Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Deuteronomy 5:12/רמב"ן על דברים ה׳:י״ב

אוְעַתָּה יַתְחִיל בְּמִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, יֹאמַר לָהֶם עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת. וְלֹא שִׁנָּה וְלֹא בֵּאֵר כְּלוּם בְּאָנֹכִי ה' וְלֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ כִּי מִפִּי הַגְּבוּרָה שְׁמָעוּם. וְכֵן בַּדִּבּוּר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכְּבָר אָמַר (שם כ ז) אֶת שֵׁם ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרַשְׁתִּי בְּסֵדֶר קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ (ויקרא יט יב): וְהִתְחִיל לְבָאֵר לָהֶם שָׁמוֹר בִּמְקוֹם זָכוֹר, עַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט. וְעַל דַּעַת רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (שבועות כ ב) בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד נֶאֶמְרוּ, וּבֵאֵר לָהֶם זֶה, כִּי הֵם כֻּלָּם יוֹדְעִים זָכוֹר וְהוּא יוֹדִיעֵם כִּי שָׁמוֹר נֶאֱמַר עִמּוֹ. וְכֵן עַל דֶּרֶךְ הָאֱמֶת בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד נֶאֶמְרוּ, כִּי הָיָה הַקּוֹל בְּזָכוֹר וְשָׁמוֹר כִּי הַתּוֹרָה בְּרִית עוֹלָם עֲרוּכָה בַּכֹּל וּשְׁמוּרָה, וְהוּא הַשּׁוֹמֵעַ זָכוֹר וְהֵם שָׁמוֹר, וְהַמַּשְׂכִּיל יֵדַע זֶה מִמָּה שֶׁרָמַזְנוּ שָׁם (שמות כ ח): וּבֵאֵר כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ קֹדֶם מַתַּן תּוֹרָה בְּמָרָה, שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על דברים ה':י"ב). וְאִם כֵּן גַּם מִצְוַת כִּבּוּד אָב וָאֵם יִהְיֶה בְּמָרָה, וְהָרַב לֹא הִזְכִּיר שָׁם אֶלָּא שַׁבָּת פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה וְדִינִין. וְהַנִּרְאֶה בְּעֵינַי עַל דֶּרֶךְ הָאֱמֶת בָּזֶה גַּם בְּכָל מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, כִּי מֹשֶׁה יְדַבֵּר כְּמִפִּי הַגְּבוּרָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר (להלן יא יג יד) וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל מִצְוֹתַי אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם לְאַהֲבָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּלְעָבְדוֹ בְּכָל לְבַבְכֶם וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁכֶם וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ, וְאֵין מֹשֶׁה הַנֹּתֵן מָטָר עַל פְּנֵי הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא הַנּוֹתֵן עֵשֶׂב בַּשָּׂדֶה, אֲבָל הַדִּבּוּר בַּתּוֹרָה בְּזָכוֹר וּבְמִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה בְּשָׁמוֹר, וְלָכֵן יֹאמַר מֹשֶׁה בְּכָל מָקוֹם בְּמִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּבַתּוֹרָה יַזְכִּיר שֵׁם הַמְּיֻחָד בִּלְבַד, זוּלָתִי בַּעֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר (שמות כ א) וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים וְגוֹ', וְהָבֵן זֶה:

1And now he begins the review of the Torah. He told them the Ten Commandments, not changing and not explaining anything in [the first two commandments]: I am the Eternal etc.,¹³³ and Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,¹³⁴ for they heard them from the mouth of the Almighty.¹³⁵ So, too, [there are no changes or explanations] in the third commandment¹³⁶ etc. because he already stated [here, as in the text of the third commandment in Exodus 20:7, Thou shalt not take] the Name of the Eternal thy G-d [etc.], as I have explained in the section Ye shall be holy.¹³⁷ Then he began to exposit to them, saying ‘Observe’ [the Sabbath-day]¹³⁸ instead of ‘Remember’ [the Sabbath-day],¹³⁹ this being in line with the plain meaning of Scripture [i.e., that ‘Observe’ is the explanation of ‘Remember’]. And in the opinion of our Rabbis¹⁴⁰ “[Remember and Observe] both were spoken in one utterance.” He explained this to them [here] because they all know Remember, and he is thus informing them [now] that Observe was said with it. And so it is by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], that they were both spoken in one utterance seeing that the Voice was both in “remembering” and “observing,” for the Torah is an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure,¹⁴¹ and he [i.e., Moses] heard from [the attribute of] Remember while they [i.e., the people, heard] from that of Observe.¹⁴² The student [learned in the mystic teachings of the Cabala] will know this from what we have hinted there.¹⁴³He explained [with reference to the commandment that we are to Observe the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy] as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee¹³⁸ — “before the Giving of the Torah, at Marah,¹⁴⁴ [for there it is said], there He made for them a statute and an ordinance.”¹⁴⁵ This is the language of Rashi. But if so, the commandment to honor father and mother was also given at Marah [for in the commandment, to honor parents, too, it is stated as the Eternal thy G-d commanded thee],¹⁴⁶ but the Rabbi [Rashi] mentioned there [in connection with the verse referring to Marah] only “the Sabbath, the Red Heifer, and the laws of justice” [as having been given at Marah, but not the honoring of parents].¹⁴⁷It appears to me by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], concerning this matter [of the Ten Commandments] as well as the whole Book of Deuteronomy that Moses was speaking as if from the mouth of the Almighty, as he said, And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Eternal your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give rain for your Land in its season.¹⁴⁸ Now Moses is not the one who giveth rain upon the earth,¹⁴⁹ nor the one who gives grass in the fields!¹⁵⁰ Rather, the communication of the Torah was given with Remember,¹⁵¹ and that of Deuteronomy with Observe.¹⁵¹ Therefore, Moses everywhere in Deuteronomy mentions the Eternal thy G-d while in [the first four books of] the Torah he mentions only the Proper Name of G-d [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] except in the Ten Commandments as it is said, And G-d spoke etc.¹⁵² Understand this.