This week’s Torah portion is unique: Moses’ name doesn’t appear anywhere. To make matters more confounding, this Torah portion is usually read the week of the 7^th of Adar, which is Moses’ Hebrew birthday and yahrtzeit, anniversary of his passing. Instead of taking center stage, his name is oddly absent.

A famous Torah commentary, Ba’al HaTurim, connects the absence of Moses’s name to his response after God is upset at the Jews for the sin of the Golden Calf. Moses tells God, “Wipe me out from Your book if You don’t forgive the Jewish people. Erase my name from the Torah.” (See Exodus, 32:32) Through God’s abundant kindness and mercy, the Jews are forgiven. However, the Midrash states that the curse of a sage will come to pass (Bereishit Rabba, 74:4, 74:9). This is why Moses’ name is missing in this week’s Torah portion; even though God did forgive the Jewish people, since Moses was such a holy and righteous person, part of his statement had to come to come to fruition. His words have power.

Lesson:

While Moses was the greatest prophet that will ever exist, our words also hold tremendous power. Praying is not just words that we recite, but have the potential to change our reality. God gave us an amazing gift of prayer and giving each other blessings that, when said with sincerity, can actualize into something real and tangible. While in this case, Moses’s words caused a void, we can choose words that inspire, help, heal, and build. We can choose to be positive with what we say and how we speak to help those around us, ourselves, and the world. God gave us an amazing power and privilege of speech – it is our responsibility to use it for the good.

Exercise: Give someone a blessing and think about it becoming a reality. You could give your children a special blessing expounding all you wish for them or could be something as simple as wishing the cashier to have a good day.