Acharei Mos/Kedoshim: The Watchers and Guardians
In the part of Leviticus that scholars call "The Holiness Code," the Torah not only forbids a Jew from exacting revenge (nekamah) on a fellow Jew who may have wronged him, but even forbids a Jew from holding a grudge (netirah, lo titor) against another Jew who may have mistreated him (Lev. 19:18). Rashi famously illustrates the difference between these prohibtions by way of example: If somebody asked to borrow his friend's sickle, but the friend refused, then the next day when that same friend asks to borrow one's ax, one should not say "I will not lend you my ax, just like yesterday you did not lend me your sickle" as this constitutes nekamah. But one should also not say "Here it is, I am unlike you who did not lend me," as this constitutes netirah because one is harboring his ill will and negative mental conception against his friend by "guarding" it within his psyche. In this essay, we will explore three different Hebrew terms for "guarding/protecting" something - netirah ,netzirah, and shemirah - and try to discern how these apparent synonyms differ from one another.
The term shemirah derives from the Hebrew root SHIN-MEM-REISH, which is one of the most common roots in the Bible (appearing over 400 times!). It generally refers to "watching/guarding," or otherwise "overseeing" and "looking after" a particular something. It can also refer to a person needing to "watch" themself in the sense of being careful or mindful not to do something dangerous or forbidden. By contrast, the root of netzirah is NUN-TZADI-REISH and it appears a mere 60 or so times in the Bible. Of course, the term netirah (NUN-TET-REISH) is the least common of the bunch, as it appears only 9 times in the Hebrew parts of the Bible (see examples below) and once in the Aramaic parts (Dan. 7:28). With the latter two terms, the initial NUN is often dropped.
Interestingly, the Targumim indiscriminately use declensions of NUN-TET-REISH when translating forms of shemirah, netirah, and netzirah into Aramaic (for examples, consult with Rabbi Eliyahu Bachur's Meturagman). This might mean that whatever nuanced differences might exists between these words in Hebrew entirely disappears in Aramaic, wherein the different meanings meld together. For example, the term neturei karta in Aramaic literally means "the guardians of the city." Rabbi Dr. Asher Weiser (in Mikra V'Lashon) even writes that the roots NUN-TZADI-REISH and NUN-TET-REISH are almost used synonymously (especially because the letters TZADI and TET are often interchangeable) and there is only a slight nuanced difference between them. The particular nuance that he detects is that netirah refers to a more localized, specific "protection/guardianship," while netzirah refers to "watching" something in a general sense.
One particular verse uses the terms shemirah and netzirah as a tandem: King Solomon touts the virtues of acquiring Wisdom, noting that among its properties it serves to "to safeguard [netzirah] the ways of justice / and the path of His [Hashem's] pious ones, it watches [shemirah]" (Prov. 2:8). In explaining this passage, the Vilna Gaon (to Prov. 2:8) postulates that the term netzirah refers to a more substantial form of "watching" than shemirah does. He then uses this to explain how the verse in questions refer to two architypes of the upstanding Jew: One devotes himself entirely to Torah study (the Torah Scholar who is wholly immersed in the "ways of justice"), while the other devotes himself to performing mitzvot ("good deeds") and is called a Chassid (literally, "pious" Jew). One difference between them is that while there are many Jews who devote themselves to performing mitzvot, only a select elite can truly be said to devote themselves to Torah Study. Another difference between them is that the Talmud (Sukkah 52a) states that the Evil Inclination works particularly hard at enticing the Torah Scholars to sin.
Accordingly, the Vilna Gaon writes that in this passage, King Solomon is teaching how acquiring Wisdom can shield one from the machinations of the Evil Inclinations and protect him from sin. But in this context, the Torah Scholars require more protection than the Chassid, so King Solomon used the term netzirah when referring to Wisdom protecting the Torah Scholar because it implies a higher degree of "watching," while he reserved the term shemirah for the Chassid, who does not require as much protection form the Evil Inclination.
Another approach is offered by Rabbi Shimon Dov Ber Analak of Shidlitz (1848 - 1907), who theorizes that shemirah implies a passive form of watching over something, while netzirah implies an active form of watching.
