Why did Moses shatter the Tablets?

[mystic]

I read an article with the following below but I have alway thought he shattered the tables because he was angry at what the people were doing?

Standing there, looking down from Mount Sinai, Moses had to make a decision.

In his hands, he held two tablets, the work of G‑d, engraved by G‑d with His own words. No objects more precious than these two stone tablets had ever materialized in this universe.

Below, he beheld his people in the debauchery of their sin, worshipping a golden calf only forty days after hearing from G‑d Himself, “You shall have no other gods.”

If Moses would hold onto the tablets, he would have to deliver them, and then, he knew, none of those who had any involvement with the golden calf would have a chance of survival. He was their leader, their shepherd.

Yet it was to receive the that he had liberated the people from Egypt and brought them here. It was to receive the that he had ascended the mountain and lived as a heavenly being, without food, water or sleep, for 40 days and 40 nights. For Moses, these two tablets lay at the very essence of his being.

And now, Moses had to decide: Are the people here to keep the , or is the here to liberate the souls of the people?

So he shattered the tablets. And he saved the people.

And with that, Moses established forever the relationship between the and the people.

And how did he save the people by shattering the tablets?

[alon]

Mar 5, 2021 4:33:28 GMT -8 mystic said:

I read an article with the following below but I have alway thought he shattered the tables because he was angry at what the people were doing?

Standing there, looking down from Mount Sinai, Moses had to make a decision.

In his hands, he held two tablets, the work of G‑d, engraved by G‑d with His own words. No objects more precious than these two stone tablets had ever materialized in this universe.

Below, he beheld his people in the debauchery of their sin, worshipping a golden calf only forty days after hearing from G‑d Himself, “You shall have no other gods.”

If Moses would hold onto the tablets, he would have to deliver them, and then, he knew, none of those who had any involvement with the golden calf would have a chance of survival. He was their leader, their shepherd.

Yet it was to receive the Torah that he had liberated the people from Egypt and brought them here. It was to receive the Torah that he had ascended the mountain and lived as a heavenly being, without food, water or sleep, for 40 days and 40 nights. For Moses, these two tablets lay at the very essence of his being.

And now, Moses had to decide: Are the people here to keep the Torah, or is the Torah here to liberate the souls of the people?

So he shattered the tablets. And he saved the people.

And with that, Moses established forever the relationship between the Torah and the people.

And how did he save the people by shattering the tablets?

Exodus 32:1-19 (ESV) 32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods (*) who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden [Heb cast metal] calf. And they said, “These (**) are your gods (*), O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods(*), O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

(*) H430  אֱלֹהִים ‘ĕlôhı̂ym; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: - angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

Elohim is plural, however God consistently refers to Himself in this form throughout Torah. So while it can be used either in the singular (God) or plural (gods) sense, I think it probably is singular here in the sense of referring to God. They thought something had happened to Moses, who was their contact with God, so they reverted to what they knew from Egypt and made an idol to attract the deity. They made one idol (not many as most English translations imply) which they thought if they prayed before it, it would be a conduit to God. God Hmself had said not to do this, but we men tend to revert to what we know, not what we are told to do.

(**) H428  אֵלֶּה 'êlleh; these or those: - an- (the) other; one sort, so, some, such, them, these (same), they, this, those, thus, which, who (-m).

Apparently elleh can be used in a singular sense as well, though it is typically plural. Just after saying “these,” vs. 5 says “it,” singular; and the singular tense is used throughout the story as well as the plural.

Vs. 5 said Aaron proclaimed a “feast to the Lord,” and vss. 18 & 19 speak of singing and dancing. I doubt this was debauchery, but it was a joyous celebration because they thought they had a new conduit to their God. This made the God of Abraham like any other false god as well as making Moses essentially obsolete. I imagine after all he’d done thus far this would make him angry, and their equating God with Egyptian gods would really make him angry. He’d talked with God “face to face,” seen the mountain burn with His presence, heard the voice of God thunder … Moses KNEW better! And so should they have!

And finally, vs. 19 says “Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them.” It plainly says he was angry, and that is why he broke the tablets.

Also, vss. 11-14 tells where and how Moses saved his people from the wrath of God. He also interceded on their behalf in ch. 33 when he convinced God to lead them instead of sending an angel, who would have ended up killing them. But I don’t see how his breaking the tablets could save the people, and they were replaced in ch. 34 anyhow.

Not sure what they mean by Torah being “here to liberate the souls of the people.” Torah shows how to live lives consecrated to God, and how to approach Him, but in itself it does not liberate our souls. Only God can do that, then or now.