Parshat Vetchanan 5769

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Zachor and Shamor

The Book of Dvarim is also known as Mishneh Torah,

translated as Deuteronomy. The practical explanation for
the book's name, and for its raison d'etre, is that at the
end of Moshe’s life, before taking leave of his people,
Moshe saw fit to teach the generation of Israelites who
would soon enter the Land of Israel. This is not the
generation that left Egypt, nor are they the same people
who stood at Mount Sinai. That generation perished, and
soon Moshe would be "gathered in to his people" – Moshe,
too, would die in the desert. The Israelites who would
enter the Promised Land were of a new generation; they
had been children at the time of the Exodus, or were born
during the Jews' 40-year sojourn in the desert.1 This new
generation, too, must hear God’s laws. Therefore, we are
not surprised to find material from the four earlier Books
of the Torah repeated in the fifth book: Mishneh Torah,
Deuteronomy, literally means "the repetition of the law."

One particular repetition, found in Parshat Va'etchanan, is

of particular interest: The Revelation at Sinai. Parshat
Va'etchanan recounts that Revelation, and restates its
content, the Decalogue – or the Ten Commandments. This
seminal event, and the founding principles of Judaism that
were transmitted at that event, were surely worthy of
repetition, and we find nothing strange in Moshe's
reminder to his young audience:

‫דברים פרק ד‬
‫(ט) רַק הִשָמֶר לְךָ ושְמֹר נַפְשְךָ מְאֹד פֶן תִשְכַח אֶת הַדְבָרִים אֲשֶר‬
ָ‫רָאו עֵינֶיךָ ופֶן יָסורו מִלְבָבְךָ כֹל יְמֵי חַיֶיךָ וְהודַעְתָם לְבָנֶיך‬
’‫(י) יום אֲשֶר עָמַדְתָ לִפְנֵי ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְחֹרֵב בֶאֱמֹר ה‬:ָ‫וְלִבְנֵי בָנֶיך‬
‫אֵלַי הַקְהֶל לִי אֶת הָעָם וְאשְמִעֵם אֶת דְבָרָי אֲשֶר יִלְמְדון לְיִרְאה‬
)‫ (יא‬:‫אֹתִי כָל הַיָמִים אֲשֶר הֵם חַיִים עַל הָאֲדָמָה וְאֶת בְנֵיהֶם יְלַמֵדון‬
‫וַתִקְרְבון וַתַעַמְדון תַחַת הָהָר וְהָהָר בֹעֵר בָאֵש עַד לֵב הַשָמַיִם‬
‫ (יב) וַיְדַבֵר ה’ אֲלֵיכֶם מִתוךְ הָאֵש קול דְבָרִים‬:‫חֹשֶךְ עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל‬
1
See Chzkuni Dvarim 5:1.
‫חזקוני על דברים פרק ה פסוק א‬
‫ להשמיעם עשרת הדברות לנולדים אחר מתן תורה‬- ‫(א) אל כל ישראל‬
‫ (יג) וַיַגֵד לָכֶם אֶת‬:‫אתֶם שֹמְעִים ותְמונָה אֵינְכֶם רֹאִים זולָתִי קול‬
‫בְרִיתו אֲשֶר צִוָה אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשות עֲשֶרֶת הַדְבָרִים וַיִכְתְבֵם עַל שְנֵי‬
:‫לֻחות אֲבָנִים‬
Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul
diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes
have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all
the days of your life; but teach them to your sons,
and to your grandsons; The day when you stood
before the Almighty, Omnipotent God in Horev, when
God said to me, 'Gather the People together, and I
will make them hear My words, that they may learn
to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the
earth, and that they may teach their children.' And
you came near and stood under the mountain; and
the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven,
with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And God
spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard
the sound of the words, but saw no form save a
voice. And He declared to you His covenant, which
He commanded you to perform, ten commandments;
and He wrote them upon two tablets of stone.
D’varim 4:9-13

Rather than simply reminding them of the Revelation,

Moshe goes one step further; he repeats the words which
echoed from Heaven – more or less. A close reading of the
Ten Commandments as recorded in Parshat Va'etchanan
reveals deviations from the wording of the Ten
Commandments in Shmot, Parshat Yitro. Many scholars
have offered explanations of these variances, each taking
into account one or more of the relevant factors of time,
place, experience, purpose and point of view of those
hearing the speech and of the speech itself:

