And You Shall Speak of Them
In the first parashah of Krias Shema, which we recite at every Shacharis and Maariv service, the fourth verse states: וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them (Devarim 6:7). Commenting on the phrase וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, Iyun Tefillah explains that the earlier verses commanded that we love Hashem totally, with body and soul; that we do so בְּכֹל מְאֹדֶךָ — with the greatest [from the word מְאֹד, much (Rambam, R' Bachya, Ibn Ezra)] possible quality, and devoid of any personal interest or motive. The question is: How does one rise to this level? The answer is: וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, speak in them. Through the constant and habitual study of Torah, one can surely reach this goal. [An interesting allusion to the fact that the word בָּם refers to words of Torah is suggested by Maggid Taalumah, who points out that the first letter of the Torah is beis (בְּרֵאשִׁית) and the first letter of the Oral Torah is mem (מֵאֵימָתַי — Berachos 1:1).]
The Gemara (Yoma 19b), however, states that the word בָּם means to emphasize that one is permitted to speak words of Torah but not other things, which Rashi interprets as childish speech or lighthearted banter.
The Chofetz Chaim expounds on this Gemara in his commentary to the verse וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה, and man became a living being (Bereishis 2:7). Noting that Targum Onkelos translates it וַהֲוַת בְּאָדָם לְרוּחַ מְמַלְלָא, And there was in Adam the spirit of speech (and based on Ramban), the Chofetz Chaim says that the power of speech is Divine in nature, and does not consist of the four broad elements from which the rest of the world was formed. As such, the Chofetz Chaim focuses on this unique feature of man. He points out that all of a person’s actions require intent and concentration in order to be effective. For instance, one banging a nail into a wall must concentrate on holding the nail steady with one hand while banging it with a hammer held in the other hand. If he does not pay attention to either of these aspects of his task, he can easily bang his finger instead of the nail.
As opposed to this, Hashem gave man the unique power of speech, which he can instantaneously employ without any special thought to sound out any sound or word. An interesting example is the word וַיְדַבֵּר (and he spoke), each of whose letters requires using a different part of the mouth: lips, tongue, teeth, palette, throat — either alone or in combination. Yet one can easily roll out the word without thought, with all the moving parts working harmoniously and not hampering each other.
The reason for this gift, says the Chofetz Chaim, is that one must direct all of his concentration on the meaning of the words he wishes to convey, and the additional task of forcing the brain to work at making the actual sounds would be extraordinarily taxing. Therefore, Hashem instituted a system whereby man’s responsibility was to think about the idea behind the words, but their formation and delivery would be instantaneous. In this way, man could focus all his efforts on the study and understanding of Torah and not be hindered by the actual speech-related aspects of it.
In a related idea, the Chofetz Chaim notes that any intelligent person, with but a little thought, realizes that this remarkable gift was not given by Hashem to spout lashon hara, slander, gossip, or useless chatter. Obviously, these things are sinful, damaging to both the speaker and his subject, and are contrary to the intent of Hashem. What is essential to remember is that all the powers and gifts given by Hashem to man are meant to promote His glory and honor, and the power of speech is for וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, to speak of them (the Torah) and not for wasteful, inane, or prohibited matters.
