This Shabbat we read Parsha Va’etchanan in which we find the two iconic readings of the Jewish people. “Shema Israel” and the “Ten Commandments”. This Shabbat is also called “Shabbat of consolation- Shabbat Nahamu”, as a call to receive the comfort that will heal the heart of the nation despite the sorrow and brokenness of the destruction of the Temple.
But how can we be comforted when we find fundamental contradictions in the Torah? How is it possible to persevere in faith when the words of God are not appealing to our minds and our intelligence?
An example of this can be seen in the comparison of the ten commandments in Parasha Yitro, with the ten commandments in our Parasha Va’etchanan.
The Ten Commandments were said in Sinai only once, but they appear in the Torah twice. In Parasha Yitro it is written: “Remember (ZACHOR) the Sabbat day for its holiness”, while in Parasha Va’etchanan it is written: “Keep (SHAMOR) the Sabbat day for its holiness”. The reasoning for the Shabbat commandment is also different.
The word “Zachor” is a positive word and a “mitzvah to do” to remember Shabbat. Here we learn the mitzvah to do “Kiddush”. The word “Shamor” keep, is a negative phrase that refers to the commandment “Thou shalt not” to keep and not to do work and actions that desecrate the Sabbath. Like the concept “Shomer Shabbat”. These two sayings were said together.
Our sages taught us, “Remember and keep in one speech what was said, what the mouth cannot speak, and the ear cannot hear.” In other words, God said to the Israelites at Mount Sinai in the same speech, both “Zachor” and “Shamor”.
Why was it necessary to create a miracle and say both sayings in one speech? The distinction between remember and keep is a basic distinction between the commandment to do (remember) and the commandment not to do (keep).
The commandment not to do comes from a feeling of awe towards the Lord. Fear is a deterring and paralyzing force. On the other hand, mitzvahs to do arise from a feeling of love towards the Lord. The emotion of love spurs a person to action. A mitzvah to do brings a person closer to God, while a mitzvah not to do prevents him from moving away.
Remember and keep are two contradictory commandments, since they command an emotion of love and an emotion of awe that a person cannot contain at the same time. Only towards God is it possible to feel both things at the same time. Shabbat is a kind of world to come- Olam Haba, and it has a special closeness to God. It therefore testifies to the unity of the Creator who has the measure of judgment and the measure of grace at the same time. That is why these two sayings of remember and keep G-d in one speech, for they express His uniqueness and unity.
This Shabbat is called the “Shabbat of Comfort” because out of the great heartbreak we were able to come to the understanding that our God truly loves us and even when we were punished for our lack of fear of him and the depth of our disdain for our God, we trust and feel that after all and despite the painful punishment, our God loves us and desires our good, as the prophet Isaiah says: “And you shall say on that day, “I will thank You, O Lord, for You were with me; may Your wrath turn away and may You comfort me. Here is the God of my salvation, I shall trust and not fear; for the strength and praise of the Eternal, the Lord was my salvation,” and in this we will find our comfort.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen