Instant Replay

The phraseology is curious; a second set of tablets like the first? How might there ever be tablets like the first? How could the experience of Sinai be re-created by Moses after the children of Israel had spurned God and His Torah? No instant replay could be possible, given how low they had plummeted.

Recollecting the scene of idolatry and debauchery, Moses, no doubt, wondered about the efficacy of his role as the lawgiver and the likelihood of relevance of the commandments themselves.

Midrash HaGadol suggests that the second set of tablets were not the same as the first; quite the contrary. They were far greater because they came down to a different people. The first time Moses found the people engaged in idolatry and frivolity, and the second time they were penitent and remorseful.

Shattered Tablets, Broken Hearts >>