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In this week’s Parashah, Moshe Rabbeinu returned from Har Sinai with the Luchot. We read (32:15): “Moshe turned and descended from the mountain, with the two Luchot Ha’edut / Tablets of the Testimony in his hand, Luchot inscribed on both their sides; they were inscribed on one side and the other.”

Our Sages teach that, miraculously, the Luchot could be read from either side, even though the writing on each side was engraved all the way through the Luchot, from one surface to the opposite surface. Indeed, say our Sages, the letters “Samech” and “Mem Sofit” had to exist miraculously. (Both those Hebrew letters are similar to the English letter “o,” with a solid center that cannot naturally remain in place if the letter is carved all the way through the writing surface.)

R’ Yehuda Loewe z”l (Maharal of Prague; died 1609) explains the meaning of this phenomenon: The Luchot were engraved all the way through, leaving some letters levitating in the air, because the Torah is “pure intellect.” It is manifested in our world through Mitzvot that relate to physical things, but the essence of the Torah is something much higher than our world. Had the Torah simply been engraved on the Luchot, we would have thought, incorrectly, that the Torah is merely something that exists in our world like any other physical phenomenon. (Ohr Chadash 4:5)

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“When you take a census of Bnei Yisrael according to their numbers, V’nat’nu / every man shall give Hashem an atonement for his soul when counting them, so that there will not be a plague among them when counting them.” (30:12)

The Gemara (Megillah 13b) teaches: The sage Reish Lakish said, “It was revealed and known to the Creator that Haman would one day weigh out [i.e., he would offer Achashveirosh] Shekalim for [the right to kill] the Jews. Therefore, He caused their Shekalim to precede his Shekalim [i.e., Hashem gave the Jewish People the Mitzvah of giving Shekalim so that its merit would protect them from Haman’s Shekalim].” [Until here from the Gemara]

R’ Yitzchak Weiss z”l Hy”d (rabbi of Verbau, Slovakia; killed in the Holocaust) writes: The Gemara’s teaching is alluded to by the Trop / cantillation mark on “V’nat’nu”--a Kadma V’azla [which, In Aramaic, means to “go first,”] hinting that Bnei Yisrael’s Shekalim should precede Haman’s Shekalim. (Siach Yitzchak)

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“The wealthy shall not give more, and the destitute shall not give less, than half a Shekel.” (30:15)

R’ Avraham Mordechai Alter shlita (Yerushalayim) writes: Commentaries explain that the reason for requiring half a Shekel from everyone--rich or poor--is to drive home that no one is complete by himself, not even the wealthiest person. Rather, everyone needs others to help him become a complete person.

At the same time, R’ Alter adds, it is important to remember that a half-Shekel is not half a coin; it is a complete coin worth half a Shekel. The message in this is that a person should be humble, but not broken. (Divrei Emet: Emtza Makom L’Hashem p.25)

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“So Bnei Yisrael were stripped of their jewelry from Mount Chorev.” (33:6)

The Gemara (Shabbat 88a) relates that when Bnei Yisrael said, “Na’aseh Ve’nishma,” 600,000 angels came, and each tied two crowns on a person. Later, when Bnei Yisrael sinned (by making the Golden Calf), 1.2 million angels came and removed those crowns. [Until here from the Gemara]

R’ Meir Margulies z”l (1707-1790; rabbi of Ostrog, Ukraine; one of the earliest disciples of the Ba’al Shem Tov) asks: Our Sages teach that the goodness Hashem doles out is 500 times greater than the punishments he metes out. Where is that formula reflected here?

He answers: The Gemara (Shevuot 39a, based on Tehilim 105:8) states that the souls of 1,000 generations stood at Har Sinai. Assuming that each generation consisted of 600,000 adult males, just like the Generation of the Exodus, then each angel would have needed to tie 2,000 crowns (i.e., two per person x 1,000).

