In this week’s parsha, Va’etchanan, we hear the Aseret HaDibrot a second time with slight changes. The Ramban says that all of Devarim is spoken in direct transmission from Hashem. Although it is Moshe’s final speech to Israel, it is all coming from the Divine source. Therefore, variations in the text from the version familiar to us from Shemot are all divinely ordained.
In our parsha there are certain glosses that Moshe wants to put on the text to clarify the intent. The first of the Dibrot are not altered in any way because Israel heard them directly from “the voice” of G-d. In Shemot we are told to “remember” (“zachor”) the Shabbat, and here in Devarim we are told to “guard” (“shamor”) it. The Ramban cites the well-known Midrash that the words were both said at once, and he says that in our parsha Moshe is reminding us of what we heard. In the second set of Dibrot there is a greater emphasis on warning us away from bad choices; this is also a result of the context in which they were spoken.
From the Dibrot we pass quickly to Shema. Ramban points out that the construction “Hashem Elokecha” is very common in Devarim, but in Shema the Torah uses the language “Elokenu,” which seems out of place in Devarim. It is as if a passage from earlier books of the Torah has crept into our parsha. We then revert to the more familiar expression “You should love Hashem your G-d” (Devarim 6:5). But what is this love we are commanded to feel? The Ramban says we learn from the Sages in Sifri (Eikev) what love is not. If a person decides to learn Torah because he wants to be known as wise, this is not love of Hashem or of the Torah. Same if he wants to sit and learn all day, gaining prestige without actually having to produce anything, or because he hopes by his learning to gain a place in the World to Come. All of these are ulterior motives, and none of them are indicative of love for Hashem.
But Moshe has known this all along and has tried to drop hints. For example, “Hashem will be good to you, He will lengthen your days” (Devarim 4:40). “You will live, you will come into the land, and you will inherit it” (Ibid. 4:1). If you love Hashem, if you are in awe of Him, then things will go well for you. As they should. But one mustn’t serve Hashem in expectation of a reward. Moshe is telling us to serve Hashem out of love, to do what is right because it is right. Avoid doing the things you’ve been prohibited from doing. If you do the right things for the right reasons, then good things will happen to you, because this is how Hashem operates. He is our G-d, He is One.