Rabbi Meir Leibush Weiser (1809 - 1879), also known as the Malbim (in his comments to Lev. 19:18, Ps. 103:9, Jer. 3:5, Song of Songs 1:6, and in Sefer HaCarmel) presumes that the term netirah differs from shemirah and netzirah in that it does not refer to physically "watching/safeguarding" something, but rather to a more abstract "holding on" to mental conceptions and ideas. A clear example of this is seen in the Torah's prohibition against holding a grudge, which refers to "holding on" to a grievance in one's mind, without physically "watching" anything tangible. On the flipside, the term shemirah typically refers to some tangible commodity which is susceptible to being damaged, stolen, or lost: When silver or vessel are given by their owner to somebody else for safekeeping, the Torah (Ex. 22:6) uses the term shemirah to denote that responsibility, and Rabbinic Literature consistently refers to such a "watchman" as a shomer. Similarly, when the Psalmist says "Hashem guards your from all evil, He guards your soul" (Ps. 121:7), both of the verbs used are cognates of the term shemirah.
Nonetheless, the Malbim's theory gets a bit hairy when it comes to one particular verse: "Do not see me, for I am swarthy, as the sun has tanned me - my mother's sons shunned me, they placed me as the watcher [noteirah] of the vineyards, [but] my vineyard I did not watch [natarti]" (Song of Songs 1:6). In its literal context, this passage refers to one lover asking her beloved to excuse her darkened complexion because she had been out watching her brothers' vineyard and got sunburnt. Here, two cognates of netirah appear in the sense of "watching" a vineyard, which is quite a tangible thing. This would suggest, contra Malbim's theory, that the word netirah does not just refer to "safeguarding" an abstract mental conception, but can even be used in reference to "watching" something physical.
The Malbim himself raises this difficulty and offers a fascinating response. He posits that even though the term netirah doesindeed refer specifically to safeguarding a mental conception and it is indeed inappropriate to use that term in reference to "watching" over a physical item. But, he writes that Song of Songs nonetheless uses the term netirah in reference to "watching" over a vineyard because the entire Song of Songs is meant to be taken allegorically, and the "vineyard" to which it refers actually does refer to a mental conception (not to a tangible/physical thing, as the literal reading of the verse would indicate). Namely, the "vineyards" in this passage actually refer to the goals and objectives that a person might have in life that can be likened to a vineyard to which one tends and cares until its grapes reach maturation. In particular, this verse describes how one's mental faculties like their power of imagination (referred to as one's "mother's sons") can sway a person from focusing on their own goals and induce them to instead concentrate on goals that are not really theirs. Thus, Malbim explains that because of this allegorical reading of the passage, the word netirah can be used in reference to a "vineyard," instead of shemirah or netzirah.
Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer (in his work Biurei Shemot HaNirdafim on Biblical Hebrew synonyms) writes that shemirah usually refers to watching something tangible, netirah can even refer to "watching" or "preserving" something more abstract, while netzirah refers to the best type of "watching/guarding." Support for the latter assertion is harnessed from the verse in which Hashem is said to watch over the Jewish people "like the pupil of His eye" (Deut. 32:10), with the word yitzrenhu (a cognate of netzirah) used to denote Him "watching." Either way, according to Rabbi Wertheimer's approach, we do not need to resort to allegorizing the "vineyard" in Song of Songs, as he understands that netirah can refer to watching something tangible like shemirah can, but that it can also refer to watching over something abstract.
After Joseph dreamt two fantastic dreams that seemed to portend him lording over his brothers, Jacob externally dismissed those dreams as delusional, but internally knew that they will one day come to fruition, v'aviv shamar et ha'davar - "and his father safeguarded the matter" (Gen. 37:11). In this context, an inflection of shemirah refers not just to simply safeguarding an item, but to "preserving" an idea or "waiting" for a future moment when it will materialize (see Mahari Kara to Ecc. 5:7). In other words, the term shemirah can also refer to "holding on" to something as one "waits" for the correct time to arrive.
