But what does mercy mean? Mercy means certain emotions pass across your nerves into your mind and they change your attitude. There's a change. You soften. You relent. That's what compassion is.
But Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t relent. He doesn’t change. Whatever He is, He is always. He always is what He is. All the good qualities, the perfect qualities, He possesses without any change at all. And therefore actually the word ‘mercy’ doesn't apply to Hakadosh Baruch Hu at all.
Only why is He described as Rachum? Because םּחוַר ה≈י¡ה הָּ ַ̇‡ ףַ‡ םּחוַר ‡ּהו הַמ: ‘Just as He is merciful – it means just as He is described as having mercy – so too we should train ourselves to have mercy’ (Shabbos 133b). It's for the purpose that we should emulate Him. Everything we’re told about Hakadosh Baruch Hu is said only for the purpose that we should try to feel that way in order to live that way.
Speech and Consequences
And so we come back now to the puzzle in the beginning of the Torah: What does it mean, “Hashem said”? “He said, ‘Let there be light,’ and ‘Let there be grass,’ and ‘Let there be birds’. He says and says and says. Of course, He didn't have to say anything. His will is enough. But He spoke! What for?
The answer is that He spoke in order to teach us the immense importance of speech. How vast is the consequence of a word! When Hashem said words, things were created. רַמָ‡ ‡ּהו יּƒכ – When He said, יƒהּ∆יַו – it came into being, הָּוƒˆ ‡ּהו – He commanded, „ֹמֲﬠַּיַו – and it arose (Tehillim 33:9).
Hashem’s speech became concretized. It became something physical and tangible; it became the world. םƒיָמָּׁ ַּ̆ב בָּˆƒנ¿ך¿רָב¿ּ„ 'ה םָלֹעו¿ל – Forever, Hashem, Your word stands in the heavens (Tehillim 119:89). The heavens is the dvar Hashem. When you look at the sky, you’re seeing the words of Hashem. That’s what it is. You’re looking at a concretization of His words. םָ‡ָב¿ˆ לָּכ יוƒּפ ַחּרו¿בּו – With the breath of His mouth, He created all the hosts of heaven, the sun and all the stars (ibid. 33:6).
Words Are Tangible
And so when it states, רֹו‡ יƒה¿י יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ ר∆מ‡ ֹּיַו – Elokim said, ‘Let there be light’, Hashem is supplying us with a model of what a word means. When Hashem said, yehi – let it be, it wasn’t a word that dissipated into the air. No! It became concrete, something that was tangible!
And the Rambam is telling us that it’s written for one purpose – so that we should understand our function. If the Word of Hashem could create the heavens, then we have to realize that human beings must learn that lesson and feel that every word is of the utmost importance. And that’s why it says, Vayomer Elokim, to give us a model of what our words are, what our words are producing.
Of course we’re not Hashem, but the Torah system is הָּ ַ̇‡ ףַ‡ ‡ּהו הַמ – If He tells us that His words are of utmost importance then it’s for us to realize the importance of our speech! Just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s speech is eternal and it stands forever, our speech also stands forever. Which means when we speak, we are creating something eternal. A word said never goes lost.
Advanced Physics
Now in physics it’s true because your word is an energy. Sound is an energy. And that energy even though it is dissipated in the course of time, in a minute the sound is finished, but it’s still traveling through space. Forever and ever, that energy that you released into the world is still functioning. The word that you said never goes lost.
But not only in the sense of physics is it true that the energy of your word doesn’t go lost, but also in the sense that it’s forever in a spiritual sense. When you say one word, you must know that word is inscribed on magnetic tape, a cassette tape that will never wear out.
And it’s playing forever and ever. Like the possuk says, ֹיחו≈ׂ ̆ הַמ םָ„ָ‡¿ל „יƒ‚ַמּו – Hashem will tell a man what is his speech (Amos 4:13). Not only He’ll tell you – it means He’ll play it back! On the Day of Judgment, when you come to the Next World, all those tapes that we would have liked to have destroyed – we’ll be so sorry that we didn’t destroy them – all those tapes will be brought forth and we’ll have to listen to a playback. And again and again, forever and ever, it’ll be played back over and over.
That’s a Torah doctrine, ֹיחו≈ׂ ̆ הַמ םָ„ָ‡¿ל „יƒ‚ַמ. You don’t say words that go lost in this world. Our words are just as tangible as any physical creations that a craftsman fashions! The words remain forever! Every word is forever and ever! All words! Good or otherwise!
Weighty Words
Now, understanding that will make a tremendous difference in our lives because we would like to have a perfect tape to be played back. That’s why I’m careful here that people shouldn’t cough during the lecture; because it’ll be played back for years and years and they’ll hear your cough on it. You’ll be coughing for the next maybe fifty years on this tape.
All the more so when you’re recording your own tape; when you’re talking at home to your wife, you have to know there’s a tape recorder concealed. You don’t know it but it’s there and someday it’ll be played back to you because it’s something you cannot erase; so you might as well make the very best recording that you can in this world!
Now, I know that puts a heavy burden on us, a big load on our minds, but that's the truth, a human word is of the greatest value, of the greatest consequence. That’s what we’re learning from Hashem’s words that created worlds.
We learn from the word of Hashem that every word that you say is such a weighty phenomenon, such an important item; as important as creating worlds. And therefore it becomes imperative to measure out the use of words only for the most important functions. Now, I understand that this idea is not going to take root immediately but at least let's study it. And that’s how we’ll start out today’s session, with that idea.
