The Life of Speech
Thoughts on Parashat Aharei Mot 2020
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And
Aharon shall lay his two hands on the head of the goat and confess over it all
the transgressions of Bnei Yisrael and all their sins (VaYikra 16:21)
The confession of
sins, vidui, played an integral role in our national atonement on Yom
Kippur. Aharon once represented the people on that day by confessing their sins
while placing his hands atop the goat which was sent off to the desert. Today,
in the absence of a Mikdash and kohen gadol, we each confess our
wrongdoings on Yom Kippur, as part of the repentance process.
HaRambam ruled that
merely admitting to sin in our mind is insufficient for vidui. We must,
instead, verbally confess our transgressions.[1]
While generally accepting the halakhic principle of “hirhur ke-dibur,”
which equates concentrated thought to verbal expression, HaRambam inexplicably
presents the confession of sins as an exception to the rule. Why?[2]
I am reminded, in
this context, of a related concept in a different realm of halakhah. Although
we fulfill the missvah of talmud Torah by simply contemplating
its words and precepts, the Hakhamim nonetheless emphasized the value of
verbal articulation while learning. They referred to a particular “life” that
is generated by uttering words of Torah. And they stressed the strengths of
memory and retainment which are born out of learning aloud.[3]
How do spoken words affect our comprehension? And what is the connection
between our mouths and the “life” and retention of Torah?
The kabbalists
separate the human personality into three separate facets. They refer to the
two outer extremes as neshamah and nefesh. While the neshamah represents
our thought and mental comprehension, the nefesh is our physical motion
and activity. The integral component that links those two aspects, however, is ruah.
The ruah represents our emotions, expressed by our speech.[4]
During my first
year as a high school teacher, Rabbi David Eliach taught me an invaluable
method. “Have the students talk,” he repeatedly told me, “Force them to read
the text out loud.” I soon learned that by doing so, the words had a way of
“concretizing” in my students’ minds. Simply reading with their eyes and giving
thought to the concepts left them static in their memory. By speaking the words
with their mouths, however, the students breathed into them a dynamic “life”
and personal character.
Indeed, it is our
ability to talk which allows us to transcend a world of facts and principles
into one of feelings and perspective. Consider, for example, our earliest
expressions of speech – Adam’s naming of the animals in Gan Eden (Bereshit
2:19). Leon Kass noted the significance of that gesture. He commented on how
human acts of selection are shaped by interests, which spring from desire. “The
same is true of human speech, even of simple naming,” he wrote, “Although the
ability to name rests on the powers of reason, the impulse to name is
rooted in desire or emotion.” While bare reason is motiveless and impotent, the
act of choosing words and naming is an expression of “an inner urge, need or
passion, such as fear or wonder, anxiety or appreciation, interest or
curiosity.” The content of speech, Kass thus suggested, reflects the inner soul
of the speaker.[5]
By forcing Adam to choose the names of the animals and express them with his
speech, God introduced him to the emotive side of his personality. He exposed
Adam to his ruah.
Our ability to
retain information is dependent upon the depth of its penetration into our
being. Merely reading Torah with our eyes and minds leaves its words separate
and apart from ourselves. Speaking it with our mouth breaths life – our life
– into the text. It is for that reason, as well, that one must verbally
confess their sins in the process of teshuvah. Thinking about the sins
is a mental exercise. Verbalizing them is an emotional experience.
The verbal vidui
of Yom Kippur, then, reveals to us the mystery of our expressive ruah.
It teaches us that our thoughts and ideas remain dormant when left unspoken. By
choosing words of expression, however, we integrate our mindful neshamah
with active nefesh, generating the vitality of life through speech.
[1] HaRambam, Mishneh Torah:
Hilkhot Teshuvah 1:1.
[2] This issue has been discussed at
length by several halakhists. See a summary and discussion in R. Yosef Cohen, Sefer
HaTeshuvah vol. 1 (Jerusalem, IS, 2006), pg. 33-35.
[3] See Eruvin 53b-54a. And
cf. HaRambam, Mishneh Torah: Hilkhot Talmud Torah 3:12.
[4] See, e.g., R. Hayim of
Volozhin’s Nefesh HaHayim 1:14.
[5] Leon R. Kass, The Beginning
of Wisdom (Chicago, IL, 2003), pg. 75.