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Beit Midrash
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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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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
