Plan B and the Second Tablets

Have you ever experienced a situation where things did not go according plan? At first, we might experience disappointment and sadness, but after some time passes, we may feel blessed to be on the unexpected adventure of Plan B. The holiday of Shavuot is one such celebration when a sequence of events did not unfold according to plan. In fact, it was a total and complete deviation from what was “supposed” to occur.

This coming Sunday, May 16^th marks the anniversary of when our ancestors were given the Torah at Mount Sinai over 3,000 years ago. Upon arriving at the Sinai desert, Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Mount Sinai. God told Moshe that if Bnei Yisrael obeys Him and keeps his brit, we will be to Him a “treasured possession among all the peoples,” and a “kingdom of priests” and a holy nation (Shemot, 19:5-6).

Upon hearing what God had told Moshe, the people unanimously accepted the Torah and answered, “Naaseh Venishma,” — “everything God has said we will do.” After three days of preparation, preceded by smoke, thunder, lightning, quaking, fire and a loud Shofar blast, God proclaimed the 10 commandments. Moshe ascended the mountain again, this time for 40 days and 40 nights, to receive the luchot, the tablets, containing the ten commandments and the entire Torah, which he then imparted to the Jewish people.

During this time on the mountain, God taught Moshe the entire Torah and gave Moshe the luchot, which were “written with the finger of God” (Shmos 31:18). As Moshe prepared to descend the mountain, God informed him that the people built and were worshipping a Golden Calf. The pesukim relate that Moshe descended the mountain carrying the luchot, and upon seeing the idol worship, threw them to the ground, breaking them.

The sin of Golden Calf was not part of God’s plan when He redeemed us from slavery in Egypt, and it set a new course of history into motion. Following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe begs for God’s forgiveness took place. Eventually, God forgives us and Moshe hews a new set of luchot to replace the original broken set.

The Bais Halevi, in drush 18 in his Sefer on Torah, explores the intriguing variations between the first luchot and the second luchot and the impact of the Golden Calf on our nation. Torah — specifically the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, would be forever changed to accommodate the needs of our people, who were now routed to a new and different path of galus, or future exile. Rav Solovieitchik analyzes the striking differences between the luchot; while the first set of luchot were “God’s work” (Shemos 32:16), the second set of luchot were written by Moshe after God commanded, “Inscribe these words for yourself” (Shemos 34:27). On the first set of luchot, the words were “inscribed from both their sides” (Shemos 32:15) on the second luchot, the commandments were only inscribed on one side. The words on the first set were engraved, while the second set was not.

The Yalkut on Parsahat Ki Tisa elucidates how Moshe could have “flung” the luchot upon observing Bnei Yisrael engaging in idol worship. The Medrash shares that when Moshe descended the mountain and observed the sin, the letters flew off the tablets, causing the luchot to become heavy and fall out of Moshe’s hands and break. The Bais Halevi explains that once the sin of the Golden Calf occurred, future exile was decreed on our people. It was known that the other nations would one day rule over us and attempt to take the Torah from us. Therefore, once the sin had been committed and exile was decreed, the first tablets broke and God decided to not give us all of the Torah in written word. Instead, God kept parts of the Torah oral, so that we would be protected and distinguished from the other nations during exile.

This interpretation is further supported by the fact that ten commandments were engraved on the first tablets, or charut, which is translated as “free.” At the time the first tablets were given, prior to the sin, all of Torah could have been written down, and we would have been free from exile. When the letters flew off the luchot, according to the Medrash, the luchot became heavy because the letters contained the Oral Torah. The Oral Torah is critical to understanding, observing and fulfilling the Written Torah. Without it, the Torah can’t be “held” or observed.

The Oral Torah is critical to understanding, observing and fulfilling the Written Torah.

The Bais Halevi explains the significance of another intriguing difference between the first and second luchot: Only by the second tablets is Moshe’s skin and face described as being “radiant” (Shemos 34:35). Once it became a reality that the Oral Torah was not to be written on the second luchot, Moshe himself became the klaf, or parchment that held all of Oral Torah following the sin of the Golden Calf, to prevent shichecha, or forgetfulness, of the Oral Torah. This explains why the Pesukim state that Moshe’s skin and face were radiant. God’s change of plan in giving us the Torah, from Written to Oral, enables us to reach an even higher level of spiritual achievement and closeness to God.

When we left Egypt, we were saved not due to our own merit, but because God Himself extricated and freed us. Because it was a redemption that we did not work for or earn, we had not grown enough to be able to sustain being free. We quickly fell from these heights with the sin of the Golden Calf. Once the sin occurred, our future path was forever altered. With the second set of luchot, toil in learning was introduced. The first luchot, because it included the Oral Torah, ensured there was no forgetfulness and distraction in learning Torah. But the second set required us to add extra effort daily so as not to forget Torah. Torah learning after the sin of the Golden Calf requires daily exertion, ameilus v’yagea yomam v’laila. It is through this constant learning of Torah that we are able to connect and grow closer to God.

At times, we may find ourselves in situations where life has not gone according to plan. But with the understanding gained from studying the second luchot, we can see that pursuing new, unexpected paths leads us to achieve even loftier heights and provides for a more rewarding journey. It is times like these that give us the greatest opportunities for growth. That is the lesson of the second luchot: we can take the very things that were once perceived as setbacks and harness them to embark on new untried paths that bring us closer to God and to living the life we wish for ourselves. With the insights learned from second luchot, we discover that Plan B really is more desirable than Plan A and paves the way for even greater fulfillment.

Alanna Apfel is the founder and patient advocate at AA Insurance Advocacy, which helps therapy patients, individuals, couples, and children save thousands of dollars annually on their out of network mental health therapy bills.