This week’s parsha, parshas Ki Sisa, describes the unfortunate shattering of the luchos. Surprisingly, even though Moshe Rabeinu was told definitively by HKB”H that Yisrael had sinned with the eigel, he did not shatter the luchos until he witnessed the corruption with his own eyes. Here are the pertinent pesukim (Shemos 32, 7): "וידבר ה' אל משה לך רד כי שחת עמך אשר העלית מארץ מצרים, סרו מהר מן הדרך אשר צויתים עשו להם עגל מסכה וישתחוו לו ויזבחו לו ויאמרו אלה אלהיך ישראל אשר העלוך מארץ מצרים". Hashem spoke to Moshe: “Go, descend; for your nation that you have brought up from Mitzrayim has acted corruptly. They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf, prostrated themselves to it and sacrificed to it. And they said, ‘This is your god, O Yisrael, which brought you up from the land of Mitzrayim.’”
Yet, after being informed by HKB”H of the grievous sin committed by Yisrael, Moshe Rabeinu descended the mountain while still holding the luchos, as it is written (ibid. 15): "ויפן וירד משה מן ההר ושני לוחות העדות בידו לוחות כתובים משני עבריהם מזה ומזה הם כתובים, והלוחות מעשה אלקים המה והמכתב מכתב אלקים הוא חרות על הלוחות". Moshe turned and descended from the mountain, with the two luchos of the Testimony in his hand, luchos inscribed on both of their sides; they were inscribed on this side and on that. The luchos are the work of G-d, and the script was the script of G-d, etched on the luchos.
One cannot begin to imagine the emotional turmoil experienced by the loyal shepherd, Moshe Rabeinu, as he rushed down the mountain carrying the luchos. Yet the narrative details for us Moshe’s reaction upon seeing the eigel (ibid. 19): "ויהי כאשר קרב אל המחנה וירא את העגל ומחולות ויחר אף משה וישלך מידיו את הלוחות וישבר אותם תחת ההר, ויקח את העגל אשר עשו וישרוף באש ויטחן עד אשר דק ויזר על פני המים וישק את בני ישראל". As he approached the camp, he saw the “eigel” and the dances. Moshe became enraged; he threw down the luchos from his hands and shattered them at the bottom of the mountain. He took the “eigel” that they had made and burned it in fire; he ground it until it was a fine powder and scattered it upon the water; and he made Bnei Yisrael drink it.
It is incumbent on us to reconcile this surprising sequence of events. Even after being told explicitly by HKB”H what the people had done, he continued down the mountain as if he still intended to deliver the luchos to Yisrael. Only after being close enough to witness the travesty with his own eyes did he become enraged enough to shatter the luchos.
How Our Greatest Commentaries Interpret These Events
We will begin to shed some light on the subject by introducing the simple, straightforward explanations found in the commentaries on the Torah—such as the Alshich hakadosh, the author of Sefer HaIkarim, the author of the Akeidah, the Yad Yosef, and the Yifei To’ar. They point out that receiving bad news from others, even when its truth and accuracy are beyond a shadow of a doubt, is not the same as seeing it with one’s own eyes. The Alshich writes that this is what happened with Moshe: Even though HKB”H informed him of the tragic events, and he also heard about them from Yehoshua, they did not weigh heavily on his heart until he saw them for himself; then he became enraged. In this vein, the author of the Akeidah adds that a person reacts more intensely to what he sees than to what he hears, even though he does not doubt the veracity of what he heard.
The Alshich hakadosh relies on the facts presented in the narrative. When Moshe Rabeinu heard about the “cheit ha’eigel” directly from HKB”H, he did not become so upset. He considered the possibility that the people of Yisrael had become victims of the malicious advice of the yetzer; and he was certain that they regretted their actions. However, when he approached the camp and saw the eigel along with the dancing and merriment; he realized that they did not have any remorse. At that point, he became enraged and shattered the luchos. He points out that the essence of serving Hashem is doing so with simchah and wholeheartedly. But if a person is saddened by his sin, there is hope that he will perform teshuvah and make amends; if his sin makes him happy, his situation is hopeless, cha v’shalom.