Moshe repeated the Ten Commandments on several

occasions, the first of which was at Mount Sinai. The
people recoiled from the sound of God's voice; the
experience of direct communication was overwhelming,
terrifying, and Moshe was called upon to transmit the Ten
Commandments to the people.2 The second time Moshe
repeats the law to the People is in our present parsha. The
2
See Shmot 20:16, which is explained by Dvarim 5:4-6
Ibn Ezra suggests that the Ten Commandments as found in
Yitro are the Words of God, while those found in
Va'etchanan are the words of Moshe.3 As evidence for this
position, Ibn Ezra points to the wording of the Fourth and
Fifth Commandments in Va'etchanan: “…as the Lord your
God has commanded you”.4

The Pnei Yehoshua (Yehoshua Yaakov Falk, 1680-1756)

raises a different possibility: God said the Ten
Commandments twice in Yitro, each time in a different
way; First God uttered all Ten Commandments
simultaneously,5 in an act of Divine Speech. Then God
uttered each of the Commandments again, in a form of
speech more easily recognized by human senses; the first
two Commandments were spoken directly to the entire
People, and when they recoiled, the rest were said
exclusively to Moshe who in turn relayed the teaching to
the People. The Pnei Yehoshua goes on to suggest that the
two repetitions, both spoken by God, had differences. The
first version is reflected in the text of Shmot, and the
second, in Dvarim.6

Another variable that comes into play is the fact that there
were two different sets of Tablets. Do the differences
Shmot 20:16. And they said to Moses, Speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us,
lest we die.
Dvarim 5:4-6 God talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5. I stood
between God and you at that time, to tell you the Word of God; for you were afraid because of the fire,
and went not up into the mount, saying, 6. I am the Almighty your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, from the house of slavery…
3
Ibn Ezra Shmot 20:1, the Pnei Yehoshua, op cit, also makes this suggestion.
‫אבן עזרא שמות (הפירוש הארוך) פרק כ פסוק א‬
.‫ ועשרת הדברים הכתובים בפ' ואתחנן הם דברי משה‬,‫ ושמור בלוח השני‬,‫ כי זכור הוא בלוח האחד‬,‫לא כאשר אמר הגאון‬
.‫והראיה הגמורה ששם כתוב פעמים כאשר צוך ה' אלהיך‬
4
See Hizkuni, who makes a similar observation, but notes other words as his evidence:
‫חזקוני על דברים פרק ה פסוק יח‬
‫מתחלת אנכי עד ולשומרי מצותי אין בין דברות ראשונות לשניות שום שינוי לפי שהקב"ה חזר ופירשם כמו שמפורש בפרשת‬
‫ אבל השאר שחזר משה ופירשם אין חששא בשנוי המלות אחרי‬.‫יתרו ולא רצה משה אפי' בפרשה זו לשנות בהם שום דבר‬
‫ ומדברת לא תשא שאין בה‬,‫ וזה הכלל כל דבר שינוי במקרא תמצא בפעם שנית מלות שונות אך הטעם שוה‬.‫שהם שוות בטעם‬
‫ ועשרת הדברות שבפרשת יתרו הם דברי הקב"ה בלי תוספת ומגרעת לבד למען ייטב לך‬.‫שינוי אין להקפיד כי כך היה המקרא‬
‫ ואותם שבפרשה זו הם הם דברי משה וכאן סדרן משה אחר סברת‬.‫כמו שפירש"י והם לבדם הכתובות על לוחות הברית‬
‫ ובפרשת יתרו סדרם הקב"ה על סברת‬.‫הבחורים שתחלה חומדים אשה ואח"כ בית ואח"כ עבד ואמה ואח"כ שדות וחמורים‬
.‫דעת אנשי חכמה שקונים תחלה בית ואח"כ אשה ואח"כ עבד ואמה ואח"כ שור וחמור‬
5
As per the comments of Rashi Shmot 20:1.
6
The Pnie Yehoshua commentary to Baba Kamma 55a.
‫פני יהושע מסכת בבא קמא דף נה עמוד א‬
‫עוד מצאתי שהקב"ה בעצמו הגיד שני פעמים העשרת הדברות בראשונה אמר כל הדברים בדיבור אחד ואח"כ חזר ופרשם‬
‫ומזה הטעם נאמרו פעמים בתורה בפרשת יתרו ובפרשת ואתחנן והשינוי ג"כ היה באמירת הקב"ה בעצמו‬
between Shmot and Dvarim stem from God's
commandment to record different words on each set of
Tablets? In Yitro, God spoke and Moshe repeated the
words. While we would expect Moshe to faithfully and
precisely transmit the Word of God, is it possible that
Moshe, our teacher par excellence, added explanatory
comments along the way? The suggestion that Moshe
might have changed anything in the Torah is disturbing,7
even bordering on heretical. Surely, we must be extremely
precise: It is a tenet of Jewish faith that the entire Torah is
divine, and was dictated by God to Moshe. Nonetheless,
Moshe most certainly needed to explain the law in a
manner that would make it accessible and
understandable. This necessitated the use of different
explanatory words, in order to assure that the content was
understood, and unchanged. Were these explanatory
words included only in the second retelling? Or does each
version of the Commandments include different
explanatory comments added in by Moshe, tailored to the
different audiences?
In other words, what is the correlation between what God
said8, and what Moshe said? Between what God told
Moshe to write in the Torah in Exodus and in Dvarim?
Between what was written on the first Tablets, which were
shattered, and the second Tablets, which were
successfully received by the People? 9

