Our Gemara on Amud Beis notes the discrepancy between the two versions of the Aseres Hadibros, where one states “Remember the Shabbos” (Shemos 20:8) and the other states “Guard the Shabbos” (Devarim 5:11). The Midrashic resolution to this textual problem is that miraculously, Hashem spoke “in one utterance, in a manner that the human mouth cannot say and that the human ear cannot hear.”

Sefer Daf al Daf raises a question. From the text of Gemara, the order of the teaching is “Zachor (remember), V’shamor (guard).” Presumably, the order follows the order of the verses, from Shemos to Devarim. Yet, in the liturgical poem “L’cha Dodi,” it says it in the reverse order, “Shamor V’Zachor.”

He quotes a simple answer from the Shu”t Tirosh V’yitzhar (134), that the author, Shlomo Halevi, encoded his name in the acrostic of the first letters of each stanza. To get the Shin for Shlomo, the paragraph needed to start with Shamor. This is too simple an answer for an important mystical prayer such as this. So the Sefer Daf al Daf offers a mystical explanation. The Ramban (Shemos 20:5) alludes to a mystical idea that nighttime is Shamor and daytime is Zachor. My guess as to what this means is that nighttime is naturally a time of quiet consolidation and reflection, while daytime represents activity and development. Even though Shabbos represents a cessation of physical activity, after this is recognized, a greater form of spiritual activation takes place. Thus, Friday night is Shamor, a time to pause and reflect on material and physical construction from the week, but after that comes a new phase of activity on the spiritual realm, which is the Zachor of Shabbos daytime.

Sefer Haikkarim (III:26) explains the meaning of Zachor and Shamor. The function of Shabbos is to declare and enact a recognition that God created the world in six days (Shemos 20:11). Sefer Haikkarim cleverly suggests that Zachor and Shamor, remembering and guarding, represent two aspects of believing in a creator. One is that there was a creator who purposely brought the world into existence, but there is another foundational belief that we demonstrate by observing Shabbos: that the creator continues to exert His will and guidance on His creations. Zachor (remember) stands for recognizing the creator for the act of creation, and Shamor (guarding) recognizes that God continues to watch over and be involved.

Based on this Sefer Haikkarim, it occurs to me a possible way of understanding the intentional ordering of the author of Lecha Dodi versus the Aseres Hadibros. The Aseres Hadibros was a theological event of the Jewish people accepting the covenant. It follows to reason that the ideas and beliefs expressed should follow a logical development of ideas from less sophisticated to more sophisticated; therefore, first there is recognition that there is a creator, then the fact that he continues to be involved. Therefore, when these principles are enumerated in the Aseres Hadibros, they follow a logical order of development, Zachor and Shamor. However, Lecha Dodi is a meditation to prepare for and accept the Shabbos. We depart from the physical to enter the sacred. Having come from the world of action, we see God from the events of the week and the world, that is, we see His providential hand. When we meditate on this, we enter into an elevated state and become able to deeply recognize His intrinsic otherness and that He created everything. Therefore, Friday night we start with Shamor and end with Zachor to correspond with the process of our reflection and inspiration.