Musar do Wyjścia 20:8

זכור את יום השבת. The Talmud in Pessachim 106 states that one fulfils this commandment by reciting a benediction over wine on the Sabbath eve. Whence do we know that one needs to recite a similar benediction on the Sabbath day also? This is why the Torah says in this verse זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. One sanctifies the Sabbath by speaking about its sanctity during meals while enjoying this day of rest. In the absence of wine, the benediction may be recited over bread since eating bread also contributes to one's feeling well and contented, though not to the same degree as drinking wine. When the Sabbath ends, we are also required to speak of its holiness and to signify that there is a difference between the holiness of the Sabbath and the secular nature of the days following. The reason the Rabbis do not permit the reciting of הבדלה over bread may be that since we have eaten extensively during the Sabbath, the addition of another piece of bread would not contribute to our feeling of well-being. This is why the benediction הבדלה, is to be recited over wine. By its very definition, the Sabbath is a reminder of the fact that the universe had a beginning, i.e. it did not precede G–d; it testifies to the fact that G–d has created the universe and all that is in it ex nihilo.

"Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam" — "Mention it with your mouth always" [Ramban]. And he writes there that this is an explicit positive commandment, just as (Shemoth 20:8): "Remember the day of Sabbath to sanctify it," (Ibid. 13:3): "Remember this day that you went out of Egypt, etc." And this, too, just as the former, is a positive commandment, to mention the great punishment that the L-rd brought upon the tzadeketh, the prophetess, who spoke only of her brother, the "redeemed of her soul," whom she loved as her soul, and who did not speak thus to his face, to embarrass him, and not in public, but only in private, to her holy brother [Aaron] — and all of this did not avail [to save her from leprosy.] You, too, if 'you sit and speak against your brother; if you slander your mother's son,' (Psalms 50:20), you will not be saved."

Let us return to the concept of the basic equality of the concepts of משכן and שבת. It is logical therefore that all the forbidden work-activities on the Sabbath are derived from activities performed in constructing the Tabernacle. This is also why in order to be culpable for transgressing these prohibitions they must have been performed intentionally. The Torah states that the construction of the Tabernacle involved לחשוב מחשבות, thoughtful planning (35,32). This means that everything that was made for use in the Tabernacle was designated to perform its function already when it was merely being processed, long before it became an integral part of the Tabernacle. The various artisans involved had to be familiar with the true significance of the parts they were fashioning, possibly even their mystical aspects. The author proceeds to point out the significance in the wording of the opening משנה of the tractate שבת, (which describes different elements of the act of transferring property from one domain to another), as applicable to the comparison between work performed on the Sabbath and work performed for the construction of the משכן. The work is described as , שתים שהן ארבע בפנים, ושתים שהן ארבע בחוץ, "two categories which are really four, internally, and two categories which are really four, externally." The expression חוץ, outside, is a reference to the negative prohibitions whose purpose is to keep the קליפות, negative, Satan-inspired, influences outside. The expression פנים refers to the positive commandments and their function to bring additional sanctity into our personality. This is also the reason the sages refer to the two different "headlines" of the Sabbath, i.e. זכור ושמור, as having been said בדבור אחד, "in one word." They view the observance of the negative commandments of the Sabbath legislation as no more than the other side of the coin called Sabbath, the first side symbolising the positive commandment זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. [compare Exodus 20,8 and Deuteronomy 5,12 respectively.] Matters concerning the performance of positive commandments are two-fold, i.e. they involve body and soul respectively. Both body and soul consist of hidden as well as revealed aspects. Thus we see that there are a total of four categories. The revealed aspect of the soul is the Torah. Our sages phrased this by stating לא איברי שבתות אלא לגירסא, "The only reason the Sabbath days were created is to enable Torah study to be pursued on those days." The Zohar elaborates that upon its return to the Celestial Regions after the Sabbath, the נשמה יתירה is asked what new Torah insights it had gained during its stay on earth on the Sabbath. By coming up with such new insights the soul is considered as having created new heavens. This is why the Midrash we quoted earlier compared Isaiah 40,22 to the construction of the tent-cloths for the Tabernacle in Exodus 26,1. The message in both statements is that man is able to perform creative acts.

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו. This commandment testifies to the eternal nature of G–d, that He created the world out of nothing. We have a tradition that the two formulas זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו, the one here and the one in Deuteronomy were uttered by G–d simultaneously (Rosh Hashanah 27). The first version in our portion mentions the Creation, something which demonstrated חידוש העולם, G–d creating the universe in 6+1 days. The second version in Deuteronomy 5,12, introduced by the word שמור, mentions the Exodus, the occasion when G–d was seen to establish new ground rules for the universe. There He proved that He was the Creator. The meaning of His name י-ה-ו-ה was demonstrated in Egypt. Our sages say that when one consecrates the Sabbath over a cup of wine one alludes to a world in the future which will be on the spiritual level of the Sabbath all the time (Pesachim 106). We will merit that world of the future by observing the שמור part of this commandment in this present world. The Sabbath in the world of the future represents the mystical dimension of the emanation בינה, where the יין המשומר the wine from the days of גן עדן, has been preserved and is awaiting us.

In this connection I find the words of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, the author of עקדת יצחק, most astonishing. The author of this book [chapter 90, see my translation. Ed.] questions how the Torah can command us to remember something at all; after all, man is subject to lapses of memory, and therefore such a commandment is beyond his control to observe! How can the Torah command us to perform acts beyond our control? Torah precepts involving vision do not apply to the blind because they cannot see, neither do Torah precepts involving hearing apply to the deaf since they cannot hear! The same rule should apply to precepts involving memory. Rabbi Arama answers this question saying that every remembrance has been preceded by an actual happening. It is the happening which triggers one's memory, and therefore the Torah is entitled to command us to use our memory. He quotes as an example the remembrance of the Sabbath legislation in the Kiddush. The mere fact that one observes the commandment of שמירת שבת, abstains from work, etc., acts as a memory jogger. It is therefore not true to say that the Torah commands only our memory. When we put on the phylacteries, that very act helps us to remember what the phylacteries stand for, as demanded by the Torah (Deut. 6,8); the same is true when we wear the ציצית, another commandment which the Torah has linked to memory (Numbers 15,39-40). The sages of the Great Assembly acted in consonance with this principle when they wanted to insure that the miracle which occurred in the days of Mordechai and Esther should be commemorated for all times. Since the Torah had not fixed a specific day for remembering Amalek, they decided to anchor this remembrance by some easily recognisable act and they instituted the reading of פרשת זכור in conjunction with the holiday of Purim. As long as the commandment was not connected with the anniversary of an anti-Jewish act committed by a descendant of Amalek, the commandment itself was in danger of being forgotten. According to the explanation by the Baal Akeydah the question is why the sages of the Great Assembly did not arrange to have the reading of פרשת זכור after Purim, after we had all remembered what the evil Haman had planned?