This past Shabbat as I sat at my desk and looked up from the Chumash I was reading, my eyes were drawn to the small calendar sitting on the window sill in front of me. Written on the date of June 20th were the words “Lisa’s Wedding”. My heart grew heavy as I was reminded of the fact that on this gloomy and rainy day I would not be attending a wedding as anticipated.
“Lisa” is the youngest daughter of a very devout Christian couple who are good friends of mine. This couple insisted that all three of their daughters attend the same conservative Christian college. Their two older daughters both found very suitable and wonderful husbands through this college experience. A year ago when they announced the engagement of their youngest, Lisa, to a fine young man she had met at the college, the Christian experience of higher education seemed to be a fool proof way of providing yet another suitable spouse.
In early May my daughter and I attended Lisa’s bridal shower and just before leaving for the Shavuot Conference I submitted my reply regarding attending her wedding ceremony. Upon returning home from the conference my daughter and I talked about what was “new” during the five days I had been away. With a somber tone she informed me that Lisa’s fiancée’ had called off the wedding. As she explained details regarding the fiancée’s decision tears began to stream down her face.
This news seemed surreal and shocking. Although I have known of people who have not gone through with a marriage, such a thing has never occurred to someone I have been close to, and certainly not to someone who was involved in what seemed to be a solid and G-d honoring Christian relationship. Ultimately as the weeks have gone by and the sad news of the break-up discussed among friends and loved ones the same conclusion was reached by all; that it was a “blessing” for such a thing to occur before the wedding rather than after the vows were taken.
Of course this most logical conclusion doesn’t make things any easier for Lisa or for those who know and care about her. How fitting I thought, as I looked at the rain streaming down outside, that this day in which expected vows would not be made and heartfelt promises unfulfilled, should be a day in which the clouds would “weep” at the untold heartache of a young woman forlorn.
In studying Deuteronomy 9 this past week, I found myself considering what is perhaps the most famous “break-up” to be found in Scripture. For it is here that Moses reiterates the sin of the golden calf and his reaction to it upon descending Sinai.
So I turned and descended from the mountain as the mountain was burning in fire, and the two Tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. Then I saw and behold! you had sinned to HaShem, your G-d; you made yourselves a molten calf; you strayed quickly from the way that HaShem commanded you. I grasped the two Tablets and threw them from my two hands, and I smashed them before your eyes. (Deuteronomy 9:15-17, Stone Chumash)
In general, Moses actions are understood as justified. Burning with righteous anger in witnessing the horrendous sin of the people before him, Moses threw the tablets to the base of the mountain, destroying them. Yet, the Sages marvel at what Moses did, for the two tablets that he carried were those inscribed by the finger of HaShem Himself. Various Midrashim describe these tablets (luchot) as much more than merely etched stone. But rather as spiritual and heavenly creations that resembled sapphire, contained mysteriously suspended letters, and whose words could be read from both front and back sides. Would Moses anger justify destroying something so wondrous? What right did Moses have for shattering something so holy?
According to the Midrash, the sin of the golden calf is likened to a bride playing the harlot while under the chuppah. [1] The giving of the Torah at Sinai is seen as the betrothal of HaShem to His people. While the bride (Israel) is at the base of the mountain covered by the fire of HaShem’s presence (symbolic of the wedding canopy) she participates in gross unfaithfulness through worship of the golden calf.
Moses in descending the mountain was bringing with him the tangible betrothal contract produced by HaShem Himself. Although Moses had previously written down the commandments and judgments of HaShem and read this book of the Covenant to the people during the ratification of it in Exodus 24, at that point the agreement was merely a verbal one (we will do and we will hear). The bride (Israel) had verbally agreed to become betrothed to the groom (HaShem).
In Jewish tradition the betrothal must be sealed with something tangible. Although a ring is the tangible component of betrothal today, in ancient times such agreements were often sealed with the exchange of money or with a written contract. The luchot contained the written agreement between HaShem and the people. Were Moses to present the tablets to the people, everything written upon them would automatically be legally binding. The betrothal agreement would be sealed and the people would have place themselves in the position of an adulteress, for unfaithfulness within the betrothal arrangement is considered adultery.
Therefore, the Midrash says that Moses broke the tablets out of love and concern for the people. In doing so he literally “tore up” the contract so it would not be binding upon them. Moses knew that Israel would be punished for her sin. Yet, instead of being judged as an unfaithful wife (adulteress) which demanded the death penalty, by not presenting the tablets to the people Moses hoped that HaShem would judge them more mercifully (as a “single woman”, rather than one bound to marriage via betrothal). [2]
Interestingly, this Midrash finds support in what Moses describes in Deuteronomy 9:21.
