Jewish Speech Writer.com

Vayikra 5763

"…and he is a witness; [for] he either saw or knew [something relevant], if he does not testify, he will bear [the burden of] his iniquity.

If one is witness to a loan, and he is administered and oath by the lender to come testify and he does not, claiming he knows nothing, he is guilty of taking a false oath and obligated to bring an offering.

Unlike most of the other acts for which one is culpable, this sin is not for doing something, but for not doing something. As the meforshim explain, this sin applies even if he forgot what he had seen and subsequently remembered. His failure to help his fellow man, thereby depriving him of his proof is a sin in and of itself.

Further, if he had previously testified, and he is asked again, he is required to testify. If he does not, HaKadosh Boruch Hu considers him as guilty as a thief who enters his friend's home in the night and steals something. There are still other things that set this sin apart as well.

For example, the culpability for this act only applies if the oath was given in front of Bais Din, where it will have some efficacy. If the lender adjured him outside of court and he claims no knowledge, he is not liable. Amazingly, we see that a person can perform the same act under two different circumstances and yet in only one of the situations is it a sin.

What is the lesson of this requirement to speak? Perhaps one item we can learn is the tremendous power of speech and our responsibility to use it wisely. When we can effect good, we must speak up. If we fail to do so, we are liable. When our words will merely breed anger and resentment, having no positive effect, we should be silent.

What sets us apart from the animals is our ability to speak. ChaZa”L call the soul of a human being “Ruach Me'malela,” the “Spirit which speaks,” meaning that this heightened spirituality is manifest in our ability to converse and articulate. We have been given a great gift, and are expected to use it for the greatest good possible.

In the book All for the Boss, Writer Ruchoma Shain recounts stories of her saintly father, R' Yaakov Yoseph Herman. J.J. Herman (as he was known) was relentless in his pursuit of perfect service of HaShem, even as he lived in early twentieth-century America, a time and place when many Jews were casting off their traditions and customs. He was not afraid to say what had to be said.

Once, as they walked home from shul, he said, “I have to make a stop.” He then entered an Orthodox shul which was known to have mixed dancing at its functions. He called out in a very loud voice “Mixed dancing is against halacha! Either stop doing it, or remove the Orthodox name from the outside of the building for you are disgracing Judaism.”

In later years, when he had moved to Eretz Yisroel, Mrs. Shain came to visit him. As they passed a pair of immodestly dressed women, R' Herman said to them “Why must you dress this way in the holy city of Jerusalem? It is improper and disrespectful!”

Mortified, Mrs. Shain asked her father why he couldn't just let it be. He replied, “When I come before the Heavenly Court, they will ask me `Yaakov Yoseph, when you saw this, what did you do for the honor of Jerusalem and the Al-mighty?' Now I have what to answer them.”

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