GEN660 Ferocious beasts come upon the world on account of false oaths. Pirkei Avot V:10-11 As Noah and his sons stood before the Almighty after the Flood, the world ready to begin afresh, He gave them His word: “And fear and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth …” [this verse]. But when the Almighty speaks to the Israelites through Moses we learn that this dominion and subjugation is conditional: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them … I will banish evil beasts from the land.” Leviticus 26:3,6. If man is to be superior to the wild beast so that it keeps away from his habitations in awe, in his way of life he must be far more than an animal: only then is he truly man, and need fear no beast.  Without the Torah’s precepts to give his life human dignity, in the realization that he was created in the Divine image, man remains another species of animal.  Many a wild beast will then be superior in its prowess, and man one more species available for prey.  The touchstone of Torah is truth. It requires us to acknowledge the Creator as the ultimate verity; it bids us worship Him in utter honesty.  In a life spent in His presence, lying has no place; especially is a false oath an effrontery to Him, when His name is used to make it seem valid. For His Name is thus profaned.  No animal ever acts “falsely” or lies. … It never desecrates the holy Name by betraying its Creator and acting “out of character.” Man alone has speech and the power to choose what he will do with it – whether he will love with truth or swear falsely for small immediate gains; whether he will bring dignity to himself and Creator’s Name, or betray his own human potential and descreate the holy Name. If his choice is bad, he ends his superiority and dominion over the wild best; it becomes his superior; and “ferocious beasts come upon the world.” (The person who swears falsely sins with his mouth; the beast likewise destroys with its mouth.)  SINAI3 131-2