In our Parashah, Moses recounts to the Israelites how he broke the first Tablets of the Law when he descended from the mountain: \"And I grasped the Tablets and threw them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes.\"1 Regarding this, the author of the Hor HaChaim commentary asks: \"Why did he need to grasp them? They were already in his hands!!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Midrashim describe a struggle between Moses and God, or between him and the elders, who clung to the Tablets and tried to prevent them from being broken. This explains the use of the phrase "and held fast," indicating that Moses stood firm and firmly grasped the Tablets. However, according to the Gemara, there was no struggle at all. On the contrary, God said to Moses, "I congratulate you because you broke them." Given this, what is the meaning of the words "and I held fast the two Tablets"?'<\/p>\n
CANCELLATION OF THE ACCUSATION<\/p>\n
This will be understood based on the underlying motive for breaking the Tablets. One explanation is that Moses wanted to remove a serious charge against the Jews. The Tablets were a kind of "marriage contract" between Hashem and the people. Now that the people had sinned with the golden calf, this marriage contract was the accusing element against them. Therefore, Moses broke the Tablets, thereby eliminating the documentary evidence of the Covenant between the Most High and the people of Israel.<\/p>\n
However, this was not enough, since the very act of breaking the Tablets was grounds for accusing the people\u2014they were the ones who broke the Tablets, which were "God's work."6 This is what Moses wanted to prevent by "holding" the Tablets. His intention was to take possession of them, removing them from the people's control and authority to make them his personal property.<\/p>\n
Up to this point, Moses was the delegate of the Jews tasked with bringing them the Tablets, and therefore the Tablets were the property and responsibility of the entire people. What did Moses do? He kept the Tablets for himself, transferring them to his ownership, and automatically the act of breaking them became his sole personal responsibility and could not be attributed to the people.<\/p>\n
HE TOOK THE BLAME<\/p>\n
This reflects the intensity of Moses' total commitment to the people of Israel.7 He had no connection whatsoever with the sin of the golden calf. He could not even be accused of failing to stop or protest the people's actions, since he was on the mountain and was not present when the people sinned.<\/p>\n
However, not only did he confront God and demand, at the cost of his own life, that He forgive the people for this sin, saying "and if not, blot me out of Your Book"8; not only did he break the Tablets to atone for the people, but he even 'bound' the Tablets by passing them into his personal property so that even the blame for the breaking would not fall on the people, but would be exclusively his!<\/p>\n
THEY DO NOT ABANDON<\/p>\n
Our Sages (peace be upon them) compare the breaking of the Tablets to the passing of the Tzaddikim\u2014the righteous. Just as the breaking of the Tablets was for the benefit of the Israelites, so too the passing of the Tzaddikim ultimately benefits the generation, since their death atones for the sin of the generation.<\/p>\n
Just as Moses did not abandon the people of Israel even when he sinned with the calf, so too the Tzaddikim of Israel of each generation do not abandon their flock, and even when they ascend to the heavenly spheres they atone even for the intentional sins of the people of the generation, and invoke salvation for the Community of Israel, until the arrival of the Messiah.<\/p>\n
(Likutei Sichot Volume 34, Page 51)<\/p>\n
NOTES: 1. Deuteronomy 9:17 2. Tanchuma Our Parashah 11. Also in Yerushalmi Taanit Chapter 4, Halakha 2 3. Avot DeRabi Natan Chapters 2, 3 4. Shabbat 87a. Rashi's explanation of the Torah 5. Shemot Rabbah Parashah 43a Tanchuma there 6. Shemot 32:16 7. See Shemot Rabbah Parashah 47:9 8. Shemot 32:2 9. Yerushalmi Yoma Chapter I, Halakha 1 10. Moed Katan 28a<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"En nuestra Parsh\u00e1 Mosh\u00e9 relata a los israelitas c\u00f3mo quebr\u00f3 las primeras Tablas de la Ley cuando descendi\u00f3 de la monta\u00f1a: Y sujet\u00e9 las Tablas y las arroj\u00e9 de mis dos manos, y las quebr\u00e9 a vuestros ojos\"1. Sobre ello pregunta el autor del comentario Hor HaJaim: \"\u00bfPara qu\u00e9 precis\u00f3 sujetarlas? \u00a1\u00bfSi estaban en sus… Read More \u00bbThe shepherd of Israel<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[950,965,975,952,967,954,962,970,968,976,1029,942],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ekev","tag-di-s","tag-fallecimiento","tag-halaja","tag-hashem","tag-israel","tag-judio","tag-ley","tag-libro","tag-mashiaj","tag-shabat","tag-tablas","tag-tora"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tablas.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"El pastor de Israel<\/a><\/blockquote>