Along these lines, the Sforno comments: When he (Moshe) saw that they were rejoicing as a result of their corrupt acts . . . he got angry and gave up hope of being able to rectify the impropriety—such that they would return to their innocence and would be deserving of those luchos. Based on this, he explains Moshe’s displeasure with Aharon prompting him to say to him (ibid. 21): "מה עשה לך העם הזה כי הבאת עליו חטאה גדולה". “What did this nation do to you that you brought a great sin upon it?” They rejoiced with improper behavior and with dancing, because you promised them a holiday on the following day. That is worse than the sin and mutiny that they performed with the eigel . . . Therefore, he said (to Aharon), even though they ganged up on you to force you to make the eigel for them, what did they do to you to compel you to promise them a holiday on the following day? For that was the reason for the dancing they did to celebrate the eigel, which was worse than the actual making of it.
In his commentary the Eimek Davar, the Netziv explains Moshe Rabeinu’s rationale for delaying the shattering of the luchos until after he saw the eigel. He wanted Bnei Yisrael to comprehend the gravity of their sin and to feel brokenhearted. Therefore, he did not break the luchos while still on the mountain. Instead, he waited until he came down to the camp, so that the people of Yisrael would see the luchos being shattered and would comprehend the severity and tragic consequences of their actions.
Here is one of the answers suggested by the author of the Akeidah: When HKB”H instructed Moshe: “Go, descend; for your nation that you have brought up from Mitzrayim has acted corruptly. They have strayed quickly from the way that I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten calf ”—he thought that they had not actually worshipped avodah-zarah but only planned to do so. Yet, as the Gemara (Kiddushin 40a) teaches, in the eyes of HKB”H, a negative intent concerning avodah-zarah is associated with an actual deed. But if they had not committed an actual deed, Moshe thought that there was still hope for them, and it would not be necessary to break the luchos. However, when he reached the camp and saw the eigel and the merriment, he realized it was too late; he was overwhelmed with rage and shattered the luchos.
Moshe Refused to Believe that Yisrael Had Sinned until He Witnessed It with His Own Eyes
I would now like to introduce to our royal audience an intriguing passage in the Midrash on this subject (S.R. 46, 1):
You find that when HKB”H said to him: “Go, descend, for your people have become corrupt,” he held onto the luchos and did not believe that Yisrael had sinned. He said: “If I do not see it, I do not believe it,” as it is stated: “It happened as Moshe drew near to the camp (that he saw the calf and the dancing. Moses’ wrath was enflamed, and he cast the tablets from his hands, and he shattered them at the foot of the mountain).” He did not break them until he saw with his own eyes. Woe to those people who testify about what they have not seen. The Midrash queries: Is it possible that Moses did not believe HKB”H, Who said to him: “For your people have acted corruptly”? Rather, Moshe was teaching Yisrael proper conduct. Even if a person hears a matter from a trustworthy individual, it is prohibited to accept his testimony and to take action based on his word if he has not seen it.
It is noteworthy that Chazal provide us with additional details in another Midrash (ibid. 42, 5):
“Go, descend”—Rabbi Avin said: HKB”H said to Moshe, “Do not feel badly that I told you, ‘Go, descend from here’; for in two or three instances, I descended, as it were, from heaven to earth in order to observe the corruption of the creatures,” as it is stated (Bereishis 11, 5): Hashem descended to see the city and the tower” (in the generation of the dispersion); (ibid. 7) “Come let us descend” (also regarding the Tower of Bavel); (ibid. 18, 21; regarding the people of Sedom) “I will descend and see.” “So, you, too, ‘go descend’—it is sufficient for a servant to be equal to his Maker.” (In other words, Hashem was instructing Moshe with the term "לך" to follow His example and descend as He did.)
We learn from this Midrash that even though HKB”H informed Moshe explicitly that Yisrael had sinned with the eigel, HKB”H also instructed him to go down and verify it with his own eyes before taking any action. After all, HKB”H Himself did not punish the generation of the dispersion or the people of Sedom until He descended to witness their evil deeds firsthand, so to speak. We find a similar teaching in Rashi (Bereishis 11, 5); he cites the Midrash Tanchuma: “Hashem descended to see.” He did not need to do this, but He did this to teach judges that they should not convict the defendant until they see and understand (the evidence).
