Commento su Deuteronomio 23:24

מוצא שפתיך תשמר THAT WHICH HATH GONE OUT OF THY LIPS THOU SHALT KEEP — This is intended to add a positive command to the prohibition of delaying one’s vows (mentioned in the previous verse) (Rosh Hashanah 6a).

מוצא שפתיך תשמר, "You shall carry out what you have promised with your lips." The Torah suggests that you should wait before making a vow, a promise, until you are in a position to honour it forthwith. In that event it is perfectly acceptable for you to make vows. This is why the Torah writes immediately adjoining ועשית כאשר נדרת, "and you will do in accordance with what you have vowed." The famous teacher of the Mishnah Hillel conducted himself according to this principle by not designating the lamb he would offer as a passover offering as such until he had reached the Temple yard where it was to be slaughtered (compare Pessachim 86).

This specifies a positive commandment with the negative. Rashi is answering the question: Scripture has already written above, “Do not delay in discharging it.” This indicates that one must fulfill his obligation!

V. 24. מוצא שפתיך תשמר (Schebuot 26 b) wird mit Hinweis auf כל נדיב לב (Schmot 35, 5) gelehrt, dass eben für נדרי הקדש, von welchen unser Text zunächst spricht, schon der Gelübdevorsatz, גמר בלבו, ohne Ausspruch bindend ist, während für alle anderen Gelobungen, mit Ausnahme von נדרי צדקה, die in dieser Hinsicht den נדרי הקדש gleichstehen, der Grundsatz gilt, dass ein Gelübdevorsatz erst durch den Ausspruch perfekt und bindend wird, גמר בלבו צריך להוציא בשפתיו (siehe zu Schmot 35, 5 und Wajikra 5, 4). Jedoch gilt auch für נדרי הקדש der Grundsatz, dass, wenn das Gelübde nicht bloß gedacht, sondern ausgesprochen worden, בעינן פיו ולבו שוין, das Ausgesprochene mit dem Gedachten nicht im Widerspruch stehen darf; — siehe Trumot III, 8, ר׳׳ש daselbst).

מוצא שפתיך תשמור, “that which has come forth from your lips you should observe and do.”

Another meaning of our verse may be this: the words מוצא שפתיך תשמר mean that you should be very careful before you say anything (as it may be in the nature of a commitment). If, however, you did say something, treat it as if it were as sacred as a vow, i.e. כאשר נדרת לשם אלוקיך נדבה, "as if you had made a sacred vow to the Lord your G'd, instead of merely a voluntary gift of a secular nature." The Torah uses the expression נדבה to indicate the generous frame of mind you were in when you made this promise. We know that this is the general meaning of the word נדבה from Exodus 25,20: "which he donates in his heart," or Exodus 35,21: "which his spirit had donated."

נדר ,כאשר נדרת לד׳ אלקיך נדבה mit der Formel הרי עלי, z. B. הרי עלי עולה, übernimmt die Verpflichtung, Gott ein Opfer zu bringen. נדבה mit der Formel הרי זו, z. B. הרי זו עולה, weihet einen Gegenstand, z. B. ein Tier zum Opfer. Nun ist es klar, dass bei allen נדרי הקדש, z. B. beim Opfergelübde, zwischen der Gelobung und der Erfüllung, d. i. der Darbringung, ein Weiheakt liegt, mit welchem ein Tier zu dem angelobten Opfer geweiht wird. Jedes נדר fasst daher eine נדבה in sich. Jedes הרי עלי עולה gelobt ein Tier zum עולה zu weihen und es dann als solches darzubringen. Wenn nun hier der Text bei נדר diesen נרבה-Zwischenakt hervorhebt, כאשר נדרת נדבה, so will damit nach Sebachim 2 a zugleich angedeutet sein, dass es Fälle gibt, in welchen der aus einem נדר hervorgegangene נדבה-Akt zu einer selbständigen נדבה wird, durch welche das נדר nicht seine Erfüllung erreicht, z. B. in den Fällen, wo ein קרבן durch שנוי קדש oder שנוי בעלים wohl כשר bleibt, aber לא עלה לבעלים לשם חובה (siehe Wajikra S. 30) מוצא שפתיך תשמר ועשית כאשר נדרת וגו׳ נדבה האי נדבה נדר הוא אלא אם כמה שנדרת עשית יהא נדר ואם לאו נדבה יהא (Sebachim 2 a).

כאשר נדרת, “as you have vowed, voluntarily.” No one forced you to make such a vow, so that not honouring it, or delay in honouring it is entirely your fault.

אשר דברת בפיך, "as you have said with your mouth." We may understand this in light of Zohar volume three page 294 commenting on Kohelet 10,20: "for a bird of the sky may carry the sound, etc." When a man merely entertains some thoughts, his lips already move without his being aware of this. This is what the Torah alludes to with the words: "which you uttered with your mouth." If the meaning were not what the Zohar suggested what point is there in the Torah adding the word: "with your mouth?" Who does not know that one speaks with one's mouth? Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 6 interpret our verse in a different manner. After all, there are 70 legitimate ways of interpreting the written Torah.

That is that we were commanded to fulfill everything that we we take upon ourselves in speech, whether in an oath, a vow, charity, a sacrifice or anything else besides them. And that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "What issues from your lips shall you observe" (Deuteronomy 23:24). And even though they have already separated the words of this verse and arranged each word of it for various content, the intention that nevertheless comes out of all that [they] said to you is that it is a positive commandment for a person to fulfill everything that he accepts upon himself, whatever it may be. And one who violates it, [also] violates a negative commandment; and behold I will explain this in my mention of the negative commandments (Sefer HaMitzvot, Negative Commandments 157). And in the Sifrei (Sifrei Devarim 265:2): "'What issues from your lips' is a positive commandment." And you know that there is no content to the statement, "what issues," alone. However the intention is that which I mentioned to you - to understand the simple meaning of the verse, that He commanded to do what one puts out with his mouth. And behold that this commandment is repeated; and that is His saying, "according to all that issues from his mouth shall he do" (Numbers 30:3). And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in many places - in Shevuot, in the end of Menachot and in Tractate Kinnim as well. That is to say that the specifics of concerning oneself to do the thing that one has obligated oneself; and how one exempts oneself when he has a doubt about what he said, is found there. (See Parashat Ki Tetzeh; Mishneh Torah, Sefer Haflaah.)