The Jewish Calendar and Holidays (incl. Sabbath): The Sabbath: The Two Reasons for Shabbos:
Why does the Torah give two reasons for observing Shabbos, one in Exodus(20:10: "because G-d made the heavens and the earth in six days, and on the seventh day He rested") and one in Deuteronomy (5:15: "because you were a slave in Egypt")?
The version of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is what G-d gave Moses on Mount Sinai; the version in Deuteronomy is
part of Moses' farewell address to the people. It makes sense that the first version should emphasize the creation-related
motive, and the second version should emphasize the humanitarian one; in fact, the Midrash tells us that the young Moses
persuaded Pharaoh to give the Jewish slaves a day off every week. Both versions are important; as the Midrash tells us,
"shamor" (the first word of the fourth commandment in Deuteronomy) and "zachor" (its first word in Exodus) were said
simultaneously -- they are aspects of the selfsame commandment.
Ask a follow-up question
