The familiar story centers on the first set, shattered in anger at the sight of the Golden Calf. But why two in the first place?
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homilies on the Book of Deuteronomy, offers some fascinating insights. It tells us that God said to Moses that these two Tablets would serve as a testimony between God and the children of Israel. They represent this world and the Olam Ha-Ba, the World to Come. It's all about duality, relationship, and covenant.
The story gets even richer when we consider the difference between the first and second sets of Tablets. The first were entirely God's work, divinely crafted. The second? Moses had to carve them himself. Why the change?
Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, a towering figure in Jewish history, offers a compelling parable. Imagine a king who marries a woman, providing everything for her – the wedding contract, the scribe, her adornments. He brings her into his home. But then, the king sees her flirting with his slaves. Furious, he banishes her.
A friend steps in and says, "My lord, remember where you took her! She grew up among slaves; she's familiar with them!" The king relents, but says, "If you want me to reconcile with her, bring the paper and the scribe at your own expense, and I will sign."
Similarly, when Israel sinned with the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God, "Don't you remember where you brought them from? From Egypt, a land steeped in idol worship!" According to Devarim Rabbah, God responded, "If you want me to reconcile with them, bring the Tablets at your expense, and I will add My handwriting." As it says in (Exodus 34:1), "The Lord said to Moses: Carve for yourself two Tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the Tablets."
So, the second set of Tablets, carved by human hands, represent a renewed covenant, a second chance made possible through Moses' intercession and the people's repentance. It's a powerful reminder that even after we stumble, redemption is possible.
And the story doesn't end there. God tells Moses, "As you live, just as you devoted your life to them in this world, so, in the future, when I bring Elijah the prophet, both of you will come as one."
This idea, drawn from (Nahum 1:3-4) and connected through wordplay (the Hebrew word for "storm," besufa, recalling Moses' basket in the reeds, basuf), hints at a future redemption led by both Moses and Elijah. Elijah, ascending to heaven in a whirlwind, will join Moses, who began his life hidden in the reeds.
Devarim Rabbah concludes by linking this to (Malachi 3:22-24): "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant… Behold, I am sending Elijah the prophet to you… He will return the heart of the fathers to the children." The text suggests that Elijah, alongside Moses, will come to comfort Israel.
What a beautiful image: Moses and Elijah, representing law and prophecy, past and future, working together to heal the world. The two sets of Tablets, then, are not just a historical event, but a continuing promise of renewal, reconciliation, and ultimate redemption. A evidence of the enduring relationship between God and Israel – and to the hope that even after the greatest failures, a new beginning is always possible.
Another matter, “carve for yourself two Tablets” – why two? The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘These provide testimony between Me and My descendants, corresponding to two witnesses, corresponding to two groomsmen, corresponding to a groom and bride, corresponding to the heavens and the earth, corresponding to this world and the World to Come.’
Another matter, “carve for you” – they asked Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai: Why were the first Tablets, the work of Heaven, and the second, the work of man? He said to them: To what is the matter comparable: To a king who married a woman and brought the paper and the scribe at his own expense. He adorned her at his expense and took her into his house. The king saw her flirting with one of his slaves. He became angry at her and banished her. Her friend came to him and said to him: ‘My master, do you not know from where you took her? Did she not grow up among slaves? Since she grew up among slaves, she is familiar with them.’ The king said to him: ‘What are you requesting, that I reconcile with her? Bring the paper and the scribe at your expense, and I will give my signature.’ So, Moses said to the Holy One blessed be He, when they committed that deed,32The sin of the Golden Calf. he said to Him: ‘Do You not know from what place You took them? It was from Egypt, a place of idol worship.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘What are you requesting, that I reconcile with them? Bring the Tablets at your expense, and I will add My handwriting’ – “[The Lord said to Moses: Carve for yourself two Tablets of stone like the first,] and I will write on the Tablets” (Exodus 34:1). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Moses, as you live, just as you devoted your life to them in this world, so, in the future, when I bring Elijah the prophet, both of you will come as one.’ From where is this derived? From that which is written: “The Lord is slow to anger, and great of power, and He will not exonerate; the Lord, in a storm and in a tempest is His way, and the dust of His feet is a cloud. He castigates the sea and dries it, and all the rivers He has made dry; Bashan and Carmel are miserable and the flower of Lebanon is miserable” (Nahum 1:3–4). “In a storm [besufa]” – this is Moses, as it is written: “She could no longer conceal him, and she took a wicker basket for him and coated it with clay and with pitch; she placed the child in it and placed it among the reeds [basuf] on the bank of the Nile” (Exodus 2:3). “And in a tempest” – this is Elijah, as it is written: “It was as they were walking, walking and talking, and behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and they separated between the two of them, and Elijah went up in a tempest to the heavens. Elisha saw, and he was shouting: My father, my father, chariot of Israel and its horsemen; and he did not see him anymore. He grasped his garments, and rent them into two pieces” (II Kings 2:11–12). At that time he will come and comfort you.33Elijah, along with Moses, will come to comfort Israel. From where is this derived? As it is stated: “[Remember the Torah of Moses My servant…] Behold, I am sending Elijah the prophet to you… He will return the heart of the fathers to the children” (Malachi 3:22–24).
