Most years Matot is read together with Masei.
Torah Thoughts
Among other things, Parashat Matot emphasizes the obligation to keep promises. The Torah says that an oath or a vow, whether to another person or to God, becomes a part of your soul. However, a woman who lives with her father, or a married woman, will not be punished by God for failing to keep the promise if the father or husband (as applicable) nullifies her promise on the day he hears about it (for you attorneys, it is a one-day limitations period after the discovery rule is applied). A divorced or widowed woman is bound by her promises no matter what. Note that this parsha does not give parents or husbands authority over a woman, it simply says a woman would not be punished for failing to fulfill a promise she is forbidden to keep by a person who, in reality, had authority over her.
