The Vilna Gaon explains that although in general Moshe’s נבואה was qualitatively different than that of other prophets since he was a clear conduit through which Hashem’s voice came into the world, however ספר דברים Moshe spoke like all the other prophets. He was not attached to Hashem as he was speaking, rather he had heard Hashem’s words and then he relayed it over to the people through his own voice and personality. Therefore, when things get repeated from the earlier parts of the Torah in ספר דברים we see small discrepancies, and when we examine them it gives us a deeper insight into the nature of those מצוות/stories, since now we have seen them from two perspectives, Hashem’s and Moshe’s. The most famous of these repeats is probably the עשרת הדברות, and there are discrepancies to examine. But before we look there I want to show you the prologue that Moshe gives to the עשרת הדברות in this week’s פרשה.
יקוק אלקינו כרת עמנו ברית בחרב: לא את אבתינו כרת יקוק את הברית הזאת כי אתנו אנחנו אלה פה היום כלנו חיים: פנים בפנים דבר יקוק עמכם בהר מתוך האש:
At this point the people standing in front of Moshe are probably looking around with puzzled faces since this doesn’t sound true. They were never at הר סיני, they didn’t see the sounds or the fire. Yes, there were a few that were above 60 or below 20 at the time when the Torah was given that חז”ל tell us were still alive at Moshe’s speech but the main group of the generation, the people that the Torah counts as the Jewish nation, they weren’t alive to experience this event. So, what does Moshe mean when he tells them, “us, these here today, we are all alive”? I think the answer is that there is a dynamic entity called the Jewish People which will survive with a few criteria: it is comprised of individuals who come together to have a relationship with Hashem and show the world what it means to live with God in your life. And there are certain events that were experienced by this corporate group in such a way that all members of this group have experienced these events. יציאת מצרים, קריעת ים סוף, each of us reading these words today left Egypt and went through the sea on dry land, even though we obviously weren’t there in person. This sounds oxymoronic but I think it’s true in the most literal way. We are born and brought (by others and by ourselves) into this group called the Jewish Nation and automatically we become art pf the national history and experience the national events. I think therefore we can fast on Tisha B’av even though we have no clue what ירושלים was like back then or what it meant to be עולה רגל. It sounds absurd to say that we are sad and physically in mourning over the events that took place on that day (try explaining it to some non-Jews if you want to really get a sense of how strange it sounds). But the answer is the same, that Tisha B’av is a national day of sadness where we feel national losses.
Back to our פרשה, the עשרת הדברות are the same thing. It is something that we each experienced in the national sense, and so when Moshe says Hashem made a ברית with the people standing here, and that you all spoke to Hashem face to face, he means it literally. You belong to the Jewish nation? Then you met Hashem and saw Him from your personal vantage point at הר סיני.
And I think that these two generations of Jews represent two prototypical relationship with Hashem. You can have a “מדבר relationship” where everything is provided and little exertion is needed, heavenly food is outside your tent, and the weather is always regulated by Clouds of Glory. Your clothes grow with you and you never need to get your hands dirty. You are naturally close to Hashem. Or you can have an “Eretz Yisroel relationship” where every step is uphill. You need to sweat and break yourself just to have food to eat. Some days the weather is terrible but you can’t stop moving just because you want to. Hashem is not openly there every single day, but you still feel His presence in different ways.
And I think these two records of the עשרת הדברות are addressing those two prototypes.