7
See The Pnie Yehoshua commentary to Baba Kamma 55a
‫פני יהושע מסכת בבא קמא דף נה עמוד א‬
‫ הנה כל הקורא ישתומם על‬.'‫אמר לו עד שאתה שואלני למה וכו' שאלני אם נאמר בהם טוב או לאו שאיני יודע אם נאמר וכו‬
‫ככה וכי גברא רבא כר' חייא בר אבא לא היה יודע חלילה מה שהתנוקות של בית רבן יודעים שלא אמר טוב בדברות ראשונות‬
'‫ובאחרונות כתיב ואי משום דלשון טוב ממש לא כתיב אמאי קאמר שאינו יודע ועוד דנראה כפל הלשון שאלני אם נאמר וכו‬
.‫שאיני יודע אם נאמר‬
8
The Chizkuni says, "That which God repeated )i.e., the first two Commandments( Moshe taught
faithfully, for they were explained by God, and that which was explained by Moshe )the remaining
eight Commandments( is where Moshe needed to add his own explanations," hence there are no
differences between the first two commandments in Shmot and Devarim.
‫חזקוני על דברים פרק ה פסוק יח‬
‫מתחלת אנכי עד ולשומרי מצותי אין בין דברות ראשונות לשניות שום שינוי לפי שהקב"ה חזר ופירשם כמו שמפורש בפרשת‬
‫ אבל השאר שחזר משה ופירשם אין חששא בשנוי המלות אחרי‬.‫יתרו ולא רצה משה אפי' בפרשה זו לשנות בהם שום דבר‬
‫ ומדברת לא תשא שאין בה‬,‫ וזה הכלל כל דבר שינוי במקרא תמצא בפעם שנית מלות שונות אך הטעם שוה‬.‫שהם שוות בטעם‬
.‫שינוי אין להקפיד כי כך היה המקרא‬
9
See Rabbenu Bachya, Bereishit, 18:19 whose overall principle is that the Commandments as they
were spoken should be identical to what was written.
‫רבנו בחיי על בראשית פרק יח פסוק יט‬
‫ ומכאן אתה למד כי המשנה שהיא‬,‫כתב רבינו חננאל ז"ל נעשו דברי האבות בקבלה בלא כתיבה בתורה כמו תורה הכתובה‬
‫ שהרי עשרת‬,‫ שזה וזה שוים‬,‫סידורה בהגדת אבות לבנים היא קבלה שחייבים לשמור דבריהם כחיוב דברי תורה הכתובים‬
‫ וכשם שאין הפרש בין המצוות שהן‬,‫הדברות נשמעו מפי הגבורה ונכתבו מפי הנביא ע"ה ושאר התורה נכתבה מפי הנביא‬
:‫ עד כאן‬,‫ כך אין הפרש בין המצוות שהן בכתיבה ובין המצוות שהן בקבלה שהכל שוין‬,‫בשמיעה ובין המצוות שהן בכתיבה‬
Each of these variables could result in a different
explanation for the differences between the two versions
of the Ten Commandments. But rather than plumb the
depths of the possible causes or reasons for the
differences, I propose we examine the differences
themselves, for there is so much to be learned from them.
Specifically, I would suggest that the first major,
substantive difference between the two "versions" is in the
Fourth Commandment; up until that point, most of the
differences may be considered explanatory, with more
words and explanations provided in Dvarim. In the Fourth
Commandment, concerning Shabbat, the difference is not
a question of details, nor a question of the language used
to make the point. Here, the difference represents a new
perspective altogether.

