We don't take our word seriously anymore. We make promises all the time, knowing that we are not going to follow through on them. Sure, I'll get coffee with you (when hell freezes over). Sure, I'll read that book you've recommended (when pigs fly). Sure, I'll marry you until death do us part (or until I get bored).

In law, a contract doesn't require lawyers, a signature, or a written document. It just requires that two people verbally agree to something. Yet, nowadays, oral agreements have become a laughingstock. They used to be something sacred - when communities were smaller, when honor and duty were still esteemed.

In the parsha for this week, Moshe gives some of his most sage advice: if you say you're going to do something, then do it. Counter-intuitively, when we follow through on our promises, this doesn't make our lives more burdened, but rather, more free and more meaningful.

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Music: Georg Frideric Handel - "Zadok the Priest"