The Tablets Were Shattered on the Seventeenth of Tammuz

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 392:11

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And it came to pass, as he drew near the camp" (Exodus 32:19). On the seventeenth of Tammuz the tablets were shattered, as it was taught: On the sixth of the month the Ten Commandments were given to Israel. Rabbi Yose says: on the seventh of it. According to the one who says they were given on the sixth, on the seventh he ascended, and it is written, "And Moses was on the mountain forty days..." (Exodus 24:18).

Themes

MosesSinSinai

Continue Reading

Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhen God Offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mount SinaiWhen God offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the entire nation responded with one of the most remarkable declarations in all of Scripture. As thMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWho Is Beyond All Spatial CategoriesGod told Moses to have the people ready "for the third day" (Exodus 19:11), and the Mekhilta identifies this as the sixth day of the month of Sivan, the day on Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelLightnings One Different from the OtherWhen God descended upon Mount Sinai to give the Torah, the mountain erupted with phenomena that defied nature. The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael pauses on the word Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelGod's Bargain at Sinai - Accept My Rule Then Accept My LawsBefore God gave a single commandment at Sinai, He made a remarkable statement that the Mekhilta preserves as a kind of divine negotiation. "I am the Lord your GMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhen a Society Loses the Capacity for Shame, Abominations Follow(Exodus 20:17) says that God came to Sinai "in order to exert you." The Mekhilta reinterprets this: "exert" actually means "to make you great." God's arrival atMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelMoses Went Up. Is This to Be Understood LiterallyRebbi, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, grappled with a verse that seems to describe God physically descending to Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:20): "And the Lord went down upon