[Avodah] Shamor v'Zachor

[Akiva Miller]

We are told that Hashem spoke the words Shamor and Zachor together, and I
have presumed that we heard them together as well. But the Ramban (Devarim
5:12) suggests that "He (Moshe) is the one who heard Zachor, and they
(heard) Shamor."

The ArtScroll Chumash (page 969) quotes Rav Gedalya Shorr as explaining:

<<< At the highest spiritual level - the one occupied by Moses - the
awesome holiness of the Sabbath is such a totally positive phenomenon that
one who understands its significance could not desecrate it. Thus, the
positive remembrance of the Sabbath contains within itself the
impossibility of violating it, just as one who loves another person need
not be warned not to harm that person. This was the commandment that Moses
"heard." Lesser people, however, do not grasp this exalted nature of the
Sabbath. They had to be told that it is forbidden to desecrate the sacred
day; when they absorbed the Ten Commandments, they "heard" primarily the
negative commandment *safeguard*. >>>

Just last week, I would have wondered how the same voice of Hashem could be
understood so very differently by the different groups. Maybe it's not so
supernatural after all. If you have not yet heard about "Laurel and Yanni",
I suggest checking it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanny_or_Laurel

Akiva Miller
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