לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית
LUCHOT HA-BRIT
The tablets of the covenant
The Tablets of the Covenant were stone tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were inscribed and given to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai.
לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית הֵם לוּחוֹת אֶבֶן, שֶׁעֲלֵיהֶם נִכְתְּבוּ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת וְנִתְּנוּ לְעַם יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמַעֲמַד הַר סִינַי.
However, it was not so simple...
אֲבָל זֶה לֹא כָּל כָּךְ פָּשׁוּט...
Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Tablets of the Covenant, but he was delayed and did not descend for 40 days.
מֹשֶׁה עָלָה לְהַר סִינַי כְּדֵי לְקַבֵּל אֶת לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית, אֲבָל הִתְמַהְמֵהַּ וְלֹא יָרַד בְּמֶשֶׁךְ 40 יוֹם.
It is important to remember that the people of Israel at that time were a group of former slaves who had just left Egypt a few weeks earlier, after many years of harsh slavery.
יֵשׁ לִזְכּוֹר שֶׁעַם יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה בְּעֶצֶם אוֹסֶף שֶׁל עֲבָדִים שֶׁרַק יָצְאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לִפְנֵי כַּמָּה שָׁבוּעוֹת אַחֲרֵי הַרְבֵּה שָׁנִים שֶׁל חַיֵּי עַבְדוּת קָשִׁים.
The people did not understand what was happening and decided to do what they were accustomed to see in Egypt—worship an idol.
הָעָם לֹא הֵבִין מָה קוֹרֶה וְהֶחְלִיט לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת מָה שֶׁהוּא הָיָה רָגִיל לִרְאוֹת בְּמִצְרַיִם = לַעֲבוֹד לְפֶסֶל.
The people of Israel gathered gold jewelry from everyone, melted them down, and created a golden calf, just as they had seen among the Egyptians. After they had made the idol, they began to bow to it and pray to it, thus committing the sin of the Golden Calf.
בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָסְפוּ תַּכְשִׁיטֵי זָהָב מִכּוּלָּם, הִתִּיכוּ אוֹתָם וְיָצְרוּ פֶּסֶל שֶׁל עֵגֶל, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיוּ רְגִילִים לִרְאוֹת אֵצֶל הַמִּצְרִים. אַחֲרֵי שֶׁיָּצְרוּ אֶת הַפֶּסֶל הֵם הֵחֵלּוּ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת לוֹ וּלְהִתְפַּלֵּל אֵלָיו. כָּךְ נוֹצַר חֵטְא הָעֵגֶל.
When Moses received the Tablets of the Covenant and prepared to descend to the people to teach them God's commandments, he saw the people committing the sin of the Golden Calf. In his great anger, he "broke the tablets" (Exodus 32:19).
לְאַחַר שֶׁמֹשֶׁה קִבֵּל אֶת לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית וְהִתְכַּוֵּן לָרֶדֶת חֲזָרָה אֶל הָעָם כְּדֵי לְהוֹרוֹת לָהֶם אֶת מִצְווֹת ה', הוּא רָאָה אֶת הַעָם מְבַצֵּעַ אֶת חֵטְא הָעֵגֶל וּמֵרוֹב כַּעַס הוּא "שִׁבֵּר אֶת הַלּוּחוֹת" (שְׁמוֹת, ל"ב, י"ט).
After that, Moses ascended Mount Sinai again. Following God’s command, he carved two stone tablets "like the first ones" and rewrote the Ten Commandments on them.
אַחַר כָּךְ עָלָה מֹשֶׁה שׁוּב אֶל הַר סִינַי וּבְצִיוּוּי אֱלֹהִים פָּסַל שְׁנֵי לוּחוֹת אֲבָנִים "כָּרִאשׁוֹנִים" (= כְּמוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים) וְעֲלֵיהֶם כָּתַב שׁוּב אֶת עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת.
This means that on the first Tablets of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God, whereas on the second tablets, Moses himself wrote the Ten Commandments, and not the "finger of God".
כְּלוֹמַר עַל לוּחוֹת הַבְּרִית הָרִאשׁוֹנִים נִכְתְּבוּ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלוֹהִים, אֲבָל עַל הַלּוּחוֹת הַשְּׁנִיִּים מֹשֶׁה כָּתַב אֶת עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת וְלֹא "אֶצְבַּע אֱלוֹהִים".