Indeed, silence when you should be speaking righteousness? When you should be judging people with fairness? What is a person’s vocation in this world? He should render himself silent like a mute. It might be thought that this pertains even to matters of Torah. Therefore, Scripture states: “You should speak righteousness.”
Elsewhere in the Gemara (Eiruvin 53b), we are taught that a person only retains his Torah if it is studied out loud:
"ברוריה אשכחתיה לההוא תלמודא דהוה קא גריס בלחישה, בטשה ביה, אמרה ליה, לא כך כתוב ערוכה בכל ושמורה, אם ערוכה ברמ"ח אברים שלך משתמרת, ואם לאו אינה משתמרת".
Beruriah (the wife of Rabbi Meir, a Torah scholar in her own right) encountered a certain student who was reviewing his studies quietly. She kicked him. She said to him, “Is the following not written (Shmuel II 23, 5): ‘Arranged in all and secure’? If your learning is arranged in all of your 248 limbs, then it is secure (and will not be forgotten); but if not, it is not secure (and will be forgotten). The Maharsha explains that speaking out loud elicits feeling and movement in all of a person’s limbs. The Gemara also reports (ibid. 54a): "תנא תלמיד אחד היה לו לרבי אליעזר שהיה שונה בלחש, לאחר שלש שנים שכח תלמודו"—Rabbi Eliezer had one student who would learn quietly. After three years, he forgot what he had learned.
This is also one of the things enumerated by the Mishnah (Avos 6, 7) among the forty-eight ways by which the Torah is acquired: "בעריכת שפתים"—articulate speech. Rashi explains that words of Torah should not be mumbled; they must be articulated clearly and deliberately; otherwise, they will not be retained.
Apropos this subject, we find a tremendous chiddush in the teachings of the brilliant author of the Iyun Yaakov on the Ein Yaakov (Eiruvin ibid.). He refers to the statement in the Gemara (Megillah 6b): "אם יאמר לך אדם יגעתי ולא מצאתי אל תאמן, לא יגעתי ומצאתי אל תאמן, יגעתי ומצאתי תאמן". If someone tells you, “I labored in my Torah-study but did not succeed,” do not believe him. “I have not labored, yet I have succeeded,” do not believe him. “I have labored, and I have succeeded,” you may believe him. The message is that if a person does not exert himself in the study of Torah, involving all of his 248 limbs, his claim should not be believed, because he will surely forget the Torah that he has learned.
Now, a man is obligated in the mitzvah of “talmud-Torah,” and as explained, Shabbas is a day that HKB”H designated for this mitzvah. This applies particularly to those who are occupied with their work and mundane matters throughout the week. Therefore, at Har Sinai, HKB”H commanded us: "זכור את יום השבת לקדשו"—sanctify the Shabbas with the study of Torah. From this passuk, Chazal deduced that we are to sanctify the Shabbas over wine to encourage us to study Torah out loud, in keeping with the maxim: "נכנס יין יצא סוד". By studying Torah out loud with fiery enthusiasm, Torah-related chiddushim are revealed to us on Shabbas. Thus, the claim: "יגעתי ומצאתי תאמן"—is validated.
This enlightens us as to why a man must participate in the mitzvah of “hadlakas neiros” for Shabbas by preparing the candles or wicks. We can also understand why he should gaze upon the candles as he begins kiddush. This teaches us that while it is proper and necessary to study Torah out loud on Shabbas, we must remember that this does not apply to mundane matters unrelated to the kedushah of Shabbas. Speech related to those matters should be avoided on Shabbas, as per the exposition in the Gemara (Shabbas 113b) related to the passuk (Yeshayah 58, 13): "אם תשיב משבת רגלך... ממצוא חפצך ודבר דבר, שלא יהא דבורך של שבת כדבורך של חול"—“if you restrain your foot because it is Shabbas . . . from seeking your own needs or discussing the forbidden” teaches us that your speech on Shabbas should be different from your speech of the rest of the week.
