BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA 5773 Parshas Eikev- Taking the Oath

In this week's parsha we are told "u'vishmo tishave'ah" - and in His name you shall swear. The Ramban (6:13) explains this to mean that we are commanded to only swear in His name and not in the name of idols. According to this approach, even swearing truthfully in Hashem's name isn't a fulfillment of a command, but, rather, the inhibition of a violation. The Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos 7), on the other hand, understands this to be a positive command to swear to perform mitzvos. Nevertheless, swearing -even truthfully- is not a good habit to accustom oneself to. We see this from the Midrash (quoted in Tur OC 156) which relates that Yanai Hamelech had 1000 cities which were all destroyed because people were swearing truthfully. PRINT VERSION CLICK HERE.