destructive anger

Parshat Ki Tisa

The question was posed: Why did Moshe need to go up to the top of Har Sinai the second time for another full 40 days? He had just been there the first time when he learned the whole Torah, reached the spiritual highs and whatever else he accomplished up there. So when he had to go the second time why did it need to be for 40 days? It could have just been a day or two to get the new set of tablets. What was he doing there for 40 days the second time?

Neil from Modern Uberdox quotes the Sfas Emes to answer this question. The Sfas Emes explains a phenomenal answer. Briefly, he says that after the first time, Israel did a horrible sin and had gone through stages of repentance. The Torah of a baal teshuva is no tthe same as that of even a tzaddik. It is much greater. After having experienced all that happened, the first set he had already studied was no longer relevant to Bnei Yisrael. Ergo, Moshe had to go up a second time to study it all over again with a fresh approach.

I would like to suggest another answer. After Moshe came down the first time, he saw what the people had done. The passuk says he got angry and threw down and broke the tablets. We know and the mussar seforim tell us that anger is really the worst of all the bad charachter traits. Often it is based on haughtiness, though I would be hard pressed to say that about Moshe who the Torah testifies about as having been the most humble person ever.

Even if anger is not based on haughtiness, even if anger is justified, as it may have been in this case, anger is still destructive. I would like to suggest that because Moshe got angry, he "ruined" the effects of his having spent 40 days on Har Sinai learning the Torah. because of his anger, even though it was justified, he had to spend more time re-learning the Torah and refining his charachter.

wrath on luchot

Parshat Ki Tisa

Moshe comes down from Har Sinai and finds Bnei Yisrael engaged in licentious and borderline idolatrous behavior around a golden calf. Enraged, he throws down the tablets and breaks them.

Why break the tablets? What benefit is there in that? They were very valuable, as we see later from when Moshe has to make a new set, and they were very holy. So why be so extreme as to break them?

I would suggest that this is similar to what we find in the gemara regarding the Beis Hamikdash - the gemera learns from a passuk in tehillim that we thank Hashem that he took out his wrath on the stones and wood of the temple rather than on the people. He could have destroyed us, the people, but instead saved us and destroyed the Temple instead.

I would suggest that Moshe did the same. Hashem wanted to destroy the people and start over. Moshe had told Hashem not to, but I think the price of that was that he break the luchot.

effective responses

Parshat Ki Tisa

Moshe comes down from Mt. Sinai and see what the people have done. He gets angry and throws and breaks the luchos. In 32:19 it says, "ויחר אף משה וישלך מידו את הלחות".

What was the big surprise? Hashem already told him what they had done - it should have been no shock to him when he came down? Why the extreme reaction? He should already have been mentally prepared for what he would see, even possibly already with a thought out plan of action!

Sometimes, often, our reactions are spontaneous. Especially when it is a reaction of anger and shock.
For example, when your child misbehaves, you might get angry and punish the kid.

More often than not, that spontaneous anger is really selfish - you feel insulted your kid acted a certain way. You feel hurt or embarrassed. If you would wait and think about it calmly you might come up with a more effective punishment.

Moshe here had time to think about it. This was not a reaction of shock and surprise. This was planned. He felt this was the most effective response in order to teach them the severity of what they had done.