Chasidut for Rosh Hashanah 53:2
ושתי חצוצרות מן הצדדים: ותרי קלי מי משתמעי והתניא זכור ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו מה שאין הפה יכולה לדבר ואין האוזן יכולה לשמוע לכך מאריך בשופר
THERE WERE TWO TRUMPETS, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF IT. But can two distinct sounds be caught at once?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As much as to say, if the shofar and the trumpets are blown together, the sound of the shofar will not be distinguished.');"><sup>2</sup></span> Has it not been taught:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' B.B. 64a.');"><sup>3</sup></span>
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 20,8 “keep remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” In the review of the Ten Commandments by Moses in Deuteronomy 5,12 the Torah writes: שמור את יום השבת לקדשו, “observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
[Moses there adds the apparently unnecessary words: כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “just as the Lord your G’d has commanded you.” Apparently, aware of the slight variation in the text from our verse, Moses reassures the people that this is not a deviation. Ed.]
[Most students in elementary school are already familiar with the line in the hymn of לכה דודי that שמור וזכור בדבור אחד השמיענו א-ל המיוחד, “shamor and zachor the One and only G’d has let us hear as a single word.” Ed.] The source of the words in the hymn are found already in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 27. The deeper meaning of this somewhat enigmatic statement is that the commandments of the Torah may be divided into two parts; 1) the actual physical performance of the commandment; 2) awareness at the time of performance of the underlying intention of the Creator when He gave us this commandment.. The qualitative difference between these two aspects of the commandment is that only the performance is of the essence, the underlying intention of G’d when formulating the commandment is secondary.
There is, however an exception to this rule, and this exception is the commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy. In this instance the Torah clearly spelled out what our thoughts must be when observing the Sabbath properly, i.e. the fact that it is a testimonial of G’d having created the universe in the 6 days preceding the first Sabbath. When a Jew refrains from doing any of the activities which are forbidden on the Sabbath but he fails to reflect on the fact that the sanctity of this day is due to G’d having bidden us to remember that he created the universe in the 6 days preceding the original Sabbath, such a Jew has not observed the commandment of “keeping the Sabbath.” Seeing that the זכירה, “the remembering,” primarily by reciting the Kiddush is an integral part of the Sabbath is cited first shows that as opposed to the other positive commandments where the performance by the body is the primary element, this is not the case in respect of the commandment of the Sabbath. The very expression זכר למעשה בראשית, “in commemoration of the process of creation,” (on several occasions (in both the shacharit and mussaph prayers) is proof that our sages viewed this element of the Sabbath day as an essential part thereof, no less so than the abstention from the type of work that G’d “rested” from, i.e. וינפש, on the original Sabbath of creation. The Sabbath is the symbol of our faith that G’d preceded the universe and therefore is the only Being in the universe deserving to be worshipped as Deity.
[Moses there adds the apparently unnecessary words: כאשר צוך ה' אלוקיך, “just as the Lord your G’d has commanded you.” Apparently, aware of the slight variation in the text from our verse, Moses reassures the people that this is not a deviation. Ed.]
[Most students in elementary school are already familiar with the line in the hymn of לכה דודי that שמור וזכור בדבור אחד השמיענו א-ל המיוחד, “shamor and zachor the One and only G’d has let us hear as a single word.” Ed.] The source of the words in the hymn are found already in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 27. The deeper meaning of this somewhat enigmatic statement is that the commandments of the Torah may be divided into two parts; 1) the actual physical performance of the commandment; 2) awareness at the time of performance of the underlying intention of the Creator when He gave us this commandment.. The qualitative difference between these two aspects of the commandment is that only the performance is of the essence, the underlying intention of G’d when formulating the commandment is secondary.
There is, however an exception to this rule, and this exception is the commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy. In this instance the Torah clearly spelled out what our thoughts must be when observing the Sabbath properly, i.e. the fact that it is a testimonial of G’d having created the universe in the 6 days preceding the first Sabbath. When a Jew refrains from doing any of the activities which are forbidden on the Sabbath but he fails to reflect on the fact that the sanctity of this day is due to G’d having bidden us to remember that he created the universe in the 6 days preceding the original Sabbath, such a Jew has not observed the commandment of “keeping the Sabbath.” Seeing that the זכירה, “the remembering,” primarily by reciting the Kiddush is an integral part of the Sabbath is cited first shows that as opposed to the other positive commandments where the performance by the body is the primary element, this is not the case in respect of the commandment of the Sabbath. The very expression זכר למעשה בראשית, “in commemoration of the process of creation,” (on several occasions (in both the shacharit and mussaph prayers) is proof that our sages viewed this element of the Sabbath day as an essential part thereof, no less so than the abstention from the type of work that G’d “rested” from, i.e. וינפש, on the original Sabbath of creation. The Sabbath is the symbol of our faith that G’d preceded the universe and therefore is the only Being in the universe deserving to be worshipped as Deity.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy