Subject: In Memory of Baruch Yitzchak ben Yirmiyahu (Barry Pessin)
From: Heath Berkin <heath.berkin@gmail.com>
Date: 1/6/2017, 3:51 AM
To: Heath Berkin <heath.berkin@gmail.com>
BCC: menachem@alonsystems.com
The Mishna in Avos (5;1) says that "In ten sayings G-d Created the world. Couldn't He have created the world with one saying? But in order to reward the righteous who uphold the world which was created with ten sayings and to punish the wicked who destroy the world which was created with ten sayings".
The commentators explain that, G-d is infinite and all powerful He could have easily created the world in one saying as opposed to ten. But by using ten separate sayings to create the world this showed a greater importance to the world and thereby increases the reward of the righteous and the punishment to the wicked who destroy G-d's Handiwork through their actions.
If we contemplate this Mishna for a moment, we see the power of speech. Although G-d has no physical attributes and doesn't speak in the sense we understand human speech, nevertheless we can learn about our human speech from the way our sages understand creation. Just as G-d's "speech" created our entire world we should realize that we have tremendous power within our own human speech. Our speech as well has the power to build or destroy the worlds of the people around us, our family and friends.