A powerful lesson can be derived from this pasuk, which describes Moshe Rabbeinu’s act of shattering of the Luchos not simply as a negative act or an act of weakness, but rather, as a forceful, compelling, even positive act. Horav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zl, comments that, were it not for the Torah’s unembellished description, one might harbor the thought that Moshe was so overcome with shock in seeing the Golden Calf that he dropped the Luchos. Perhaps another scenario would be that they were too heavy. Moshe’s strength came from the People. Their merit infused him. Once they fell off their spiritual perch, Moshe no longer had the ability to hold the extremely heavy Luchos, and they dropped from his hands.
The pasuk conveys an entirely different message. Moshe’s act of breaking the Luchos was deliberate. With deep circumspection and forethought, Moshe assumed responsibility for the Luchos and decided that the nation did not deserve them. So he acted accordingly by shattering them. He was not weak; he was not indecisive. He was acting with great decisiveness when he broke the Luchos. He was not giving these Tablets to a nation that reveled with a molten idol.
Furthermore, Moshe’s decision was far from popular. Chazal teach that the Seventy Elders attempted to prevent Moshe from breaking the Luchos. His own brother, Aharon HaKohen, also tried unsuccessfully to convince him to rethink his decision and not break the Luchos. Moshe’s mind was made up. He knew what had to be done, and he was determined to do it. It was his duty as leader to break the Luchos. Sometimes leadership calls for the leader to put a stop to something – not to give it a chance, because it will be a blemished achievement; it will mean short-selling a product, settling for mediocrity when only a superior, untainted product will suffice.
The closing pesukim of the Torah laud Moshe for breaking the Luchos. U’l’chol ha’yad ha’chazakah… asher asah Moshe l’einei kol Yisrael, “And for all the mighty hand… that Moshe did, before the eyes of all Yisrael” (Devarim 34:12). Rashi explains “the mighty hand” as a reference to the courage and determination manifest by Moshe when he broke the Luchos. It was no accident; it was duty at its most sublime implementation.
Horav Yisrael Belsky, Shlita, explains why Moshe took it upon himself to break the Luchos “before the eyes of all Yisrael,” an act which was arguably his greatest act as leader of the Jewish People. Moshe realized that presenting the Luchos which had engraved upon them the enjoinment, “You shall not have any other gods,” to a nation that was in the midst of celebrating around a molten calf/idol would be their undoing. If Moshe were to give the Luchos to Klal Yisrael at that moment, they would immediately be held accountable for idol worship; thus, they would be deserving of execution. By breaking the Luchos, Moshe saved the nation from punishment.
Our leader went out of his way to break the Luchos, rather than conceal them for a later date when the nation would be deserving, because he sought the shock-effect. Shattering the Luchos would jar the people into humility and submission. The shock would shake them up and “shatter” their false sense of security and invincibility. Thinking that they could withstand and even triumph over the forces of evil with which the evil-inclination challenged them was fool- hardy. No human is spiritually invincible. Everyone has a spiritual Achilles heel which makes him conquerable. “Pride goes before the fall” is the expression that has accompanied so many haughty people to the dung heap of history.
eik The Rosh Yeshivah offers a strategy for fighting pride. When one is aware of the nadir of sinfulness and depravity to which misplaced pride can lead, he thinks twice before falling victim to his own shortsightedness. Second, one only has to think of the valuable treasures he will lose as a result of capitulating to his base desires. The Jews lost the precious Luchos. Others have lost their families, the respect of their friends and community. Everyone has that one precious commodity which supersedes everything. We must never lose sight of it.
