Parshat Matot opens with a curious halacha: vows. If a Jew says something like “I won’t eat bread today,” it becomes halachically binding. Words alone create new spiritual realities. No action, no ritual—just speech.

That’s the power Hashem gave us.

It mirrors the opening of the Torah itself: “Vayomer Elokim—Yehi or.” Hashem spoke—and light came into being. “B’dvar Hashem shamayim na’asu”—the world was created with words. And we, who were created in His image, were given a sliver of that power. We speak—and we shape worlds.

Our words build halachic frameworks. They build relationships. They build self-esteem. And sadly, they can also destroy.

The Chofetz Chaim once traveled by train. A fellow passenger began speaking excitedly about the great tzaddik from Radin—the Chofetz Chaim himself—unaware that he was sitting right next to him. The Chofetz Chaim, in his humility, replied, “He’s not so great.” The man was shocked. “How dare you speak that way about such a holy man!” Only later did he realize whom he had spoken to. And from that moment, the Chofetz Chaim realized that lashon hara can even be about oneself.

Because lashon hara doesn’t only wound others. It wounds us. The words we say about ourselves—out loud or in our thoughts—shape how we see ourselves. Every time we make a promise to ourselves and keep it—”I’ll get up early,” “I’ll learn today”—we build self-trust. But when we break our word? We weaken that trust. “Lo yachel dvaro”—don’t desecrate your own word.

So how do we repair?

We use our words to build: Words of Torah. Words of tefillah. Tehillim. Berachot. “Amen.” “Yasher koach.” “I believe in you.” These words don’t just uplift—they create. They bring light where there was darkness. They reveal the Shechinah where it was hidden.

Yeshayahu says Mashiach will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth.” Geula won’t come through swords. It will come through speech. Refined. True. Kadosh.

So this week, let’s use our words with care—with kavod, with clarity, with heart. Let’s speak the world we want into being. Let’s build the path to Geula, one word at a time.

Because Hashem created the world with words—and we can rebuild it the same way.