Let us compare the Fourth Commandment as it appears in

Shmot and in Dvarim. In each instance there is an
introductory command:
‫שמות פרק כ‬
:‫(ז) זָכור אֶת יום הַשַבָת לְקַדְשו‬

In Shmot 20,8:
Remember (or, commemorate) the Shabbat day, to
sanctify it.
‫דברים פרק ה‬
:ָ‫(יא) שָמור אֶת יום הַשַבָת לְקַדְשו כַאֲשֶר צִוְךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֶיך‬
In Dvarim 5, 11:
Keep (or, guard) the Shabbat day to sanctify it, as the
Almighty your God has commanded you.

The word 'remember', zachor, is replaced with 'guard' (or

'keep'), shamor, and the problematic “as the Almighty
your God has commanded you” is tacked on. Next comes
the body of the law:
‫שמות פרק כ‬
:ָ‫(ח) שֵשֶת יָמִים תַעֲבֹד וְעָשִיתָ כָל מְלַאכְתֶך‬
ָ‫(ט) וְיום הַשְבִיעִי שַבָת לַד' אֱלֹקֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶה כָל מְלָאכָה אתָה ובִנְך‬
:ָ‫ובִתֶךָ עַבְדְךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ ובְהֶמְתֶךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶר בִשְעָרֶיך‬

In Shmot 20, 8-9:

 Six days shall you labor, and do all your work; But
the seventh day is Shabbat of the Almighty your God;
on it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son,
nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your
maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that
is within your gates;
‫דברים פרק ה‬
:ָ‫(יב) שֵשֶת יָמִים תַעֲבֹד וְעָשִיתָ כָל מְלַאכְתֶך‬
‫(יג) וְיום הַשְבִיעִי שַבָת לַיקֹוָק אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶה כָל מְלָאכָה אתָה‬
ָ‫ובִנְךָ ובִתֶךָ וְעַבְדְךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְשורְךָ וַחֲמֹרְךָ וְכָל בְהֶמְתֶך‬
:ָ‫וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶר בִשְעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יָנוחַ עַבְדְךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ כָמוך‬

In Dvarim 5, 12-13:
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; But the
seventh day is Shabbat of the Almighty your God; on
it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor
your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your
maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of
your cattle, nor your stranger who is inside your
gates; that your manservant and your maidservant
may rest as well as you.

The additional words in Devarim do not contradict the

earlier version in any way; they provide more explanation:
"that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as
well as you."

The final section of the Commandment is the reason for

Shabbat, and it is here that we find two divergent
rationales for Sabbath observance:
‫שמות פרק כ‬
‫(י) כִי שֵשֶת יָמִים עָשָה ה’ אֶת הַשָמַיִם וְאֶת הָארֶץ אֶת הַיָם וְאֶת כָל‬
‫אֲשֶר בָם וַיָנַח בַיום הַשְבִיעִי עַל כֵן בֵרַךְ ה’ אֶת יום הַשַבָת‬
‫ ס‬:‫וַיְקַדְשֵהו‬

In Shmot 20, 10:

For in six days God made the heavens and earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the
seventh day; therefore God blessed the Shabbat day,
and sanctified it.
‫דברים פרק ה‬
‫(יד) וְזָכַרְתָ כִי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיֹצִאֲךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִשָם‬
‫בְיָד חֲזָקָה ובִזְרֹעַ נְטויָה עַל כֵן צִוְךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲשות אֶת יום‬
‫ ס‬:‫הַשַבָת‬

In Dvarim 5, 14:
And remember that you were a servant in the land of
Egypt, and that the Almighty your God brought you
out from there with a mighty hand and with an
outstretched arm; therefore the Almighty your God
commanded you to keep the Shabbat day.