Your sin that you committed – the calf – I took and burned it in the fire, and I pounded it, grinding it well, until it was fine as dust, and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain. (Stone Chumash)
Although it is not mentioned here, the original episode of the golden calf (Exodus 32:20) describes Moses insisting that the people drink the water containing the dust of the destroyed idol. This process of drinking dust laden or “bitter” water is the same procedure used in determining if a woman suspected of adultery by her husband (called a “Sotah”), was guilty of sin or was innocent (Numbers 5). If the woman was guilty, the drinking of the water would cause her to die; if she was innocent she would live.
The Hebrew word for “dust” in this verse (aphar) (עֲפָרוֹ) is the same word used to describe the “dust” on the Tabernacle floor, placed in water and used for the Sotah procedure in Numbers 5:17. Therefore in like manner as the Sotah, forcing the people to drink the water laced with the dust of the golden calf was a way of determining if the nation as a whole would be judged as an adulteress and deserving of death. Because the Scripture only relates that the bitter water was ingested by the people, without any deadly results because of it (upon the nation as a whole), it would seem that Moses’ breaking of the luchot spared the nation from being judged in the manner of an adulterous (betrothed) wife. [3] In this way the break-up was a blessing, for it was better that Israel not enter into a state of official betrothal with HaShem at this time (through the receiving of the tablets), than suffer the serious consequence (of death) for unfaithfulness after the tangible details were finalized.
Yet, another question is pondered by the Sages regarding Moses’ throwing and breaking of the luchot in Deuteronomy 9, for in v. 17, Moses describes that he “grasped” the two tablets prior to throwing them down. If the tablets were already in Moses hands (v.15) then why does the Torah need tell us that Moses grasped them?
The Babylonian Talmud (Pesachim 87b) states; “when the two tablets were broken the letters flew up” (or vanished away). From this it is understood that letters on the tablets soared upward back to their source in heaven. The Jerusalem Talmud gives additional details regarding this (Taanit 4:5) by stating that when Moses descended the mountain and saw the spectacle of the golden calf, the letters then floated back to heaven causing the tablets to grow heavy in Moses hands. Logically, one would think if the letters were removed that the tablets would grow lighter, not heavier.
The Ohr HaChaim (Devarim 9:17) conjectures that the heavenly quality of the first tablets caused them to literally float above Moses’ hands and that he didn’t actually physically hold on to them as he descended the mountain. For in v. 15 which states; “the two Tablets of the covenant were in my two hands”; the literal Hebrew “al sh’tey yadai” (עַל שְׁתֵּי יָדָי) can be translated either “in my two hands” or “upon/above my two hands” as the prefix “al” (ayin-lamed) can mean both. The Ohr HaChaim therefore understands that by using “al” in describing the placement of the tablets in relation to Moses’ hands that the tablets were “on” or “upon” his hands rather than literally “in” them. Upon seeing the sin of the golden calf the holiness of the tablets weakened, the letters floated back to heaven, the tablets became heavy, and Moses then needed to grab them with his hands to support them.
In the Jerusalem Talmud (Shekalim 49d) the first tablets of the Law are described by Hananiah, nephew of Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah as; “(having) between each and every statement, distinctions and fine points, ‘studded like beryl’, like the Great Sea”. From this the Midrash understands that the first tablets contained not only what is known as the “Written Torah” but also the words of the Midrash and Talmud (Oral Torah). In this way the original tablets contained the basic instructions of the Torah as well as all the details (distinctions and fine points) necessary for its practical application in any possible situation. [4]
The letters that flew off of the tablets because of the sin of the golden calf were the distinctions and fine points of practical application, while the letters of general instruction remained. The Gemara of Eruvin 54a (BT) states that if the luchot had not been broken, the Torah that was learned would never have been forgotten. The general instructions as well as the details of application would have been easily understood and carried out perfectly. Because of the sin of the golden calf, the practical applications and finer details of Torah would not be written out and plainly understood, but instead “returned to heaven” and would be orally transmitted from one generation to the next.
