Angels of Wood and Stone
And that’s why it’s especially important to always be aware of Hashem, even in the privacy of your home. Now how to do it, how to work on it, that’s the question. It’s a big question, especially when we come close to Rosh Hashana. You know the Gemara says that when the Day of Judgment comes, all the malachim assemble to testify about Man. Every person gets his day in court and all the malachim say what they have to say.
Now there are all kinds of malachim. Some of the malachim are his mitzvos. ֹלו ה∆נֹו ̃ ַ̇חַ‡ הָו¿ˆƒמ הׂ∆ ֹ̆עוָה „ָח∆‡ יטƒל¿ ַ̃רּ¿פ – If you do one mitzvah, you’re going to get one advocate (Avos 4:11). Those are very important, but I want to talk now about a different group of witnesses who are preparing to speak about you. You’ll be surprised who they are. You weren’t thinking about these malachim. I’m talking about the walls of your house.
There’s a verse in Chabakuk (2:11) ָ̃ﬠ¿זּƒ ̇ ירּƒ ̃ƒמ ן∆ב∆‡ יּƒכ – A stone from the wall will cry out from the wall, הָּנ∆נֲﬠַי ı≈ﬠ≈מ יסƒפָכ¿ו – and a board of wood will reply. So the Gemara (Chagiga 16a) says like this: When a man is concealed from public view behind the four walls of his house, he may feel that he’s free to misbehave. Of course, when neighbors come in to visit, he’s on his best behavior, but suppose all the windows are closed. That’s a good thing by the way—in case you’re in a bad temper and want to open your mouth on your wife or your wife wants to open her mouth on you, make sure to close the windows tight. Why should the neighbors get a bad impression? Pull down the shades too—they shouldn’t see.
But the Sages tell us that it might help with the neighbors but it won’t help on the Day of Judgement. On Rosh Hashana it won’t help because the stones and the boards of your house will come in and testify against you. „יƒע≈מ יƒמ – Who testifies against a man on the Day of Judgment? So the Gemara says ֹו ̇י≈ּב י≈נ¿בַ‡¿ו ֹו ̇י≈ּב ֹ̇רוֹו ̃ – the beams of his house and the stones will testify (Taanis 11a). That’s what the possuk means, “A stone from the wall will call out from the wall and a board of wood, a beam, will open its mouth.” They’re witnesses.
Now it’s not merely a form of speech. The walls, the beams and the ceilings are going to speak up. The floor, the carpet; everything in your house, even the furniture. There are a lot of witnesses and they’re all coming to testify against a man, or for a man. Nothing will keep quiet.