In Shmot, the rationale for Shabbat is Creation: Shabbat is

a testament to our belief in the Creation and the Creator.
On the other hand, in Dvarim the Shabbat is commanded
as a reminder of our enslavement in Egypt, and of our
liberation by God's Hand. This is no mere explanatory
comment; here are two vastly different, potentially
contradictory reasons for observance of Shabbat.

To summarize our findings: The introductory statements

for each of the versions of this commandment use unique
language to describe the active commemoration of
Shabbat – "to remember", on the one hand, and "to
guard", on the other. In both versions, the main body of
the commandment consists of a similar list of laws, albeit
more fully developed by presumably explanatory material
in Dvarim. The conclusions drawn by each of the two
versions seem to offer mutually exclusive philosophical
underpinnings for the Shabbat.

Most traditional commentaries focused on the first of

these differences, the terms shamor and zachor, 'guard'
and 'remember' ('commemorate'), and they refer us to the
nature of Divine Speech: zachor and shamor were uttered
simultaneously, in a way that human speech is incapable
of imitating.

‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבועות דף כ עמוד ב‬

‫ מה שאין יכול הפה‬,‫ (שמות כ') זכור (דברים ה') ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו‬:‫כדתניא‬
.‫ ומה שאין האוזן יכול לשמוע‬,‫לדבר‬
Zachor (Shmot 20) and shamor (Devarim 5) were
pronounced in a single utterance, — an utterance
 which the mouth cannot utter, nor the ear hear.
Talmud Bavli - Shevu'ot 20b

One may ask, which of the words “zachor and shamor”

was actually spoken by God; the Talmud’s answer is that
both are Divine – and were said in a Divine fashion.

These two words represent two different concepts:

Technically, remembering is a cerebral act which may be
performed at any time during the week - on Shabbat,
before Shabbat, or after Shabbat. Therefore, our Sages
considered preparations for Shabbat as part and parcel of
the process of "remembering" or "commemoration".
Similarly, reciting the Kiddush is, according to some
rabbinic opinions, a fulfillment of zachor - “Remember the
Shabbat day, to sanctify it”. On the other hand, “guarding
the Shabbat” is associated with avoiding prohibited
actions.

Upon analysis, each of these aspects of Shabbat is

incomplete. We can easily imagine a 24-hour period in
which we do no creative activity, a sterile non-working day
in which we have indeed fulfilled the commandment of
shamor to the letter, without actually having observed
Shabbat:

‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף ג עמוד א‬

?‫ מי שלא טרח בערב שבת מהיכן יאכל בשבת‬,‫מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת‬
He who took trouble [to prepare] on the eve of
Shabbat will eat on Shabbat, but he who has not
troubled on the eve of Shabbat, what shall he eat on
the Shabbat? Talmud Bavli Avoda Zara 3a

Similarly, one may prepare for Shabbat and not keep

Shabbat – preparing all his needs before sundown, even
reciting Kiddush, yet continuing all his creative workday
pursuits on the seventh day itself. The two aspects of
Shabbat are two sides of the same coin. Each aspect is
incomplete without the other; together they create a
complete, sanctified day of rest. God uttered “zachor and
shamor” simultaneously.
And yet, this concept of Divine, simultaneous transmission
of the two concepts, zachor and shamor, does not provide
an all-encompassing answer. We might yet ask why one
version was recorded in the Book of Shmot and the other
in the book of Dvarim. Furthermore, we have not solved
the dissonance between the concluding sections of the
Commandment. My teacher and Rebbi, Rabbi Yosef
Soloveitchik, addressed these problems, and offered a
deep philosophical insight: In reality, the two different
rationales for Shabbat do not contradict one another.
Rather, they teach the same law from two different
vantage points. The formulation in Shmot states: “For in
six days God made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;
therefore God blessed the Shabbat day, and sanctified it.”
There is one thing missing here – namely, man. What does
man have to do with this? Why should humankind keep
Shabbat? Moreover, if Shabbat exists simply because God
created, this law should be universal, and not apply only
to members of the Covenant, to Jews alone.10 This
Commandment, Rabbi Soloveitchik pointed out, is
theocentric, reflecting God's perspective. The seventh day
is holy because God created for six days and then desisted
from creating. This is echoed in the verse in Bereishit,
uttered at the very dawn of creation:

