The parasha largely deals with Moses’ meeting with God upon Mount Sinai, the tablets of the law, and the apostasy of Israel. God gave Moses tablets of the law, which Moses broke in anger upon seeing his people worshipping the golden calf. This was such a disappointment on a national scale, and even Aaron as the high priest had failed his duty by allowing the sin to occur, and not controlling the people. Moses was then told to carve a replacement tablet, following God’s instruction.
Hence the paradox: the first tablets, made by G-d, did not remain intact. The second tablets, the joint work of G-d and Moses, did. Surely the opposite should have been true: the greater the holiness, the more eternal. Why was the more holy object broken while the less holy stayed whole? This is not, as it might seem, a question specific to the tablets. It is, in fact, a powerful example of a fundamental principle in Jewish spirituality.
R. Sacks asks a fascinating, excellent question.
He then suggests that the two versions of the tablets of the law, are metaphoric of different human encounters with the divine. But there are other ways to approach this question.
We could bear these things in mind:
Although we might naturally assume G-d to be aloof and distant from his creation, here we see the Lord cosmically and dynamically interacting with his people. We are aware of the thunder and the lightning on Mount Sinai, but we can sometimes miss the most intriguing aspect of Ki Tissa, that we learn more about G-d taking on physical attributes here than perhaps anywhere else in Torah.
In Exodus 31:18, we read of G-d speaking with Moses, and giving him a tablet of the law written by the finger of G-d.
וַיִּתֵּן אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי, שְׁנֵי, לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת–לֻחֹת אֶבֶן, כְּתֻבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים
In Exodus 33:10, G-d speaks to Moses face to face, like a man talking to his friend. We see here G-d taking upon himself a very human likeness:
וְדִבֶּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה פָּנִים אֶל-פָּנִים, כַּאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר אִישׁ אֶל-רֵעֵהוּ
In Exodus 33:22-23, we find the dimensions of G-d curious. G-d promises to cover Moses with his hand, whilst his “glory” walks by. Only G-d’s glory back – but not his face – can be seen by Moses. How then can G-d cover Moses with His hand? The hand belongs to G-d, whilst the face and back belong to the glory of G-d, who is also G-d himself.
וְהָיָה בַּעֲבֹר כְּבֹדִי, וְשַׂמְתִּיךָ בְּנִקְרַת הַצּוּר; וְשַׂכֹּתִי כַפִּי עָלֶיךָ, עַד-עָבְרִי
וַהֲסִרֹתִי, אֶת-כַּפִּי, וְרָאִיתָ, אֶת-אֲחֹרָי; וּפָנַי, לֹא יֵרָאוּ
As for the tablets themselves, they too are given to Moses by G-d, by hand, after He had finished speaking. Speaking, writing, giving and appearing visible are all characteristics you would associate with people on earth, and it seems shocking that G-d should share in these things.
So to Rabbi Sacks’ question: why did what was written by G-d, end up destroyed?
Here we had something holy and descending from on high, which was given to Israel to instruct her in a new way and bring her closer to G-d. Yet this holy instrument of G-d’s righteousness was destroyed because the sins of Israel had caused righteous wrath and anger. Even the priesthood and the teachers of Israel had failed to prevent the people falling into sin.
When the tablets came from on high, they were destroyed. When the tablets were made from the materials which came from bowels of the Earth, they were no longer to be destroyed.
We could compare the tablets to Moshiach. He was sent to Israel to instruct her in a new way and bring her closer to G-d. Moshiach, who embodied G-d’s righteousness, was also destroyed by G-d himself acting in righteous anger, because of the sins of Israel and the whole world. Likewise then, the priesthood and teachers of Israel had failed to prevent the people falling into sin.
Moshiach came from on high, and he perished. When G-d raised Moshiach from the bowels of the Earth, he would never again perish in his incorruptible body.
Beautifully, Moshiach himself was and is the same person as G-d’s glory who passed before Moses.
Ki Tissa may make us initially think of the stone tablets that was destroyed by Moses, but we may also think of the rejected stone destroyed by G-d, which became the chief cornerstone (Psalm 118:22).
אֶבֶן, מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים– הָיְתָה, לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה
This stone was broken at first, but then was forever to be unbroken – a pattern we see first developed in Ki Tissa.