One of the most famous episodes in the Torah is the story of Moses breaking the two tablets. What is interesting about the story is that when Moses retells it to the Jewish people, as he does in this week’s Torah portion, he says, “I took hold of the tablets and cast them out of my hands and shattered them before your eyes” (9:17).
The commentators point out the uniqueness of this verse’s choice of words “I took hold.” Wasn’t Moses already holding the tablets? What does it mean when Moses said that he took hold? From whom did he grab the tablets?
Some commentators hypothesize that Moses grabbed the tablets from G-d who didn’t want him to break them. Others seem to think that the elders wanted to keep them, hoping that Moses wouldn’t be so upset at the Jews for making the golden calf. Yet Moses overpowered them, and took hold of the tablets and shattered them. The common thread between these (and other) ways of thinking is that Moses was adamant that the Jews should not have the tablets. (Eventually they did get a second set.)
The BIG question that must be addressed is: Even if we say that Moses had good reason to break the tablets, did that give him the right to do so? From a purely “legal standpoint,” just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean you have the right to do so.
This is similar to what we saw this past week with Israel. There are U.S. Congresswomen who openly defy Israel and are pro-BDS. Nevertheless, the question must be asked, does Israel have the legal right to deny them entry into the Holy Land? In fact, Israel does have a law on their books that states clearly that anyone who is pro-BDS will be denied entry, so they do have legal standing to deny entry. (That is why there is that law.)
On what grounds did Moses break the tablets? Seemingly he “stole” the tablets from the Jewish people! How could he justify that?
The truth is that G-d gave the tablets to Moses; the “Ten Commandments” He gave to the Jewish people. Moses, in his kindness, was planning to share the tablets with the Jewish people. But when he saw the Jewish people behave the way they did, he decided to break the tablets, as they weren’t deserving of them. However, before he did, he took “hold of them” to demonstrate that they were his, and only his. Once everyone knew that they were his, did he break his treasured tablets.
This is what a leader is like. Leaders put their personal needs aside and they look out for the needs of the community. When Moses saw that the Jews would be held accountable for their sin, he broke the tablets – which contain the law to not serve an idol – so that he could protect his treasured nation of Israel.
This is a true leader, a person who puts the people first.