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The Liturgical Anomaly
In the Sabbath morning liturgy, within the blessing of Yismach Moshe, we recite a sequence that requires careful examination regarding its terminology:
“And in it [The Torah] is written the observance of the Sabbath (Shmiras Shabbos), and so it is written in Your Torah: ‘And the Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath (V’shamru)... to make the Sabbath an eternal Covenant (Bris Olam).’”
A precise analysis of this prayer raises a difficulty. The introduction mentions Shmiras Shabbos—the commandment to observe or guard the Sabbath. However, the proof-text provided immediately after is V’shamru, a verse that defines Shabbos primarily as a Covenant (Bris). Why does the liturgy pivot from the commandment of observance to the concept of a Covenant? Furthermore, what is the fundamental relationship between the Torah scroll we read and the original Tablets of Stone?
The Distinction Between Torah and Tablets
To understand the liturgy, we must look at a distinction drawn by Rav Moshe Shimon Mernick regarding the giving of the Torah.
Exodus 24:12 states: “Come up to Me to the mountain... and I will give you the Tablets of Stone (Luchos HaEven), and the Torah, and the Mitzvah that I have written to teach them.”
Reish Lakish [Berachos 5] clarifies that “Tablets” refers to the Ten Commandments, “Torah” refers to the Written Law (Mikra), and “Mitzvah” refers to the Oral Law (Mishnah). This classification creates a redundancy: Are the Ten Commandments not part of the Written Law? Why are the Luchos listed as a distinct entity separate from HaTorah?
The answer lies in the concept of Bris (Covenant). While the Torah is often called Sefer HaBris (The Book of the Covenant)—meaning it is a record of the Covenant—the Tablets themselves are the Covenant. They are referred to throughout scripture as Luchos HaBris (The Tablets of the Covenant) and the Ark that houses them is the Aron HaBris.
There is a fundamental difference between a book that records an agreement and the object that embodies the agreement itself. The Torah records the Covenant; the Luchos constitute the Cheftza shel Bris—the physical reality of the bond between God and Israel.
The Controversy of the Two Texts
This distinction brings us to the classic textual discrepancy between the two versions of the Ten Commandments.
First Tablets (Parshas Yitro): The text reads Zachor (Remember) the Sabbath day.
Second Tablets (Parshas Va’etchanan): The text reads Shamor (Observe) the Sabbath day.
The Talmud (Shavuos 20b) states that “Zachor and Shamor were spoken in a single utterance.” Based on this, the Ramban suggests that the text engraved on both physical sets of Tablets was identical (likely following the text of Yitro). He argues that Moshe Rabbeinu, in Deuteronomy, simply expounded upon the divine intent by using the word Shamor.
However, the Maharal (and so implies Rashi on Sanhedrin 56b) argues that the actual text engraved on the stones differed. The First Tablets contained the text of Yitro (Zachor), while the Second Tablets physically contained the text of Va’etchanan (Shamor).
The Proof from the “Master of Aggadah”
The shiur presented a conclusive proof for the Maharal’s position—that the Second Tablets were textually different—derived from a subtle interaction in Bava Kamma 54b.
The Gemara relates that Rabbi Chanina asked Rabbi Chiya bar Abba: “Why is the word ‘Tov’ (Good) not written in the First Tablets (in the command to honor parents), but it is written in the Second Tablets?”
Rabbi Chiya did not answer the question directly. Instead, he replied: “Before you ask me why it says Tov, ask me if it says it at all. Go ask Rabbi Tanchum, who is a Baki B’Aggadah (an expert in Aggadah/Lore)...”
This referral contains the proof.
If the Ramban were correct—that the physical stones were identical and the differences lay only in the verses written in the Chumash (Exodus vs. Deuteronomy)—then Rabbi Chiya’s response is inexplicable. Every scholar knows the verses of the Torah; one does not need to be an expert in esoteric Aggadah to know that the word “Tov” appears in Deuteronomy and is missing in Exodus. Rabbi Chiya surely knew the verses as well as Rabbi Tanchum.
By referring the question to a Baki B’Aggadah, Rabbi Chiya indicated that the question was not about the open, revealed text of the Chumash, but about the Tablets themselves, which were hidden away. Determining what was physically inscribed on the lost Tablets is a matter of Aggadah. The premise of the conversation, therefore, is that the physical Second Tablets did contain the word “Tov” (and by extension, the text of Va’etchanan), unlike the First. This vindicates the Maharal’s view: The Second Tablets physically bore the text of Shamor.
Synthesizing the Prayer
We can now fully understand the precision of Yismach Moshe.
The prayer states: “And in it [The Torah] is written Shmiras [Shamor] Shabbos.”
Based on the proof from Bava Kamma, Shamor is the text specific to the Second Tablets.
The prayer immediately follows with: “V’shamru... Bris Olam.”
Why? Because, as established, the Tablets are the Bris.
The liturgy is connecting the command of Shmiras Shabbos (found on the Second Tablets) to the concept of the Covenant. The Second Tablets, given after the sin of the Golden Calf and containing the word Shamor, represent the enduring, eternal Covenant—the Bris Olam.
The Sanctity of the Sefer Torah
This culminates in a powerful ruling by the Rambam (Hilchos Sefer Torah 10:1). The Rambam writes:
“It is a Mitzvah... to show great honor to a Sefer Torah... for the words that are on the Luchos HaBris are the very same words in every Scroll.”
The Rambam is teaching us that the sanctity of a Sefer Torah is not merely derived from its prophetic content. Its holiness stems from the fact that it contains the text of the Luchos. When we read from the Torah, we are not just reading a record; we are engaging with the Bris itself. The Yismach Moshe prayer reinforces this: it highlights that our Shmiras Shabbos is rooted in the Second Tablets, the ultimate symbol of our reconciliation and eternal Covenant with God. [עפ”י דברי הג”ר משה מיירניק זצ”ל]
