Numbers
The mitzvot of Matot
After Sefer HaChinuch · by a Levite of Barcelona
Mitzvot in the parsha: 2 Positive: 1 Negative: 1
- 406
The commandment of the law of the abrogation of vows
Positive Numbers 30:3
The Chinuch explains the roots of vows and oaths at the mitzvah "Do not take God's name in vain". God endures forever, so His name must be mentioned with awe and reverence and not lightly, and one who swears binds himself to make his word endure unchanged. A vow is a different path, in which a person forbids to himself something permitted, just as God forbade the offering, and this power was given to us by the Torah.
- 407
That we not profane our words from vows
Negative Numbers 30:3
God endures forever and there is no permanence like His, so one who vows or swears must fulfil his words without change. In this way faith and awe are fixed in our hearts, and we learn to mention His great name with reverence and not lightly. A vow, by which a person forbids himself something permitted just as an offering is forbidden, is a power the Torah gave us, so one must not treat it lightly or profane one's word.