5:12 “שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, כאשר צוך ד' אלקיך”
“Safeguard the Shabbos day to sanctify it, as Hashem, your G-d, has commanded you.”
It says in Devorim Rabbah 3:1: Hashem says to Klal Yisroel, “You thought that I gave you Shabbos for your detriment; no, I only gave it for your good.” What is the meaning of this Midrash, that Hashem gave us Shabbos for our good?
The Ramban explains that when Hakodosh Boruch Hu uttered the commandment of the Shabbos, Moshe Rabbeinu heard “זכור” – “Remember,” and Klal Yisroel heard, “שמור” – “Safeguard.” At the highest spiritual level, the one occupied by Moshe Rabbeinu, the awesome holiness of Shabbos is such a totally positive phenomenon that one who understands its significance cannot desecrate it. Thus, the positive remembrance of the Shabbos 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 command that Moshe Rabbeinu heard.
People on a lower level than this elevated one did not grasp this exalted nature of the Shabbos. They had to be told that it is forbidden to desecrate the sacred day. When they heard the Aseres Hadibros, they heard primarily the negative commandment of שמור, safeguarding Shabbos. (אור גדליהו)
We all need to work on elevating our levels of ruchniyos. While the “שמור” is certainly there for a reason, we need to also see and focus on the “זכור”, connecting to Hakodosh Baruch Hu.
.מתנה טובה יש לי בבית גנזי ושבת שמה (Beitzah 16a) Hashem says: “I have a good present in My storehouse, and Shabbos is its name.” Hashem gave us Shabbos as a special gift, just for Klal Yisroel. In fact, the Gemara in Sanhedrin tells us that if a non-Jew keeps Shabbos, he is liable to death. The reason for this is that Shabbos is a special connection between Hashem and Klal Yisroel. Hashem gave us a great gift, and it is called Shabbos. Shabbos is a day on which we are to rest from work, and our entire objective is to get close to Hashem. We are to delight in the Shabbos, not for ourselves, but to come close to Hashem. We do this through food and drink and, of course, through Torah and tefillah.
One may have thought that there are so many restrictions on Shabbos Kodesh that it is not for our benefit. But one who thinks this way is missing the entire point of Shabbos Kodesh. Shabbos is not about what we can’t do, but what we can do. We can’t do certain things to ensure that we focus on what we should do – come close to Hashem.
We just went through another Tisha B’av, and we mourned over the loss of the Bais Hamikdash. We have a great desire to see the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash and to return to Hashem. The way to do that is through Shabbos Kodesh. Shabbos Kodesh can bring us close to Hashem, so that we have a desire to do a proper teshuvah and be zoche to see the rebuilding of the eternal Bais Hamikdash, במהרה בימינו אמן!
RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