‫בראשית פרק ב‬
‫(ג) וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יום הַשְבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵש אֹתו כִי בו שָבַת מִכָל‬
‫ פ‬:‫מְלַאכְתו אֲשֶר בָרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשות‬
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it;
because on it He rested from all His work which God
created to make. Bereishit 2:3

The fact that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified
it does not necessarily affect man; only when man is
commanded to keep that day in a similar or imitative
fashion is he brought into the frame, into God's frame of
reference, as it were.

10
The Talmud Sanhedrin 58b sees a non-Jew who keeps Shabbat as breaking a law rather than
performing a wonderful deed.
‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף נח עמוד ב‬
‫ אזהרה שלהן זו היא‬:‫ ואמר מר‬.‫ ויום ולילה לא ישבתו‬+'‫בראשית ח‬+ ‫ שנאמר‬,‫ חייב מיתה‬- ‫ נכרי ששבת‬:‫ואמר ריש לקיש‬
.‫ אפילו שני בשבת‬:‫ אמר רבינא‬.‫מיתתן‬
On the other hand, the rationale for Shabbat as stated in
Dvarim is of a totally different order, drawn from a totally
different sphere: We were enslaved, and God rescued us.
“And remember that you were a servant in the land of
Egypt, and that the Almighty your God brought you out
from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched
arm; therefore the Almighty your God commanded you to
keep the Shabbat day.” This formulation is homocentric.
The former slaves are addressed in a particularly
compelling way: As slaves, they had no freedom. Now, as
free men and women, they are free every day. They have
been given all seven days of the week to pursue their
individuality, and with this Commandment, God asks that
they put aside one-seventh of their gift in return. Seen
from this perspective, Shabbat becomes a moral
imperative for those whose shackles were broken, homage
to their liberator.

The two rationales are not contradictory; one speaks from

God's perspective, teaching us that the seventh day is
holy and unique. The other speaks from the human
perspective, requiring man to rest as well. Had it not been
for the first rationale, man would be able to choose his
own day of rest; each and every day would be an equally
valid candidate, and no one day would have religious
superiority over the others. On the other hand, with only
the first formulation, man would remain outside the
picture; man would have no part in the sanctity of the
seventh day, just as he was not a party to Creation.

Both of these perspectives were taught by God,

simultaneously, at Sinai. Yet each was recorded,
emphasized, at different junctures in the history of the
Jewish People. The generation that left Egypt would
certainly have no trouble embracing the idea that one day
each week should be a day of rest. These former slaves
may have perceived this Commandment primarily as a
social law instituted to protect workers' rights and prevent
future enslavement. Therefore, the generation that left
Egypt, the generation of liberated slaves that stood at
Sinai, was taught about the other reason for Shabbat:
This day is hallowed because of Creation, and by
emulating God and keeping the Shabbat we forge a
powerful, holy relationship with Him.

The generation that stood poised to enter the Land of

Israel knew neither work nor slavery. It was this generation
that needed to hear about the human side of Shabbat.
They had to be taught that the seventh day is not
exclusively Divine in nature. The human and social
implications of Shabbat would not have been intuitively
understood by those who were sustained by miracles for
forty years.

And what of us, the generations who read the words of the
Torah millennia later? We are privileged to see both
aspects transmitted in the text we have received. We have
a multi-faceted Written and Oral Tradition which
illuminates at least two sides of Shabbat - the human and
the Divine. By preparing for Shabbat during the week and
sanctifying the seventh day of each week, we can elevate
ourselves and enjoy our own rendezvous with God.