Maharal of the Week - 3

Parshat Vaetchanan

This week we read some of the most basic and primary pieces in Judaism, the Shema and the Ten commandments. I would like to spend a few minutes discussing a problem Maharal encounters in one of Rashi's most famous statements.

Deuteronomy 5:12 starts the small section of the Ten Commandments regarding Shabbat. The first word mentioned is "Shamor" (Guard). In the other portion that contains the Ten Commandments, Yitro, the first word mentioned regarding Shabbat is "Zachor" (remember). Rashi, commenting on Deuteronomy 5:12, says that these two words were said at the exact same moment by G-d, which is why one is mentioned here and the other in Yitro.

Maharal inquires about this comment, wondering why Rashi would resort to this as his answer. Maharal is bothered because it appears that there are other differences between the two sets of Commandments, so why not ascribe the same to all the differences. However, he claims that regarding Shabbat, the use of Shamor and Zachor indicate two different responsibilities, one positive and one negative, which is why they were said at the same moment. Ramban claims that Zachor is a positive command while Shamor is a negative command. Therefore, while there might be anomalies within the two recountings, this one is the only one, according to Maharal, which requires an actual explanation as to why the differences exist.