By Marco Del Monte
The Ten Words
In the silence that precedes creation, there was no matter, but vibration. Our tradition teaches us that the world was not built with stones or cement, but through language. "In the beginning", the Mishnah tells us, the world was created with ten utterances (Ma’amarot).
This spiritual root places speech at the centre of human experience, transforming it from a simple means of communication into an instrument of creation or, unfortunately, of destruction, as in the Tower of Babel where language was confounded and thus destroyed. But even earlier, the history of human speech undergoes a profound crisis with Noach. G-d commands him to enter the ark in order to save humanity. The masters reveal a deeper meaning: since *Tevah* in Hebrew means both "ark" and "word". By entering the deep meaning of the word, humanity can be saved from destruction. When one has entered the word-ark Hashem commands: "Tzoar taasé la-Tevà" — "Make an opening for light in the ark". The command was not merely architectural, it was also spiritual: "Put a light into the words you utter". Noach, despite being a righteous man, failed to illuminate his words enough to save his generation. His "ark-word" was closed, a refuge for himself and his family, but lacking that intercessory force necessary to stop the decree of the flood. Noach remained silent in the face of the destruction of others, and for this reason his word remained closed, we might say "uncircumcised". Kabbalah teaches that what is not completed returns. Centuries later, a baby was placed in the Nile in a Tevah-Ark-cradle. That very soul of Noach returns to the world in the guise of Moshe Rabbenu, the one who defined himself as uncircumcised of lips. The bond between the two is hidden in a revealing anagram. When Moshe begs G-d not to destroy Israel after the sin of the golden calf, he exclaims: "Mecheni na" (מחני נא) — "Blot me out, I pray" but saves humanity. The letters of Mecheni (מחני נא) can be read as an anagram: "Ani MiNoach" (אני מנח), "I come from Noah". Moshe is performing the Tikkun (the repair) of Noach. Where Noach kept silent to save himself, Moshe offers his own deletion from the Book of Life to save the people; this time an equal and opposite act is accomplished: "destroy me but save the people". The material sign of this bond, being "uncircumcised of lips", was not a physical limitation, but the weight of a spiritual heritage awaiting liberation: Noach's word that finally had to open up. Moshe's destiny leads him to clash with Pharaoh (Parò). In Hebrew linguistics, Parò (פרעה) is the anagram of Pe-Rà (פה רע), the "Evil Mouth". Egypt represents the slavery of speech: the use of language to manipulate, oppress, and deny divinity. Moshe, the man who stutters in the material world but vibrates with divine truth, destroys the power of the Evil Mouth. He will not bring simple laws, but the "Aseret Ha-Diberot". Let us not call them merely the "Ten Commandments", but the "Ten Words". These are the sacred mirror of the ten expressions with which the world was created. If the world was created with speech, it receives its purpose and stability only through the speech of the Torah. Tradition teaches us that only the first two Dibberot were heard directly from the divine mouth, while the others were transmitted through the voice of Moshe, but beware, Moshe does not "replace" the divine voice, but becomes its channel, the conduit, the sound vessel. The Shekhinah speaks, and the voice rests upon Moshe's lips like light passing through clear glass, like a tuned instrument that echoes and resonates the divine melodies through a faithful transmission, just as the language of the masters does not change the Torah but echoes it. A Written Law that lives only thanks to an Oral Law. The Torah SheBe'al Peh is the Torah that is upon the mouth. Without speech, the Torah remains a letter. With speech, it becomes life. Judaism does not form merely observant people, but human beings capable of correct language. A good Jew is not only one who acts well, but one who knows how to speak well: with measure, with truth, with responsibility. Language is not neutral: it builds or destroys the soul.
This journey culminates on Mount Sinai, at the moment of Shavuot. The name of this festival conceals another secret: besides meaning "Weeks", it recalls the term Shevuot, meaning "Oaths". The gift of the Torah was an act of mutual swearing. Israel swore fidelity with the words "Na'asé ve-Nishmà" (We will do and we will hearken), and G-d swore His eternal closeness to the people. The oath is the highest use of speech: it is the moment when the human being pledges their very essence through language, making the word as solid as rock. Every day, three times a day, we begin the central prayer, the Amidah, with a fundamental verse: "Adon-i Sefatai Tiftach..." — "Lord, open my lips". We recognise that, on our own, we might still be prisoners of Noach's silence or Pharaoh's oppression. We ask G-d to open that breach, to transform our mouth into a Tevah (word) illuminated by light (Tzoar). In an age when words are often used lightly or to wound, let us remember the teaching of the Torah: every word we utter is an act of creation. We have the power to bring the "Ten Words" into our daily lives, transforming our reality from an Egyptian desert into a garden of revelation. May our speech always be a source of light, healing, and peace for all humanity.
Shabbat Shalom
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.