According to most studies, the number one fear people have is public speaking. Number two is death. To the average person, that means if he has to go to a funeral, he’s better off in the casket than doing the eulogy. . .[1]

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Va’eira: The Quintessential Speaker

“Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.”[2]

1.) The commentaries ask, why does the Torah give their ages?[3] There is no other place in scripture that mentions the age of a prophet or prophetess at the time of receiving or pronouncing their prophetic message.

2.) Also, why does the Torah need to say that they ‘spoke to Pharaoh’? It was just a few passages earlier that we were told that they spoke to Pharaoh, as it says, “They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, the King of Egypt…”[4]

3.) Indeed, Moses and Aaron were chosen to be the leaders of the Jewish people because they were the perfect speakers. It was an extraordinary feat to convey the speech of G-d to Pharaoh, who was diametrically opposed to everything Jewish, everything holy, and humane. But what is the lesson for us?

MEANING OF LETTER ‘PEI’

Meaning: the letter pei means peh, mouth.

Gematria: pei = 80.

Graphic Design: The letter pei is made of a Chaf and a Yud. The semi-circle of the Chaf ()resembles the semi-circle of seventy-one sages sitting in the Sanhedrin, the high court of Jewish law. The Yud () represents G-d, Who confirms their judgment.[5] Moses created and headed the first Sanhedrin.

MOUTH-PIECE OF G-D
In light of the above, we can now understand that when the Torah says that Moses is eighty years old, it hints to the fact that Moses is the quintessential speaker, the ‘mouth-piece of G-d’. Moses is the conduit for G-d’s words to the Sanhedrin and to His People.

Paradoxically, however, Moses had a speech impediment. Therefore, Aaron served as Moses’ interpreter when they brought the Divine message to Pharaoh.

How does Aaron’s age of eighty-three also allude to peh, mouth? In general, ‘Pei’ is spelled Peh-Alef, together having the gematria of 81. We can add ’2′ for these two letters to get a sum of 83.[6] Alternatively, G-d’s mouth (80) + Aaron (1) who brought the message of Moses (+1) to Pharaoh (+1) = 83.[7] Thus, Both Moses (80) and Aaron (83) were extensions of G-d’s ‘mouth’.[8]

This concept can be taken one step further. The gematria of Pharaoh is 355. If we deduct Moses’s age (80) and Aaron’s (83), we’re left with 192, which spells the word kabeitz () – ‘ingather’,[9] as in the prayer, “Ingather our exiles”.

Furthermore, Pharaoh () was peh ra (), the ‘evil mouth’, the personification of the speech which enslaves and oppresses. Therefore, the Torah says Moses and Aaron were both ‘pei’ when they spoke to Pharaoh. In other words their objective was to transform Pharaoh’s peh–from a peh ra into a peh sach (), a ‘mouth that speaks’.[10] A ‘mouth that speaks’ is one that displays the primary purpose of speech: to praise G-d for His miracles, and to inspire humankind to make the world a better place.[11] This is why the Chofetz Chaim taught extensively about the importance of shmiras haleshon, ‘guarding speech’, and knowing how to avoid speaking with negative result.

THE SPEAKING BEING
Kabbalah teaches that there are four levels of created existence: inanimate, vegetative, animal, and m’daber-speaker or communicator-the human level. Why is the human being called a “speaker” [12] rather than an ‘intellectual’, or a being with ‘free choice’?

HIGHER THAN INTELLECT
Chassidus explains: the root of speech is higher than that of intellect or emotion.[13] Even the wisest of people are in some way conditioned in their thinking, because ultimately, intellect is limited. Through speech however, one can reach a level of wisdom beyond intellect. For example, when a person talks about a theory or insight, the speech itself clarifies and deepens the thought.

This is a meaning of Rabbi Chanina’s statement in the Talmud:[14] “I have learned much from my teachers; more from my friends; but from my students I have learned the most.” As a teacher, Rabbi Elazar was forced to articulate his wisdom to his disciples. The articulation is what took him beyond the level of static intellect, into an authentic level of m’daber.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Speech also magnifies and amplifies every emotion. Someone who speaks out of anger fuels his negative emotions, yields his awareness to more destructive thoughts, and becomes capable of doing something that he or she will later regret. This is why our sages suggest silence at a time of anger. Someone who tells his friend, ‘I love you,’ fuels his emotion of love. This is why we pray three times a day, pouring out copious words of love for our Creator.

