Dibbur

The following is an excerpt from a daily email by Rabbi Eli Mansour which gave pause to both my friend and me as we reflected on the unintentional consequences of the words we speak.

The Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1525-1572), in his glosses to the Shulhan Aruch (Yoreh De’a 376), mentions the Halacha that one should not “open his mouth to the Satan.” This means that one should not speak about events that he does not wish to transpire, such as disasters and catastrophes, as words have the power to cause these misfortunes to happen. The Sages teach, “Berit Keruta La’sfatayim” – there is a “covenant” made with the lips whereby they have power to cause that which they speak about. The word “Dibbur” (“speech”) is derived from word “Dabar” (“thing”), which generally refers to tangible objects. Speech has substance and force, and therefore it must be used with great caution.


Thus, for example, if a person has not heard from somebody in a long time, and that other person has not returned his phone calls or letters, he should not say, “I haven’t heard from him; he must have died.” The mere utterance of these words could cause the misfortune to happen, and thus these words should not be said.
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