We’ve probably all second guessed our words. Or perhaps we’ve walked away from a social situation and wondered if we spoke too much, or didn’t say the right thing. Or maybe we didn't say anything at all. Usually, the implications of these moments don't have very high stakes. But this week, in parashat Shoftim, we are reminded how holy some of our words really are. God speaks to Moshe and tells him:
נָבִיא אָקִים לָהֶם מִקֶּרֶב אֲחֵיהֶם כָּמוֹךָ וְנָתַתִּי דְבָרַי בְּפִיו וְדִבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּנּוּ: וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יִשְׁמַע אֶל-דְּבָרַי אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמִי אָנֹכִי אֶדְרשׁ מֵעִמּוֹ: I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself, and I will put My words into their mouth, and they will speak to the people all that I command them. And it will be that whoever does not hearken to My words that they speak in My name, I will call them to account. -Devarim 18:18-19
The language of ‘prophets’ all reads as very biblical to me, and it doesn’t usually fit into our framework as a contemporary religious community. But Rashi sees all of this differently, and challenges what prophecy itself means. He wrote that “One who suppresses their prophecy, and they do not announce it, or a prophet who transgresses his own words of prophecy, God will hold them accountable.” Rashi’s teaching allows us to throw out the whole notion of prophet as one person who hears the word of God and stands on a pedestal shouting at the community. Rashi’s teaching about the sin of a prophet is one of which we are all sometimes guilty. We each have Godly messages that are worth sharing with others, and he warns us of the temptation to transgress and suppress our own words of prophecy - not practicing what we preach. We try our best to make those messages stand out in our words and our actions, yet sometimes we fall short.
How often have we found ourselves not living up to our own expectations of ourselves and others? How often did we know that there was something to be said or done, but we refrained? This is the sin of not “walking the walk.” We each have messages that we carry out to the world, the values that we think are crucial to embody to make our world better.
As we make our way through Elul, how we can live with as much honesty and integrity as possible? As we do this personal work of teshuvah, how might it enable our relationship with others and with God to be stronger?
