The Power in Our Words: Every Jew Can Bless or Harm

The power of speech in every Jew

When we’re in need, it’s common to seek blessings from great rabbis, tzaddikim (righteous people), or people known for their spiritual strength. But the truth is, every single Jew has power in their words both for blessing and, sadly, for harm.

The Talmud teaches us to be extremely careful with what we say. Words are not just sounds but they create reality. The stories below, all true, show just how seriously Judaism views the power of speech.

Three words that left him paralyzed

About a hundred years ago, Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, one of the leading Torah scholars of pre-Holocaust Europe, was the head of a yeshivah (Torah academy) in the Polish town of Baranovich.

One evening, a group of rowdy young men barged into the yeshivah, clearly looking to provoke trouble. Rabbi Wasserman approached them calmly and asked them to leave. One of the youths mocked him, sneering, “No hands!”, in other words, “Don’t you dare touch me!”

Rabbi Wasserman responded with quiet firmness, “You no hands.”

The next morning, the entire town was buzzing with the shocking news. That same boy had woken up unable to move his arms. His hands were completely paralyzed.

He announced his own death

We may understand that a great rabbi has powerful speech but what about ordinary people?

Petach Tikva, one of the first modern cities built in Israel, was founded in 1878. About ten years later, the community held a ceremony to dedicate a new cemetery. At the event, someone joked, “So, who’s going to be the first one buried here?”

Another man, just playing along, replied, “I don’t mind being the first.”

Within two weeks, that man who had been in perfect health unexpectedly passed away. He was, indeed, the first to be buried in the new cemetery.

To warn future generations about the weight of careless words, the rabbis of Petach Tikva ruled that the details of what he had said should be engraved on his gravestone:

“Here lies Nissan Leib ben Chaim Gamzu... who stated, ten days before his death, while in full health, that he did not object to being the first to be buried in this cemetery. He passed away on the 19th of Tishrei, 5649. May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.”

A child after 24 years

Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein shared the following powerful story:

Years ago, a young man was studying Torah in a yeshivah in Jerusalem. Every evening, a woman would come in to clean the floors. One day, she brought a few of her small children along. While she worked, the children played, making a lot of noise.

One of the students got up and asked her to keep them quiet. He may not have spoken gently, and his words hurt her. She turned to him and said sharply, “I hope you never know how hard it is to raise children.”

Time passed. The young man forgot the entire incident. He got married and looked forward to building a family… but nothing happened.

Years turned into decades. The couple tried everything, doctors, treatments, prayers. But they remained childless. As they approached their late forties, hope began to fade.

Then one day, the man suddenly remembered the cleaning lady and her painful words. Could those words have had spiritual power?

He contacted the yeshivah to see if they could help him find her. Miraculously, she was still alive. He traveled to her home, deeply emotional, and begged her for forgiveness.

The woman wholeheartedly forgave him. Not only that, she blessed him that he and his wife should have children.

Nine months later, the couple had their first child, a healthy baby boy.

Rabbi Zilberstein concluded:

“This story shows us how incredibly powerful speech can be. We must be so careful not to harm others with our words. But even more than that, we must remember how powerful it is to bless others. Every single Jew can give a heartfelt brachah (blessing) to another Jew. Never underestimate your words.”