“And you (Moshe) should speak to the Bnei Yisroel and say to them, "However, keep My Shabbosim because it is a sign between Hashem and you for the future generations... (Shemos 31/13))
Zera Shimshon asks, why does the possuk refer to Shabbos in the plural, Shabbosim, and not, like in all other places, in the singular?
To answer this question Zera Shimshon asks another question.
The Ten Commandments are written in the Torah twice. The first time is in Sefer Shemos in Parshas Yisro and the second time is in Sefer Devarim in Parshas Va’eschanan, when the Torah retells the incident of the Giving of the Torah.
However, the text of the Ten Commandments in these two places is not the same. In Yisro, concerning the mitzvah of Shabbos, it says to remember Shabbos because Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. On the other hand, in Parshas Va’eschanan it says to keep Shabbos because Hashem took us out of the bondage of Mitzrayim with a strong and extended hand. Chazal teach us that Hashem said both Keep and Remember Shabbos together (something that mortal men cannot do), so why, asks Zera Shimshon, is Keep the Shabbos written in Yisro and Remember the Shabbos written in Va’eschanan and not vice versa?
Zera Shimshon answers that Parshas Yisro is written before we worshipped the Golden Calf and we were on a high spiritual level. Therefore there was no reason to warn us to "keep" Shabbos, which means to refrain from doing work. We were on such a high level that even during the week the other nations did our work for us, like it will be after Moshiach comes! On the contrary, we were on such a high level that we were prone not to even eat! Therefore at that time the commandment is to remember Shabbos which refers to the positive commandments of Shabbos, through making Kiddush, eating special meals and learning Torah.
On the other hand, Parshas Va’eschanan was given after we worshipped the Golden Calf. Since our spiritual level fell tremendously and we had to work ourselves all week, we were now commanded to refrain from working on Shabbos and not only to remember it.
When Bnei Yisroel worshiped the Golden Calf it wasn't only that they fell from a very high spiritual level, but something much bigger happened at that time. When we received the Ten Commandments Hashem completely freed us from the Yetzer Hora but, sadly, when we worshipped the Golden Calf we were once again faced with having a Yetzer Hora.
The difficulty to get up early to say Kriyas Shema on time, to hold oneself back from speaking badly about someone, or to forfeit a good job because the firm you would like to work for is open on Shabbos is not the only outcome of having a Yetzer Hora. There is a much deeper and difficult ramification.
Zera Shimshon explains that the decree of the bondage in Mitzrayim was meant to be four hundred years but in actuality Bnei Yisroel left Mitzrayim after only two hundred ten years. Sadly, we are not exempt from the remaining one hundred ninety years but they have to be made them up through more exiles.
When we received the Ten Commandments and Hashem completely freed us from the Yetzer Hora, Hashem also exempted us from making up those one hundred ninety remaining years. However, when we worshipped the Golden Calf we were once again faced with a Yetzer Hora and the decree of the one hundred ninety years of bondage was reenacted.
According to this, Zera Shimshon answers the first question of why Shabbos in this possuk is referred to in the plural form.
Even though the possuk, "However, My Shabbosim you should keep" is written before the incident of the Golden Calf, it was told to Moshe after we served the Golden Calf. The proof to this is that it was written after Bnei Yisroel was commanded to build the Mishkan which was given to atone for Bnei Yisroel's serving the Golden Calf. At that time, the decree of future exiles was already reenacted. Chazal teach us that there is a way to be exempt from the remaining exiles; if we keep two Shabbosim. Therefore Hashem commanded us to keep Shabbosim (plural) and not just Shabbos (singular) in order that we will finally be finished with the suffering of galus!
Zera Shimshon adds that according to the above we can also understand why there are separate reasons to remember Shabbos and to keep Shabbos. The reason to remember Shabbos, which is written in Parshas Yisro before Bnei Yisroel worshiped the Golden Calf, is because Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh while the reason to keep Shabbos is because Hashem took us out of the bondage of Mitzrayim with a strong and extended hand.
Zera Shimshon explains that since before Bnei Yisroel worshipped the Golden Calf Bnei Yisroel were pardoned from suffering more exiles there was less reason to remember that we were slaves to Paroah. Therefore the reason given is to remember that Hashem rested from the creation on the seventh day. However, after Bnei Yisroel worshipped the Golden Calf Bnei Yisroel now have to remember that they didn't just didn't "get up and leave" Mitzrayim but Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim with a strong hand since we did not complete all the years of bondage that was decreed on us. Bearing this in mind will help us be careful to keep the Shabbos to speed the end of our galus.
