The Tablets were Shattered, but not the Future

-

 The unthinkable happened. 40 days earlier the Jewish people had seen the great revelation at Sinai and each of the millions of people present had heard the voice of Hashem saying “I am G-d… do not have any other gods before me.” Moshe was coming down from his 40 days on Sinai where he lived like an angel and received the unique gift of the two Tablets made by Hashem Himself and engraved with the words of the Ten Commandments. Imagine his horror when he saw the people worshipping a golden calf. He dropped the Tablets and they shattered into pieces.

How low could the people fall? The great plan of taking a slave nation and turning them into Hashem’s ambassadors on earth, bringing morality, ethics, holiness and goodness to the world, seemed to have failed. In fact Hashem told Moshe that he would just wipe them out and make Moshe’s family a great nation in their place. But Moshe, the great advocate and lover of his people, was listening carefully and heard Hashem say: “Leave me alone and I will wipe them out,” and in one of the greatest Talmudic style deductions of all time, he figured that if he didn’t leave Hashem alone, He would not wipe them out.
So he prayed, for 40 days and nights. As is described in the Parsha we read this week, Eikev, Hashem accepted his prayer and the repentance of the people and lo and behold, He agreed to inscribe another set of Tablets. This time Moshe hewed the sapphire, but Hashem once again engraved the words. Our Sages taught that with the second Tablets Hashem gave Moshe a great deal of additional oral teachings, including Midrash and much more. To the extent that the amount of Torah given with the second tablets are described as double what was given with the first!
This is the power of Teshuvah. The day Moshe brought the second Tablets, representing Hashem’s forgiveness, down from Sinai was the tenth of Tishrei, and it was therefore established as a Day of Atonement forever.
We are all human and we all make mistakes. The question is what do we do after the mistake. We may think that since we messed up there is no going back and we might as well give up. But the story of the Tablets teaches us otherwise. Prayer and repentance not only gets us forgiveness, but we attain even greater heights than before.
This is true no matter the transgression. If we have wronged someone, if we take full responsibility and take it upon ourselves to repair the damage, (yes, sometimes that is a big if,) chances are the other will forgive us and the relationship can be rebuilt and even strengthened. The same certainly applies to our relationship with Hashem. Whatever our past holds, we can go forward with faith and joy in the knowledge that we can have a great future ahead of us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacrifice for Shabbat

-
  One of the things, our Sages said, that helped the Jews in Egypt merit the Exodus from Egypt, was Shabbat observance. This merit will also help bring the redemption from our current exile. In honor of the Parsha Vaera, where we read about the beginning of the process of redemption, I would like to reprint a story that was published today by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier.  He wrote that he heard the story from Rabbi Moshe Raitport, who heard it first hand. A few years ago, a woman called the Shomrei Hadas Funeral Chapels in Brooklyn to arrange her husband’s funeral. “Before going ahead with the arrangements, I have a request to make. May I tell you a story?” This woman had gotten married in the early 1940s in Brooklyn. It was difficult for a Shabbat observer to hold down a job, so like many other Jews, her husband was pink-slipped from one job after the next. (They would often take a job on Monday, and when they refused to come on Shabbat, they were fired.) Their struggle worsened...
Read more

Breaking Ground

-
Image
“Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov…” – How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel.  These famous words are the evil prophet Bilaam’s reluctant blessing to the Jewish people.  There are several ways to explain his blessing.  He saw how the opening of the tents were placed so as to ensure privacy, and he was moved by the modesty that is one of the hallmarks of the Jewish people.  Another explanation is that he was foreseeing the synagogues and Torah study halls of the future.   I want to venture a guess that he would also be impressed by the way we open our homes to guests.  Hachnasat Orchim – bringing guests into the home –  is a value that we have going back to our forefather Avraham.  It is one of the pillars of the great Mitzvah of Gemilut Chasadim, acts of kindness.  Another crucial part of that Mitzvah is Bikur Cholim – visiting (or caring for) the sick.  How great is it then when both of these Mitzvot are bundled toge...
Read more

Are We There Yet?

-
Are we there yet?  The question that all parents dread on a long road trip.  The kids are really excited packing their little suitcases, preparing food and getting into the car.  Then the journey starts, and now the pressure is on.  How much longer, and when will we get there? How many of us live our lives that way?  I had some relatives who came to visit, and I took them to see the breathtaking scenery of California.  A minute into each stop, the same person would say: “OK, let’s move on.”  We felt sorry that they were not able to just stop and soak in the beauty of the location.   We are all on a journey through life, and a productive life means setting goals and working to fulfill them.  But are we constantly focusing on the outcome, or are we finding meaning in every step of the journey? Imagine the disappointment of our forefathers in the Sinai desert, when they found out that, instead of going straight to Israel, they would have to...
Read more