The Imrei Noam further explains the Medrash that says: “’Say to the kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them.’ This is as is stated (Tehillim 12:7): ‘The words of Hashem are pure, like silver refined exposed to the earth, purified seven times” by citing a Gemara in Bava Basra (8A).
The Gemara relates that during a famine, Rebbi opened the doors to his storage houses and said that those who learned Mishnah, Gemara, halacha or Aggadah may enter and take what they need but those who were unlearned may not. Rav Yonason ben Amram pushed his way in and asked Rebbi for sustenance. Rebbi asked him, “Have you learned any Mikrah or Mishnah?” Rav Yonason told him, “(Still and all) sustain me like you would a dog or a raven.”
We see from this that parnassah can be provided to people even if they do not have Torah and mitzvos. They can be sustained just like animals are, as is stated (Tehillim 36:7): “Man and animals are saved by Hashem.” At the very least, man is no worse than animals.
Although man is a baal taivoh and pursues his desires – such as food, drink, sleep, etc. – animals are the same and they still are provided with sustenance. Thus, man can claim that he too deserves to be provided with his needs.
However, if a person speaks lashon hara, profanity or any other misuse of his mouth, he cannot claim that this is merely his animalistic nature, as speech is something given only to humans (see Eruchin 15B). If one misuses his mouth in this way, he is, in fact, worse than an animal, which does not have the power of speech, and he is not deserving of sustenance.
This is hinted to in the verse that says that Hashem’s words are pure. Hashem only desires pure words, and only one who uses his words properly is worthy of “refined silver”, i.e., parnassah.
This is as Chazal say (Vayikroh Rabbah 33:1): “If he is good, nothing is better than him. If he is bad, nothing is worth than him.” If a person makes improper use of his mouth, he is the worst creature in the world. But if one properly uses his words, nothing is better than him.
As stated above, one’s words are called his “nefesh”. Thus, the pasuk says that we are commanded not to become impure to a “nefesh”, meaning that our words must be kept pure. If we do this, we will be granted “she’eiro”, which we previously explained is a reference to parnassah.