With that in mind I would like to explain the discrepancies between the דברות in פרשת יתרו and the one’s in this week’s פרשה.
| ואתחנן | יתרו | ||
| שמור את יום השבת לקדשו | זכור את יום השבת לקדשו | 1 | שבת |
| שמור את יום השבת לקדשו כאשר צוך יקוק אלקיך | זכור את יום השבת לקדשו: | 2 | שבת |
| לא תעשה כל מלאכה….ושורך וחמרך וכל בהמתך | לא תעשה כל מלאכה….ובהמתך | 3 | שבת |
| וזכרת כי עבד היית בארץ מצרים ויצאך יקוק אלקיך משם ביד חזקה ובזרע נטויה על כן צוך יקוק אלקיך לעשות את יום השבת | כי ששת ימים עשה יקוק את השמים ואת הארץ את הים ואת כל אשר בם וינח ביום השביעי על כן ברך יקוק את יום השבת לקדשו | 4 | שבת |
| למען יארכון ימיך ולמען ייטב לך על האדמה | למען יארכון ימיך על האדמה | 5 | כיבוד אב ואם |
| ולא תענה ברעך עד שוא | לא תענה ברעך עד שקר | 6 | לא תענה |
| ולא תחמד אשת רעך….בית רעך | לא תחמד בית רעך….אשת רעך | 7 | לא תחמד |
| ולא תתאוה בית רעך | לא תחמד בית רעך | 8 | לא תחמד |
| לא תחמד…. שדהו ועבדו ואמתו | לא תחמד….ועבדו ואמתו | 9 | לא תחמד |
| all the last five starts with ולא | all the last five starts with לא | 10 | last 5 |
The first five differences happen to be on the first side of the לוחות, and the second five on the second side of the לוחות. Let’s approach them separately.
The most basic difference between (1) זכור and שמור is that by definition when you are remembering something, it isn’t next to you, whereas when you are guarding something it is next to you and with you. This generation of Jews was the one to enter כנען and farm the land. For them the gift of Shabbos was more than just double portions of מן. They were actively creating in the world, just like Hashem had, and they refrained from creation on Shabbos in a very real way, just like Hashem. And that is why (3) their sheep and donkeys are mentioned, simply because they would practically be using them during the week, so they are told to have every single asset of theirs rest on Shabbos. At the same time (2) this generation is about to face the reality of not having Hashem present 24/7, and they need the reminder that Hashem commanded them about Shabbos, and that it His gift to them, and (5) they need to hear that honoring your parents will be lengthen your days in this world and be good for you in the Next World. They need that silver lining for the tough days ahead of them that there is a World to Come waiting for them where their hard work will pay off. And (4) where the מדבר generation looked at Shabbos as representing the creation of this world, the Eretz Yisroel generation saw Shabbos as a reminder that Hashem has a special relationship with them and chose them when he took them out of Mitzrayim.
What’s really cool, is that on the second side of the לוחות, which we are taught is the בין אדם לחבירו side, the discrepancies teach us that more sensitivity is needed. Because these Jews would be living outside of the “incubator” of the ענני הכבוד, they would be more vulnerable to one another, and therefore: (6) the word שוא is used, since שקר is actual falsehood and שוא is much subtler, it means not to lie even about something that won’t have a negative outcome or where there won’t be any effect at all, they need to be more sensitive. (7) personal marital relationships are put in priority to property relationships since the people are living on their own so to speak and the only obvious and open relationship available is that of the spouse. (8) the רמב”ן says that לא תחמד is only transgressed when someone actually steals the object, whereas לא תתאוה is a warning not even to be jealous in emotion alone, again, these people are more vulnerable and need to be more sensitive to their own emotions. (9) they are given a more extensive list of what to be careful of being jealous about, even a piece of land which is determined based on tribal and familial affiliation and someone else’s field is totally inaccessible to another, they are still warned not to be jealous of it. And finally (10) all the last five דברות are written with a “ו”, the compounding letter. This generation has more emphasis on בין אדם לחבירו and all 5 aspects of it are built on one another and transgressing one can lead to transgressing another.
I think we have both types of relationships with Hashem, some days we feel like we are being carried without a worry in the world, and some days we feel like we need to dig through dirt just to plant a seed and then wait months just to see the tiniest result. We need not forget Hashem during the former days and we need to see Him in the latter days. We as the current Jewish nation need to learn to cultivate both relationships, both with Hashem and with each other.