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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Ki Tisa
Moshe, did, indeed, break the Luchot in our Sedra, in response to the people’s sin of the Egel HaZahav, the Golden Calf they fashioned and worshipped when Moshe delayed returning from Har Sinai with the Torah. Now, most readers look at Moshe’s act and assign it to his elevated sense of anger. But Moshe was not, typically, an angry person. He did definitely have a strong sense of righteous indignation; whenever he saw injustice (such as when he caught the Egyptian beating a Hebrew; and at the well when the shepherds mistreated Zipora, etc). He also reacted strenuously when his people misbehaved, such as at Mei M’riva. And so he would have certainly been
justified reacting viscerally when he saw Bnei Yisrael acting in a wild, (semi) idolatrous fashion with the Egel.
But Rashi – in a statement at the end of Devarim – has a whole different spin on this episode.
Rashi says that Moshe – our supreme leader and expert defense attorney - broke the Luchot in an act of defending the Jewish People. You see, idolatry’s "sister sin" among the 10 Commandments is adultery. Cheating on Hashem - by worshipping another "god" - is akin to cheating on your spouse, and vice-versa. Both demonstrate infidelity.
And so Moshe ingenuously took the Luchot – which Chazal refer to as the "Ketuba" which validates our "marriage" to Hashem - and he shattered it. The effect of this, symbolically, was that we were now "single" again, and
so could not be guilty of committing the sin of adultery! Bad judgment, yes, boorish behavior, certainly, but not the capital crime of adultery and wholesale rejection of Hashem.
Perhaps this is why the Torah mysteriously says that this act took place, "tachat ha-har," under the mountain. You see, Har Sinai was not just the place where Matan Torah took place; symbolically, it was the "Chupa" under which we stood when this union between Man and G-d occurred. So it was therefore the most fitting place at which to dissolve the union – albeit temporarily – for the much greater good of saving the nation for posterity.
As always, it was Moshe, our hero, to the rescue.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Israel and the Nations A Few Minutes & Many Innovative Ideas on Antisemitism & What to do About It
As we approach the High Holidays, this short lecture (18 minutes) deals with the unfortunate situation of how Israel and the Jewish People stand against antisemitism, analyzing its cause according to Rav Kook, and how to deal with the issue pragmatically & via our prayers.
Ha'azinu PURSUIT is PERFECTION
p. Ha'azinu, Shabbat Shuva
Rav Kook deals with the question of the seemingly hopeless nature of Tshuva. For G-d Himself knows that He created us with free will, which inevitably means we will sometimes make mistakes and choose wrong. This can easily be frustrating, freezing us into inaction and ye'ush (loss of hope). If one sins even once, does he chalila have no choice but suicide?! Moreover, our Godly conscience demands justice, righteousness and perfection, but we all know this is impossible, so what's the solution? Rav Kook's innovative thinking, strongly based on chazal (our sages), offers an inciteful and important aspect to this topic, especially this time of year!
Sukkot Bug-Free Sukkah: Essential Halachic and Practical Schach Guide
How to inspect, clean, and store bamboo mats and palm branches to protect your mitzvah and holiday meals.
