Ed kazavim yoved. The witness that lies will ultimately be gone. He will be destroyed, he'll be gone. Ve'ish shomea, but the man who listens, la-netzach yedaber, forever he will speak. What does this mean? The man who lies will be destroyed, but the person who listens, la-netzach yedaber.
So, taking some compilation of what the commentaries say, with a little addition and spice on our own, here's what it means. If you talk, you blabber. Sometimes your talk is the truth. Sometimes it's 60% the truth. Sometimes it's exaggerated. Sometimes it's not even accurate. Those people, those words, yoved. They'll be gone. They don't last very long. But ve'ish shomea, the person that listens and doesn't speak, la-netzach, says Rashi, means tamid yedaber. He will always speak. What does it mean, the person who listens will always speak? What it means is the person that listens, and Rashi says, the person who listens to what the Torah says, what not to talk about. If a person listens to the Torah's instructions of not speaking lashon hara (evil speech), and not using foul language, and not lying, and not exaggerating, and not gossiping, if a person listens to all of that, they will always speak. What does it mean they will always speak? What that means is this: if you're a blabbermouth and you say all kinds of tall stories, short stories, exaggerated stories, lying stories, gossiping stories, your words, they get lost. But if you listen to the Torah's instructions of when to speak and when not to speak, your mouth will always be powerful. You'll always be able to speak, because if you're careful to be silent when you should, then when you talk, you'll be heard. But if you talk all the time, and you're gossiping, and you're returning gossip, and you're lying, and you're exaggerating, and you're doing all those things, and maybe you feel like people are validating and listening to your words, they're flying away in the fan.
But if you're silent here, and silent there, and silent there, and listen to what God says, I'm not going to speak, even though I want to, because it validates me. I'm not going to create a machloket (dispute) over here even though I want to because they deserve it. I'm not going to tell everyone who I don't know over here even though I want to because people need to know, even if I'm going to try to defend myself over here because I need to, and I'm going to talk over here, and maybe I'll exaggerate a little just to make my point, and maybe I'll massage the truth a little bit just to create my case. By that time, if you spoke all those words, no one wants to hear you. But if you were silent here and silent here and silent there and silent there, la-netzach, forever your words will have power; forever your words will be words that will be heard.
So the next time you have a family member that does something that's just frustrating, like, "What were you thinking?" just be silent. The next time you have a boss that for some reason today walked into the office in a bad mood and is blaming people, and you want to explain it and maybe tell them it's really not your fault—it's the secretary's fault, the other person's fault—just be silent. The next time your spouse just woke up on the wrong side of the bed or did something that was so obviously wrong or dumb, just be silent. The next time that you have enemies that are talking about you, just stay silent.
But what do you mean? But I'm frustrated. How could I stay silent? Do what Moshe Rabbeinu did, because Moshe Rabbeinu was silent to Datan and Aviram. But he wasn't completely silent. You know what the next Pasuk (verse) says? Vayichar l'Moshe me'od (Moshe was very upset). Moshe was very upset when they spread this whole story about him that he made him an Agalim (calves) come back with a bad story, in order to make him look bad, in order to make him have power for a longer time. This whole story: Vayichar l'Moshe me'od, vayomer, and he speaks to who? El Hashem. He speaks to Hashem.
You're frustrated. You're annoyed. You're talking. You're in a hole to them. You're upset at them. You're angry. Even your spouse, your kids, your neighbor. Talk to Hashem. Because He knows your emotions. He knows what you mean. Him, you're allowed to say whatever you want. So talk to Him. Because when you talk to Him, you're able to be silent to the world and listen to the only ears that are listening always. Thank you.