It’s Creepy, But It Speaks to Me

Every once in a while, the genius, original minds of the Talmud offer an idea that is so outrageous that you have to stop, get up and walk around a little bit before you can sit back down and begin to figure it out.

A constant and fundamental feature of the Talmudic discourse is to quote ideas in the name of the person who said them first. This is not only so that one can track who is holding what position as the different opinions fly across the generations, it is also to honor a deeply held principle that ideas should be shared in the name of the person who originated them. To give credit where credit is due.

To illustrate how this is not only a nice thing to do, but something that is woven into the fabric of how the world works, Shimon ben Nezira quoted Rabbi Yitzchak’s revelation that whenever we say something in the name of the person who said it originally, if that person is dead, his lips move along with ours. (Shekalim 7b)

This was one of those close-the-book, get up and walk around the block moments.  The image is so graphic, the idea is so morbid and comical at the same time.  And while spiritual ventriloquism sounds macabre, this novel idea is a magnificent concept that keeps people’s memories alive.  Using our lips to pass on their words of Torah causes their lips to move once more.  This is how people live forever. Brilliant.

I was in my car recently with Tom Petty. I was driving; he was singing. A lot of singers do this, but he is great at creating a choral dynamic with his audience where we sometimes sing together with him, while at other times he prompts us and we enthusiastically echo his singing. We feed off of each other. This can go on for a while.  And that’s what was happening with Tom and me in my car.  Tom Petty died in 2017, but years later he was making my lips move. That’s when I understood the true significance of that Talmudic teaching. It’s not only that what I say today recalls a person from the past. It’s acknowledging that the words uttered by someone long ago are so powerful that they move me today. So truthful that they not only move my lips, they animate my life. So profound that they not only awaken me to speak the words, but to sing the song.