The root "Shama" - to hear or listen - is a key word in Numbers 30, where the laws of women's vows are detailed. This is one of the units that interrupts the sequence of the Sin of Pe'or and the war against Midian, when Bnei Yisrael take revenge on the Midianites for enticing them to sin. The sin of prohibited relations leads to the destruction of the family unit, whereas listening and hearing one another - the theme emphasized in this chapter - enable a strengthening of the family unit and home.