Miller's Musings Parshas Mattos Masei - Knowledge is Power

If a message is important, you would surely think that you would want as many people as possible to hear it.  This certainly seems to be the case with the Torah which was transmitted through Moshe to all the Jewish people.  Yet our Parsha begins with a seeming exclusivity in the recipients of the instruction with regard to making vows.  We are told that Moshe told it to the heads of the tribes alone, which of course makes us question why it would be that only they were worthy of receiving this commandment, as opposed to all the others that were imparted to each and every Jew alike?

The laws that make up the litany of principles that govern the making of vows are numerous and complex.  One area of particular intricacy is that of nullifying and dismissing of vows.  Under certain circumstances the father or husband of one who had made a promise, was sanctioned by the Torah to be able to annul what their child or wife had pledged to do.  This was deemed necessary by Hashem in His infinite wisdom, but carried with it an inherent risk, that of creating a potential of degrading the seriousness of a vow and the absolute requirement to fulfil it.  Allowing the possibility of rescinding the vow, could lead to some not treating it with the required caution, knowing that there could be a nullification at a later stage.  This, says the Ramban, was why the laws were communicated only to the wisest of the people, the heads of the tribes, those who would never allow the tremendous power of a vow to become belittled or demeaned.

There are those that say that knowledge is power, and it would be hard to argue against it.  But power in the wrong hands can perhaps be more dangerous than a lack of power for those who deserve it.  To define all knowledge as by definition good can be a very dangerous thing to do, as surely we all believe that there are some things that are best left hidden.  Children, for example, surely do not need to be aware of everything that is out there.  No matter how ‘open-minded’ one may be, surely there are some things that one would want to protect our youth from!  Once we concede to this, the only question is where we draw the line and which information our sensibilities and values consider inappropriate, harmful and detrimental to the recipients of it.  The risk is in thinking that we have to know everything and need those we are responsible for to have access to all that the world contains.  To view this as some form of eternal truth does a tremendous disservice to ourselves and those we care for, when in truth the greatest good we can do is to block out that which will distance us from our purpose and keep us away from the pleasure of Hashem’s divine embrace.

*May Shabbos inspire us to change and change for the better*

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם 

לעילוי נשמת שרה יעל בת גרשון

לרפואת אלימלך יהושע אהרון בן דבורה רבקה