About GUARD

Hebrew Name

שָׁמוֹר

English Name

GUARD

Phonetic Spelling

SHA-MOR

What does GUARD mean?

Shamor, Hebrew for “guard,” is frequently used throughout the Bible to exhort the people of Israel to guard God’s commandments.

לִשְׁמֹ֞ר אֶת־מִצְוֺ֤ת יְהֹוָה֙ וְאֶת־חֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם לְט֖וֹב לָֽךְ׃
keeping Hashem's commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good.
lish-MOR et-mitz-VO-t a-do-NAI v'-et-khu-KO-tav a-SHER a-NO-khi m'-tza-VE-kha ha-YOM l'-TOV lakh
Deuteronomy 10:13

וַיִּקַּ֛ח יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּנִּחֵ֣הוּ בְגַן־עֵ֔דֶן לְעׇבְדָ֖הּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָֽהּ׃
Hashem took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it.
va-YI-kakh a-do-NAI e-lo-HEEM et ha-a-DAM va-ya-ni-KHE-hu b'-gan E-den l'-ov-DAH u-l'-shom-RAH
Genesis 2:15

Description about GUARD

Shamor, Hebrew for “guard,” is frequently used throughout the Bible to exhort the people of Israel to guard God’s commandments. In the Ten Commandments, they are told to “guard” Shabbat as well as to “remember” Shabbat. To “guard” Shabbat means keeping the detailed laws of the holy day of rest, and so a Jew who observes the laws of Shabbat is known as a shomer Shabbat, “one who guards Shabbat.” By contrast, “remembering Shabbat” means infusing Shabbat with holiness and spirituality. The sages explain that these two words, “guarding” and “remembering,” were spoken by God simultaneously during the giving of the Ten Commandments, an impossible feat for human beings. For God, “guarding” and “remembering” Shabbat are equally important and combine to create the ideal experience of the day of rest. Shamor also describes Adam’s role in the Garden of Eden. “God settled man in the Garden of Eden, to work it and guard it” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was given permission to use the natural resources of the world for his own benefit. But alongside this gift, man was also given the responsibility to guard and protect God’s world. As the sages say, “When God created Adam, He said to him: ‘See My creations, how beautiful they are. Make certain that you don’t ruin and destroy My world, for if you destroy it, there will be no one to mend it after you.’” Alone among all of God’s creations, humanity has been entrusted with two holy tasks: to guard His word and to guard His world.

Attribute of GUARD

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