The text suggests that these three actions originated from Moses' own reasoning, and, remarkably, his reasoning turned out to be in sync with God's own.

The first instance involves Moses separating from his wife. Now, this is a loaded topic. Shemot Rabbah 46 presents different viewpoints on this. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai offers a compelling argument: If even the temporarily sanctified Mount Sinai demanded abstinence ("Do not approach a woman," Exodus 19:15), then Moses, who was in constant communication with God, should certainly abstain. – constant, direct communication! That's intense.

But Rabbi Akiva throws another log on the fire, suggesting God commanded Moses to separate. He points to Numbers 12:8, "Mouth to mouth I speak with him," arguing this was God's justification after Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses' decision. Then Rabbi Yehuda chimes in with a third possibility, that the decree "Do not approach a woman" during the Sinai revelation included Moses, but when God later said, "Return you to your tents" (Deuteronomy 5:27), Moses was told, "you stay here with Me" (Deuteronomy 5:28).

It's a fascinating glimpse into rabbinic debate – different interpretations, all seeking to understand the motivations and divine will behind Moses' actions.

The second instance revolves around the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting. Moses reasoned that if God only spoke to him at Sinai after explicitly calling him ("The Lord called to him from the mountain, saying," Exodus 19:3), then surely the same principle applied, even more so, at the permanently sanctified Tent of Meeting. So Moses waited for the call, and as we see in Leviticus 1:1, "He called to Moses…[from the Tent of Meeting]." Again, Moses's own logic mirrored God's protocol.

And finally, the big one: the breaking of the tablets. This is huge. Shemot Rabbah tells us Moses reasoned that if even the lesser sanctified paschal offering was forbidden to strangers ("No stranger shall partake of it," Exodus 12:43), then surely the Tablets, the very handiwork of God, should not fall into the hands of idolaters. So, in a moment of profound and perhaps impulsive action, he shattered them.

The text emphasizes the sheer force of will Moses displayed. Aaron and the seventy elders physically tried to stop him, but they couldn't. It was a powerful act, defying even the elders!

But here's where it gets really interesting. The text notes that even the will of God was that he not break them! Deuteronomy 34:11 refers to "all the signs and the wonders," and according to some interpretations (like the Etz Yosef), Moses' breaking of the tablets was a "wonder" precisely because it occurred without God's explicit prior approval. Or perhaps, God wanted Moses to withhold them, not destroy them.

So why didn't God punish Moses? Because, as the text concludes, God ultimately approved of Moses' zeal. "Let there be peace for that hand," God says, referring to the hand that broke the tablets ("And with all the mighty hand," Deuteronomy 34:12). As the Rashash commentary notes, this was God's retroactive endorsement of Moses's action.

What does this all mean? It’s a powerful reminder that even our greatest leaders grapple with interpreting God's will. It highlights the importance of human reasoning, sechel, in our tradition. And it suggests that sometimes, acting with righteous intention, even if it seems to defy expectations, can ultimately align with the divine plan.

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Are there times in our own lives when our intuition, our own sense of what's right, might actually be a subtle form of divine guidance? Perhaps the story of Moses and the tablets encourages us to trust our own moral compass, even as we strive to understand and follow the path laid out before us. Just like Moses, we must strive to make the right choices, and hope that our reasoning aligns with the will of the Holy One.