5754

The shattering of the luchos is probably the most impressive act performed by Moshe during his tenure as the leader of Klal Yisrael. The last pasuk in the Torah, in which Hashem portrays the climax of Moshe’s life mentions the vezjv sh, mighty hand, and the kusd trun, the great awe which Moshe wrought in the sight of all Bnei Yisrael. Chazal state that Moshe’s act of might and awe was his shattering of the luchos.  It would seem that this is Moshe’s greatest epitaph. There remains a question, however, which demands a response . Why did Moshe wait to…

Did “all the people” break off their earrings? Weren’t the sinners only a small group of malcontents? Indeed, the Midrash in Koheles expounds on the pasuk, “One man from a thousand I have found” (Koheles 7:28). The Midrash states that this is a reference to the sinners involved in the Golden Calf.  Only one out of every thousand of Bnei Yisrael was really involved in the sin! Why does the Torah exaggerate the number of sinners? Horav Mordechai Ilan z.l. explains that the entire Klal Yisrael suffered a “yeridah,” spiritual decline. Had they remained on the pinnacle of faith and…