Furthermore, the faculty of speech also allows one to transcend limitations and differences. Like Moses and Aaron, one can even sit down and negotiate with someone who is diametrically opposed to oneself.

WOMEN: A GREATER LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING
The Talmud states that ten ‘portions’ of speech were given to humanity-one portion to men and nine portions to women.[15] It’s interesting to note that girls tend to begin talking earlier than boys, and in the first two years of speaking, girls develop their vocabularies at a faster rate. Based on this and all of the above, we can understand the reason behind another teaching in the Talmud:[16] ‘Women were given a greater level of bina, understanding, than men.’ Speech can bring us into higher understanding.

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART
Today, tragically, many marriages end in divorce. One reason for this is that husbands and wives don’t speak heart-to-heart. Even while living in the same house, raising a family and accomplishing much together, many couples remain afraid to speak their heart. Others talk too much and fuel the anger, rather than making the effort to remain silent and listen emphatically.

This applies also to parents and children. Hopefully, we as parents do homework with our children and take them on vacations, but it’s even more important to ask them what might be bothering them, or what their aspirations are. Speaking and listening heart-to-heart creates a great and lasting bond between parent and child.

Thus the lesson of the parsha: aspire to be, like Moses and Aaron, a speaker to communicate G-d’s message of hope and redemption. Do not be intimated by the Pharaohs and Caesars. Recognize that you are being propelled by a force greater than yourself to communicate this message to the world: “The time of your redemption has arrived!”

A STORY
In the 60′s, my grandfather Jacob J. Hecht, of blessed memory, got very involved in deprogramming young people who had gotten involved in cults, in addition to combating missionaries and intermarriage. He went to ask the Lubavitcher Rebbe what he should tell these people. The Rebbe, instead of telling him what to say, told him how to say it: ‘You could speak to the person for two hours and fifty-nine minutes, but if in the last minute one word emanates from your heart, it will enter into their heart, and you will have accomplished your goal.’

ACTION: Take a few minutes today to speak to your spouse, or family member. Find out what they have to say. Speak from the heart.

Encourage your Jewish male neighbor to put on tefillin. Communicate to your Jewish female neighbor the joy of lighting Shabbos candles. Listen to their stories and feelings, and offer them comfort.

FOOTNOTES
[1] Jerry Seinfeld
[2] Exodus, 7:7
[3] See Even Ezra and Sifrono on the above verse.
[4] Exodus, 6:27
[5] Pardes Rimonim, “Shaar HaOsios”, Chapter 27, Letter pei.
[6] This gematria convention is called im ha-osios.
[7] If Moses hadn’t refused the mission out of humility, he would have been healed of his speech impediment immediately. Ultimately, he was healed at Mount Sinai.
[8] The Rambam’s passing on the 20th of Teves sometimes falls out during the week of the portion of Va’eira. The Chida writes that the Rambam passed away eighty-three days before his birthday. Also, the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, is divided into eighty-three sections. This implies that like Moses and Aaron, the Rambam was a speaker and communicator of the 613 Commandments to the Jewish People. The Rambam also spoke to non-Jews through teaching them Seven Noachide Laws. See Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, the Laws of Kings, Chapter 8 and onward.
[9] See Deuteronomy 30:3; the Chasam Sofer on Talmud, Baba Basra 16b; and Sefer HaSichos 5751, p. 25.
[10] See Letters of Light, Chapter on Letter ‘Pei’.
[11] See Sefer HaSichos 5748, page 36.
[12] Likutei Sichos, Vol. 6, p. 116, and Vol. 15, p. 327
[13] The Heritage Series: “Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashana 5659″, beginning on p. 3
[14] Kiddushin 49b
[15] Niddah, 45b [16] Ta’anis, 7a.