<div dir="auto">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."<br>
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The ArtScroll Chumash (page 969) quotes Rav Gedalya Shorr as explaining:<br>
<br><<< 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*. >>><br><br>
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: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanny_or_Laurel" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanny_or_Laurel</a><br>
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Akiva Miller<br></div>