Weekly Torah Lesson – 1
Parasha: Matot (Tribes) (staff / staves)
Mattot means “tribes.” It is a word for “branches” – and quite fittingly applies to the tribes of Israel.
Torah: B’midbar 30:2 – 32:42
** A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the power of “blessings and curses”. We learned that both the blessings and curses that were spoken thousands of years ago are still in force today. In summary, we learned that both blessings and curses can be accessed by us as determined by our actions.
Today we are going to take a look at another form of speech – vows and oaths. A vow sounds something like, “ If You (Avinu) do something special for me, I will do something special for You”. Here is how they were handled according to the Torah.
2 If a man vow a vow to Avinu, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 If a woman also vow a vow to Avinu, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth; 4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. 5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he hears; not any of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand: and Avinu shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 6 And if she had a husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, with which she bound her soul; 7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. 8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, with which she bound her soul, of none effect: and Avinu shall forgive her. 9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; 11 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. 12 But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband has made them void; and Avinu shall forgive her. 13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establishes all her vows, or all her bonds, which are on her: he confirms them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. 15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he has heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. 16 These are the statutes, which Avinu commanded Moshe, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house. (B’Midbar 30:2-16)
** The Scriptures record a story about a man’s vow that effected his daughter’s life.
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to Avinu, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be Avinu’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and Avinu delivered them into his hands. 33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth to Avinu, and I cannot go back. 36 And she said to him, My father, if you have opened your mouth to Avinu, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth; for as much as Avinu has taken vengeance for you of your enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains, and mourn my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (Jud 11:30-40)
** Yeshua teaches us about vows and oaths:
33 Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. (Mt 5:33-37)
Yeshua warns us that vows and oaths can be very dangerous and we should avoid them if possible.
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