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I heard the following recently from a shiur by R' Asher Weiss. There is a famous approach attributed to Ramba"n (20:12) regarding the aseres hadibros. With the obvious exception of the commandment to respect one's father and mother, the first half of the dibros are very distinctly confined to matters bein adam laMakom – between Man and his Maker. The second half quite conversely deals with matters between Man and his neighbour.

In our parsha, when the luchos are given to Moshe (31:18) the word luchos is written without a vuv, as if it is singular – luchas. Rashi comments that this nuance is meant to indicate that they were equivalent. Rashi, however, does not elaborate as to what the nature of this equivalence is. R' Asher Weiss suggests these two ideas may be fused together. The dibros could have been delivered on one slab of stone. Why was it necessary to split them into two? It is never sufficient to be especially diligent regarding mitzvos bein adam laMakom while being lax in matters with other people. Nor is the inverse acceptable. Both realms of Torah observance are absolutely necessary to achieve any level of completeness in the service of HaShem. This idea is expressed further in the events that followed the giving of the luchos.

When Moshe comes down from the mountain and observes the devastating situation that had unfolded (32:19) he throws down both luchos in anger. The pasuk, as we read it, states that he threw them from his hands. However, the word yadav is written without a second vuv, as if it is to be read to miyado, from his one hand. R' Yisroel Salanter explains that when Moshe observed the golden calf, it was abundantly clear that the nation had failed in their observance of the first tablet. They directly disobeyed the commandment not to have other gods. But Moshe had a notion that perhaps they could still maintain their connection to the second half of the dibros. But HaShem made it such that both were thrown down and destroyed to bring home this notion – that there is no such thing as observing one half of the covenant with HaShem while ignoring the other. If one part goes down, it all comes down.

Have a good Shabbos.

Mishenichnas Adar Marbim beSimchah!

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

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