When the “Oral Torah” (distinctions and fine points of application) was removed and ascended back to heaven the tablets became “heavy” in Moses hand. The tablets were “light” when they contained and included every possible practical aspect for living out the mitzvot. The “light” Torah was the “whole tablets” that could be easily learned, perfectly applied and never forgotten. When the practical details and finer points were taken away and not part of the information that is plainly understood (in literal words) then the Torah became heavy. Like the broken pieces of the luchot at the base of the mountain every little detail and practicality would have to be toiled with and wrestled over in order understand how they were to be applied or “fit together” in daily life. Legal systems would have to be set up and Sages employed in order to determine just how each mitzvot was to be carried out in differing and variable circumstances. This is the reality of the “heaviness” of Torah.
In contrast, Yeshua spoke of his “yoke” as being “easy” and his “burden” as “light”. Those who would take on his yoke and learn from him would find “rest” for their souls (Matthew 11:29-30), as opposed to the “heavy” burdens placed upon the shoulders of the people by the Pharisees who “sit in Moses’ seat” (Matthew 23:4). These verses are generally understood as proof that those who believe in and follow Yeshua are no longer under the heavy burden of the Law (Old Testament), and especially not the legalistic and burdensome halachah of the Pharisees (aka Rabbinic Judaism). Because Yeshua fulfilled the Law his disciples have a much lighter and easier “yoke” to bear. He is gentle and understanding of their failings and inabilities and therefore has taken the impossibly heavy yoke of Torah upon himself for them.
Yet, in the most practical and greatest sense, Yeshua’s disciples and the world in general will learn from him in the Messianic age. At that time the Law will go out from Zion and the Word of the L-RD from Jerusalem and all nations will learn the ways of HaShem and will “walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:3). Instead of understanding Yeshua as doing away with Torah for his disciples, and therefore making things easier or lighter for them, could it be that he was speaking of the time when his reign over and teaching of the whole world will result in the practical aspects of Torah being understood clearly and carried out perfectly? A time in which Torah will not be forgotten and a man will not have to teach his neighbor to “know the L-RD” for they will know Him?
The easy and light yoke that Yeshua is speaking of has to do with the Messianic age. The entire chapter of Matthew 11 has this future time in mind. Beginning with John the Baptist’s question regarding Yeshua as “the one who is to come” (i.e. the Messiah) to Yeshua’s “woes” upon Chorazin and Bethsaida regarding the future judgment they will face. It is in this context that Yeshua expounds upon his yoke being easy and his burden being light. A time in which Torah will be perfectly taught and expounded upon and will not be forgotten. A time in which the soul will find “rest” regarding the finer details and practical applications of the mitzvot, instead of struggling through the current legal processes which result in various viewpoints, volumes of opinions and endless and heavy points of detail.
This present reality is that the Pharisees “sit in Moses’ seat” and are to be listened to. The application of the written Torah is a process of heaviness and struggle to determine proper application based on the authority of men. In the Messianic age, the reign of Yeshua will make living out Torah light and clear. In this sense, the broken tablets will be made “heavenly” once again and blessing will no longer be found in that which is broken, but rather in that which is whole.
. . . . . . . . .
As the day came to an end on the longest Shabbat of the year, the time of the summer solstice, with sunset being 9:04 pm — the rain stopped, the clouds broke and a beautiful golden sunset was in view. As I watched the sun setting from my kitchen window I noticed a stack of papers on the adjacent counter. Among the various receipts and mailings was Lisa’s wedding invitation.
I picked up the invitation and looked at it. I thought how lovely it was, printed on rich cream vellum with a torn edge of gilded gold and a delicate bow at the top. It was my intention to frame this invitation in the way I have done for other wedding invitations received in the past. Using pressed flowers from my perennial garden and applying them decoratively around the invitation, such a framed gift has always been appreciated as a memorable keepsake by newlyweds throughout the years.
Yet, this invitation would not be framed and would not become a keepsake. This invitation would be discarded without special consideration. As I placed it in the trash curiously I didn’t feel sad, but instead a sense of trust and hope welled up in me. For just as the gloomy day on which a wedding did not take place, ended with a brilliant sunset. So, I was certain that a beautiful young woman who is heartbroken today will yet see brighter days ahead.
As the day turned to night and I looked forward to Havdalah I couldn’t help but thank HaShem for break-ups which are blessings and means of protection, no matter how painful and unexpected, for those who are His.
[1] Rabbi Moshe Weissman, The Midrash Says (Devarim), 2005 Bnay Yakov Publications, New York, pp. 131-132.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., p. 133
[4] A.J. Heschel, Heavenly Torah (As Refracted Through the Generations), 2007, Continuum, New York/London, pp. 542-543.
1 Comment
June 22, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Once again, thank you Paula. Another excellent one. Wow.