Chassidut sobre Provérbios 18:21

Death and Life are held in the tongue. A coal burns when you blow on it, and extinguishes when you spit on it. [Midrash Rabbah, 33:1, if there was a loaf that was subject to a tithe, and a man eats it before tithing, death is on his tongue, but if he first tithed it and then ate, life is on his tongue.] Certainly there is sacred vitality in every thing in the world, because the world was created with the light of torah. So the torah is called Fire, and the strength of the fire of torah is in each thing. Yet it is concealed inside and bound together as if in a coal. So we must search and find the light of the Torah that is in each thing. And it is in the language, because the essence of people's life-force is the breath that is within, as it is written, "And he breathed in his nose, the breath of life. And this we need to protect--that every articulation should be to the full strength of humanity's life-force. And from this, the life-force within all things awakens and is revealed. But when we act materialistically, it is as if we are spitting on a coal--not using our breath--only using the physical body of the mouth, and so we conceal the internal aspects, as mentioned above. And likewise, the Tevel compliments the Ma'aser, since we set aside a portion from the outset, to clarify that all the life-force comes as a miracle, and so it is the Ma'aser that gives life-force to the rest. The life-force is brought out from the internally concealed, as mentioned above. And if we do not set aside the Ma'aser, it is as if the husk is still stuck to the seed, and the life-force within cannot awaken, as mentioned above.

In the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim: It is customary to take wheat and distribute it to the poor. Let us see the deeper meaning of this custom: Chitah (חטה, wheat) has the numerical value of 22, corresponding to the 22 letters of the Torah. With this wheat, we make preparation so that [the poor] will be able to sanctify the 22 letters of the Torah through Torah study and prayer. For this reason, this holy festival is called Pesach, which can be read as peh sach (פה סח)—"the mouth speaks"—meaning that one should sanctify one's speech through songs and praises. And sach (סח) has the numerical value of chayyim (חיים, life), for "life and death are in the hand of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). Therefore, one must "choose life"—that is, holy speech. Moreover, the words themselves must be "alive," meaning [uttered] with complete intention (kavanah), for prayer without intention is like a body without a soul. Therefore, one must ensure that one's prayer is "alive"—that is, with intention. "And distribute them to the poor"—this means: the "poor" are those who cannot sanctify the 22 letters on their own. One must share with them from one's portion and channel holiness to them so that they too can sanctify [their speech]. For if one does not sanctify one's speech, then when one stands to pray afterward, one's words do not enter into holiness. This is the meaning of the verse: "And the passersby did not say: 'The blessing of the Lord be upon you'" (Psalms 129:8)—meaning, those who transgress His will could not say "the blessing of the Lord" because their words do not enter into holiness. Further there [in the Shulchan Aruch]: Nowadays, [regarding one who has resided here] for thirty days—and similarly a poor person who has dwelt here for thirty days—we are obligated to give to him. The deeper meaning is that one must learn Torah and teach, and make preparation for this holy festival. However, [the poor] themselves must also attach themselves to the tzaddik and strengthen themselves toward holiness. Then certainly the tzaddik can assist them. For without this, the tzaddik cannot channel so much to them, because [the recipient] himself pushes it away. And one who has not dwelt here for thirty days—in any case, we are obligated to give him matzah. The deeper meaning is: Certainly there are supremely holy individuals who, when Passover arrives, are already purified and ready, and all their prayer is with complete intention, without any improper thought. Therefore, for one who is not at such a level that he can purify himself completely, one must give him the spiritual level of matzah—from the language of matzah u-merivah (contention and strife), as explained in the holy Zohar. This means: the tzaddik must channel to him at least [the capacity] that if the evil inclination comes to make him fall into evil thoughts during this holy festival, he should fight with contention and strife against it and overcome it.

Leviticus 21,1. “speak to the priests, the sons of ‎Aaron.” The subject here deals with four different (parts) ‎universes named ‎עולם האצילות, עולם הבריאה, עולם היצירה, עולם ‏העשיה‎, respectively. In each of these “worlds” there is “life” and ‎G’d forbid, it’s opposite. We in our world of ‎עשיה‎, a domain ‎representing the physical material world after it had been ‎completed, experience both life and G’d forbid its opposite, death. ‎Similarly, we can visualize “life” and “death” in the ‎עולם היצירה‎, ‎which for want of a better term we will call the world of speech, ‎דבור‎, seeing that according to the Torah G’d had created it with ‎verbal directives. When man abuses the power of speech, uttering ‎vain things or lies, he is perceived of “killing” life in that domain. ‎When man employs the power of speech constructively, he is ‎considered as giving life to that domain. This condition is called ‎חיים‎, “life,” and has been alluded to by Solomon in Proverbs 18,21 ‎where he wrote: ‎חיים ומות ביד לשון‎, “life and death are within the ‎power of one’s tongue.” Abuse of the power of speech is the most ‎important element to guard against when serving the Lord. The ‎same rule applies to the world known as ‎עולם הבריאה‎, “the world ‎of creation,” i.e. a physically undeveloped world. This may be ‎described best as the world of thought, a world in which the ‎products of thought and mouth have not yet produced a finished ‎product. When man is constantly preoccupied in his heart and ‎mind how best to serve the Lord, he is considered alive, whereas ‎if, G’d forbid he is preoccupied with the opposite he is considered ‎as “dead.”‎
There is another world, on a higher plane than the three ‎we have already defined, the world of ‎יראה‎, awe, (referred to above ‎as ‎אצילות‎) this world is completely abstract when compared with ‎the other three worlds. Even in that world, however, the concepts ‎of “life” and “death” exist.‎
At any rate, the thing we have to concern ourselves with first ‎and foremost is the use we make of the power of speech G’d has ‎granted to us, the ability to communicate with our peers and to ‎convey our most intimate thoughts. The influence of this gift ‎cannot be overestimated, and that is why the Torah when ‎speaking to the priests, begins with ‎אמור אל הכהנים ואמרת להם ‏לנפש לא יטמא‎, “speak to the priests and say to them that the ‎priest must not defile himself on pain of death;” the meaning is ‎that the priest, through misuse of the power of speech, must not ‎commit a capital offence.‎