The Power of Speech

Speech is a person's greatest power; it's like a cable that connects between the person and the words he utters. Life and death are in the hands of the tongue. Marital harmony or devastation depends on the tongue. Blessing or lack thereof in income, successful child-rearing, interpersonal relationships, and emotional health all depend on the tongue as well. Consequently, one’s quality of life depends on his speech. Success, abundance, a good life, happiness or the opposite, Heaven forbid, are all outcomes of one's speech. What is a person? Essentially, a person is his mouth. That's why a person should always bless other people, encourage them, gladden them and help them feel good about themselves. We pray that only positive things should come out of our mouths.

With the above in mind, we can understand the severity of cursing other people. Here, there are three aspects to examine:

First, the Torah says, "I will bless those who bless you" (Genesis 12:3). Hashem blesses those who bless others and brings curses upon those who curse. As an explicit passage in the Torah, we need not elaborate on it as it speaks for itself. Whoever blesses gets blessed, and whoever curses gets cursed. Therefore, a person should take great care to avoid cursing anyone even when he loses his temper. Indeed, make an effort to bless others and you will be blessed, by virtue of Hashem's promise that He will bless those who bless.

Second, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says in the name of his great grandfather the Baal Shem Tov osb"m, that before a person's verdict is finalized in the Heavenly Court, that person is asked several questions that pertain to him personally. If he agrees to the verdict, it is finalized. One might ask, how would anyone agree to a verdict of "guilty" against himself? The answer is that the Heavenly Court asks his opinion about a case identical to his own, but pertaining to someone else. In the same way one passes judgment on another, the Heavenly Court passes judgment on him.

That's what it means when it says that he "agrees to the verdict". A classic example of this appears in Samuel II 12:5, when Nathan the Prophet asks King David what to do about the rich man who stole the sheep from the poor man. King David didn't realize that the "rich man" was an allusion to him. He therefore gave a severe judgment that he himself was judged by. One must know that by expressing our opinion about other people and other situations, we are actually sentencing ourselves. Therefore, a person must be extremely cautious about every utterance that leaves his lips. And, nothing seals severe verdicts like cursing someone; the person who curses is cursing himself.

Third, cursing is a huge blemish in emuna. It is much worse than bearing resentment, because a person can build or destroy worlds with his/her speech. Hashem wants us to use our powers of speech productively, and particularly to bring peace, abundance and blessings to the world. Therefore, a person must bless others and heaven forbid, never curse them. Nothing creates such love among people as blessings do. People love to be blessed and blessings bring happiness to the world. They are the perfect conduit for bringing the Divine Presence to our midst.