It is in this sense that the Psalmist notes how if Hashem truly "held on" to our sins long-term in order to punish us like we might truly deserve, then nobody would ever be cleared from sin: "If the inequities You safeguard [tishmor], O Jah / Hashem, who can stand?" (Ps. 130:3). The Siddur HaRokeach explains that the inflection of shemirah in this passage means "waiting" until the time for action has arrived. Similarly, when Eli the Kohen saw Chanah's lips moving but heard no words of prayer leaving her mouth, he "waited" (shomer) for her mouth to finish moving before questioning her (I Sam. 1:12). Likewise, Rabbi Yose relates that he once entered a destroyed building in the ruins of Jerusalem to pray, and he encountered Elijah who "waited" (shamar) for him to finish praying before speaking to him (Brachot 3a).
Another verse in Psalms reads: "Your lovingkindness and Your truth always safeguard me [yitzruni]" (Ps. 40:12). In elucidating this particular verse, the Siddur HaRokeach explains that netzirah implies watching over something forever, not just guarding it from a specific, passing threat. Indeed, the Biblical Hebrew word netzer, which derives from the same root as netzirah, refers to a "sprouting" (Isa. 11:1, 14:19, 60:21, Dan. 11:7) that can only be cultivated by constantly watching over what one has planted in order to ensure that its offshoots grow properly. In contrast to this, the Siddur HaRokeach writes that shemirah refers to temporarily "guarding" or "protecting" something until a specific threat has passed, but not to an everlasting guardianship.
Without mentioning the Siddur HaRokeach, Rabbi Wertheimer also maintains shemirah implies a more temporally-limited form of "safeguarding/watching," while netzirah implies something more perpetual and continuous. With this in mind, he explains why the Psalmist writes that Hashem gave the Holy Land to the Jewish People "so that they will safeguard [yishmeru] His laws, and they will guard [yintzoru] His Torah" (Ps. 105:45). When it comes to keeping the laws, the more "temporary" term shemirah is used because each mitzvah is watched/followed on an ad hoc basis whenever it comes up. But the when it comes to the Torah (i.e., studying Torah), the Psalmist uses the term netzirah which implies an unending, unceasing form of performance because a Jew is obligated to study Torah at all times (Josh. 1:8), not just on an ad hoc basis.
Before this essay comes to a close, allow me to indulge my intellectual obsession of onomastics. If we look for proper names related to the various words we have discussed, we will find several different Hebrew names that are seemingly related to the word shemirah: In the Bible, there are place-names like Shamir (Josh. 15:48, Jud. 10:1-2), Shomron ("Samaria," a city in the tribal territory of Ephraim that once served as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel and is mentioned over 110 times in the Bible), Shamrayin (Ezra 4:10, 4:17, the Aramaic name for Samaria), and Shimron (Josh. 11:1, 12:20, 19:15, a Canaanite city-state). In terms of Biblical given names, we have quite a few masculine personal names: Shemer (I Kgs. 16:24, I Chron. 6:31, 6:34), Shomer (II Kgs. 12:22, I Chron. 7:32), Shimron (Gen. 46:13, Num. 26:24, I Chron. 7:1), Shamir (I Chron. 24:24), Shimrat (II Chron. 5:21), Shimri (I Chron. 4:37, 11:45, 26:10, 29:13), Shemiramot (I Chron. 15:18-20, 16:5, II Chron. 17:8), Shmaryahu (I Chron. 12:5), and Shmaryah (Ezra 10:3, 10:41, II Chron. 11:19). The last two names are sometimes abbreviated in Yiddish as Shmerel. There is also the feminine Biblical name Shimrit (II Chron. 24:26) and in rabbinic tradition, the name of Nebuchadnezzar's wife is related to the word shemirah, but there is a dispute as to what her name exactly was: Shemirah, Shemirmot, or Shemiram (Vayikra Rabbah §19:6).
Besides for the Geonic name Natronai which derives from netirah, I am unaware of any other Hebrew names related to netirah or netzirah. But the surname of the assassinated arch-terrorist Hasan Nasrallah from Hezbollah seems to be derived from an Arabic cognate of netzirah. Thus, his name can be parsed as netzirah ("protection") + allah (a theophoric reference to "God"), which parallels the construction of the Hebrew names Shamryahu/Shmaryah, which are comprised of shemirah + Yah/Yahu (theophoric references to Hashem).
