#thepowerofwords #matot #parsha #parshatmatot #parshatmasei #wordshavewings #words #wherearewordsborn #thebirthofwords #creation #creationofwords
At the beginning of Parshat Matot, in this double Parsha of Matot/Masei, we learn about the importance of words and vows. Words are as familiar to us as breathing. They are so plentiful that we take them for granted. Once your words leave your mouth they no longer belong just to you. Promises, oaths, pledges are heard and torah takes seriously that they will be fulfilled. We spend a great deal of time around the high holidays begging forgiveness for words that we have uttered in vain, either to other people or to God. Not every word or idea that we have is fulfilled, but being cautious about our words and their potential is important. This poem explores words, their creation and what happens when they are shared.
Words
Words
We take them for granted
Thousands are born from us each day
Millions each year
At times barely a trickle
and sometimes
like a waterfall,
cascading downward with force,
with power and speed
they ripple outward.
As we walk the paths of our lives
we are surrounded by
A Milky Way of words
They surround us
Inside and outside of us.
Each word
a castle,
letters their building blocks
each beautiful word
unique to see and hear
with an identity of its own.
A word starts as a thought
Is it in our minds
or is it our hearts?
our souls?
In that place
the act of creation begins
mirroring the creation of the world.
And the word begins
deep within,
a shimmering bubble of intention,
an inkling of interest,
the very tightest kernel of curiosity
shuffled and rearranged.
Words are formed
to satisfy
the deep human need
to Connect
the Breishit of language.
The Creator’s gift
to humanity.
The spark of creation
repeats itself
over and over again
Letters fly and unite.
In you and out of you.
Can you see it?
Words created
Worlds created
To serve
To share
To command
To question
To argue
To profit,
To proffer,
To please
To promise
To promise
And then dance of language begins
A tango
of tongue and teeth
A waltz
of throat and chest
A swing
of breath and palate
Stops and starts,
stops and starts.
A sound and then a pause
and the dance starts again
And then
A word escapes from your lips
from
your inner universe of thought
Through your lips it is propelled
A bubble of an idea
Transversing through space
Flying at the speed of sound
Between you and the other.
It finds its mark
And it lands
It is heard
Perceived
Accepted
Inhaled
Swallowed
Enveloped
Cherished
Considered
It is Shared
And in an instant
What was yours becomes
His
Becomes ours
Your words
Your Creations,
No longer are yours alone
Your prose is theirs
Your poetry is shared
Words
Ideas
Forever crocheted into their fabric.
Words
Weightless they begin
all potential and idea
becoming heavier,
weightier.
Holy
There is power in these words
The power of each sentence
each question
each promise
each pause.
Each ending a beginning
Always
their potential
rising and landing
uniting
yours to his
to ours
and then
waiting,
waiting
to be fulfilled.
אִישׁ֩ כִּֽי־יִדֹּ֨ר נֶ֜דֶר לַֽיהוָ֗ה אֽוֹ־הִשָּׁ֤בַע שְׁבֻעָה֙ לֶאְסֹ֤ר אִסָּר֙ עַל־נַפְשׁ֔וֹ לֹ֥א יַחֵ֖ל דְּבָר֑וֹ כְּכָל־הַיֹּצֵ֥א מִפִּ֖יו יַעֲשֶֽׂה׃
If a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips.
Numbers 30:2 (Translation from Sefaria)