A Child-Friendly Look at Parshat Matot-Masei: The Power of Words

"And they camped at Ritmah" (Numbers 33:18).

Rashi explains that the name Ritmah reminds us of the sin of the spies, who spoke lashon hara (negative speech) about the Land of Israel. He connects it to the verse in Tehillim: "What shall He give you, and what more shall He do for you, deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of a mighty man, with coals of broom trees."

What does this teach us? It reminds us that we must be very careful with the words we say.

The Missing Window

The Dubno Maggid explains this idea with a wonderful parable.

Once, a great king visited another country and saw a beautiful palace. It was so magnificent that he wanted one just like it.

The king asked a talented artist to draw the palace with perfect accuracy so the builders could copy every detail.

The artist carefully sketched the palace on a sheet of paper. He worked hard to include every room, wall, and decoration. When he finished, he proudly handed the drawing to the king.

The king studied the picture closely. Then he noticed something.

"One of the windows is missing," he said.

The artist smiled and replied, "It's only a tiny part of the drawing. It's just a few little lines that I forgot."

"That's true," the king answered. "On the paper, it's only a few lines. But when the builders use this drawing to build the palace, that missing window will become a real window. Without it, the palace will lose the sunlight that should have filled the room."

Every Word Matters

The Dubno Maggid says our words are just like that drawing.

Sometimes we think, "It was only a few words," or "What difference could one sentence make?"

But our words have much greater power than we realize.

Even though they seem small here in this world, every word has an impact in Heaven. Kind words can build and bring goodness into the world. Hurtful words, Heaven forbid, can cause great damage.

That is why we should always try to speak kindly and choose our words carefully.

When we use our speech for good, we build beautiful palaces of splendor Above.