In contrast, at most four generations pay for an ancestor’s sin (see Shmot 20:5). It follows that only four of the 1,000 generations that received crowns subsequently lost them. And, says the Gemara, there were twice as many angels removing crowns as there had been giving them. Thus, each angel gave 2,000 crowns but took away only four crowns, a ratio of 1/500. (Meir Netivim)

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“Hashem passed before him and proclaimed, ‘Hashem, Hashem, Kel, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to Anger . . .” (34:6)

“Hashem, Slow to Anger . . .” (Bemidbar 14:18)

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 111a) relates: When Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to Heaven, he found Hashem writing, “Slow to Anger.” He said, “Master of the Universe! Is this Attribute used toward the righteous?” Hashem answered, “Even toward the wicked.” Moshe said, “Let the wicked be destroyed!” Hashem responded, “By your life! A time will come when you will need this.” Sure enough, when Bnei Yisrael made the Golden Calf and again when they listened to the Spies, Moshe appealed to Hashem’s Attribute of “Slow to Anger.” [Until here from the Gemara]

R’ Chaim Friedlander z”l (1923-1986; Mashgiach Ruchani of the Ponovezh Yeshiva) asks: What did Moshe Rabbeinu think at first, and what changed his perspective?

R’ Friedlander explains: We read (Bereishit 1:1), “In the beginning, Elokim created the heavens and the earth.” Rashi z”l writes that the Torah uses the Divine Name “Elokim” in connection with Creation, rather than the Name “Hashem,” because Elokim signifies His Attribute of Justice, while Hashem signifies His Attribute of Mercy. In the beginning, say our Sages, G-d planned to create the world using the Attribute of Justice, but He saw that the world could not survive that way, so He put the Attribute of Mercy first.

Of course, writes R’ Friedlander, G-d does not learn new things, discover new information, or change His mind. Rather, our Sages are teaching that a world run with Justice is the ideal, a world where man toils to earn reward and does not get handouts. Such a world would be in mankind’s best interest, for a person has the greatest satisfaction from that for which he has worked. For now, however, man cannot live up to that ideal; therefore, G-d places Mercy “first,” with the ideal world to come later.

This, continues R’ Friedlander, is what Moshe Rabbeinu learned. At first, Moshe thought that the world could fulfill its purpose, and G-d’s Name could be sanctified, only if strict justice would be meted out to the wicked; “Slow to Anger” should not apply to them. But, when Bnei Yisrael sinned grievously, Moshe understood that Mercy is necessary also.

The Talmudic passage quoted above concludes: Hashem said to Moshe, “Didn’t you say that ‘Slow to Anger’ should be only toward the righteous?” Moshe responded, “Didn’t You say, ‘Even toward the wicked’?”

What was the point of this last exchange? R’ Friedlander explains: Every aspect of Hashem’s relationship with us is meant to teach us how to emulate Him. Thus, so long as Moshe Rabbeinu did not understand the need for the Attribute of “Slow to Anger--even toward the wicked,” it was not appropriate for Hashem to use that Attribute. Only when Moshe himself said, “Even toward the wicked,” was it time for Hashem to display that Attribute. (Siftei Chaim: Mo’adim I p.57)

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Pesach

“Sho’alin / We ask about the laws of Pesach thirty days before Pesach.” (Shulchan Aruch: O.C. 429:1)

R’ Chaim Hakohen z”l (1585-1655; Aleppo, Syria) writes: This Halachah is derived from the Gemara (Pesachim 6a), which actually says, “Sho’alin / We ask about V’dorshin / and expound upon the laws of Pesach thirty days before Pesach.” This implies two different things: asking Halachic questions and listening to Derashot. However, because our Sages say (Pesachim 3b), “A person should always teach his student in a concise way,” the author of the Shulchan Aruch consolidated both ideas into one word--Sho’alin.

R’ Chaim continues: The preparations for Pesach referred to here include both asking any necessary Halachic questions and listening to Derashot on the relevant verses of Tanach. Thirty days are necessary because there are many Halachot to learn, and also much to learn about the miracles that Hashem performed, so that one will be prepared to retell them properly on the night of Pesach (i.e., at the Seder). These two obligations are alluded to in the verse (Tehilim 147:19), “He relates His words to Yaakov”--this refers to Derashot--“His statutes and judgments to Yisrael”--this refers to Halachot.

R’ Chaim adds: There is another reason to begin these Pesach preparations thirty days before Pesach--i.e., on Purim. The Gemara (Megillah 6a) teaches that when the enemies of the Jews fall, the Jews rise. Thus, when Haman and his sons fell, and with them the “forces of impurity” off of which they fed, the “forces of holiness” in the world increased in strength. We are called upon to take advantage of these forces of holiness by increasing our Torah study during this period. (Tur Bareket)

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