#luchot

וָאֵפֶן וָאֵרֵד מִן־הָהָר וְהָהָר בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וּשְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הַבְּרִית עַל שְׁתֵּי יָדָי׃

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ (שמות כה, טז) AND YOU SHALL PLACE INTO THE ARK THE TESTIMONY, WHICH I WILL GIVE YOU. (SHEMOS 25:16) 

The Talmud (Berachos 8b) teaches that the Aron contained both the broken remnants of the first set of Luchos, as well as the complete and unbroken second Luchos.

The first Luchos were given to Moshe immediately after the Revelation at Sinai, before Bnei Yisrael sinned and worshipped the Golden Calf. At that point, they were spiritually perfect, (see Talmud, Shabbos 146a: “At the Giving of the Torah, their filth departed”), thus the remnants of the first Luchos represent the tzaddik—the Jew in his most perfect and elevated state.

The second set of Luchos were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur after G-d pardoned Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. These Luchos represent the baal teshuva—a person who may have strayed from the Torah’s ways in the past but has since repented.

Both the tzaddik and baal teshuvah were thus represented in the Aron, by the first and second Luchos, respectively. There is, however, a third possible state in which a Jew may find himself: having transgressed the Torah but not yet made amends. The first Luchos, the Luchos of flawlessness, no longer represent him. The second Luchos, the Luchos of repentance, do not yet represent him either. But this Jew, too, is represented in the Aron—by the broken state of the first Luchos.

By representing all three categories of Jews in the Aron, the Torah highlights that the commandment to build a Mishkan—and likewise, the eternal lesson we learn from this mitzvah—applies to every Jew equally. Regardless of your current spiritual state, whether perfect or far from it, you must endeavor to elevate your material life to serve exclusively as a home for G-d.

וָאֶתְפֹּשׂ בִּשְׁנֵי הַלֻּחֹת וָאַשְׁלִכֵם מֵעַל שְׁתֵּי יָדָי וָאֲשַׁבְּרֵם לְעֵינֵיכֶם (דברים ט, יז)SO I GRABBED HOLD OF THE TWO TABLETS, CAST THEM OUT OF MY TWO HANDS, AND BROKE THEM BEFORE YOUR EYES. (DEVARIM 9:17)

The commentaries discuss why it was necessary for Moshe to “grab hold” of the Luchos before he broke them, since he was already holding them as he descended the mountain (see Ohr HaChaim).

One explanation is that Moshe did so for legal reasons—to establish his exclusive ownership of the Luchos before acting on his decision to break them. Although the Torah states (Shemos 31:18) that G-d “gave” Moshe the Luchos, and the Talmud (Nedarim 38a) interprets this verse to mean that the Torah was given to Moshe as a gift, Moshe had not intended to keep theLuchos for himself, but to confer their ownership to the entire Jewish nation. Moshe therefore “grabbed hold” of the Luchos before breaking them, to reestablish outright ownership over them and avoid the possibility of damaging (or stealing) property that did not belong to him exclusively.

Alternatively, Moshe’s repossession of the Luchos before breaking them stemmed from his extraordinary devotion to the Jewish people. By claiming exclusive ownership, Moshe sought to ensure that the guilt of shattering the holy Luchos would lie squarely on his shoulders and not on the Jewish people whose behavior caused him to break them.

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ (שמות כה, טז) And you shall place into the Ark the Testimony, which I will give you. (Shemot 25:16)

The Talmud (Berachos 8b) teaches that contained in the Aron were the unbroken second Luchos, as well as the broken remnants of the first Luchos. These contents reflect three phases experienced by Bnei Yisrael, signifying that building the Mishkan, (whose primary function is to serve as a home for the Aron, see Ramban, Introduction to Parshas Terumah,) is a task associated with every Jew, regardless of his current spiritual status.

The first Luchos were given to Moshe immediately following the G-dly revelation at Sinai, before Bnei Yisrael sinned and worshipped the Golden Calf. At that point, Bnei Yisrael were spiritually perfect, having been cleansed at the Giving of the Torah from any spiritual filth (see Talmud, Shabbos 146a). The remnants of the first Luchos thus represent the Jew in his purest and most elevated state.

The second Luchos were given on Yom Kippur, after G-d pardoned Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. These Luchos represent the Baal Teshuva, a person who may have strayed from the Torah in the past but has since corrected and repented for his wrongdoings.

Finally, there is the third Jew who is represented in the Holy Aron: the Jew who has transgressed the Torah but has not yet mended his ways. The firstLuchos – the Luchos of flawlessness, can no longer represent him, but the second Luchos, the Luchos of repentance, don’t represent him either. His is, however, represented by the fact that the first Luchos are found in the Aronin broken form. His sorry spiritual state notwithstanding, this Jew too can and must take part in building the Mishkan.

וַיַּקְהֵל משֶׁה אֶת כָּל עֲדַת . . אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה לַעֲשׂת אֹתָם -שמות לה, א

Moshe assembled the whole community… "These are the things that G-d commanded to be done.” (Shemot 35:1)

[He assembled them] on the day after Yom Kippur, when he came down from the mountain. – Rashi

Why did Moshe wait until the day after descending with the second Luchot, before informing Bnei Yisrael about the command to construct the Mishkan?

We read in the earlier parshiot of Yitro and Mishpatim, about the anticipation and devoted excitement that surrounded the receiving of the Torah and the first Luchos. This excitement was surely matched when Bnei Yisrael were granted the second Luchos, particularly considering that this represented Moshe having secured atonement for Bnei Yisrael.

It follows that the excitement of the day, namely, the joy of having been forgiven and the celebration of the Torah in and of itself, totally preoccupied Moshe and Bnei Yisrael. It did not allow for an opportunity to focus on practical and action-oriented instructions, “that G-d commanded to be done,” even the likes of the Mishkan. The day after, however, was far more appropriate to regroup and get to work.

The lesson this teaches us is two-fold. Even occupations as holy and important as making a Mishkan, making holiness from the material, cannot substitute the importance of having set times for undistracted Torah study. During those times, the Torah one is studying must be his entire preoccupation and focus. On the other hand, one must not remain with Torah study alone. “The day after Yom Kippur”, immediately after learning, one must take to the work of making the world a Mishkan in which G-d will dwell.

וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ - שמות כה, טז 

And you shall place into the ark the testimony, which I will give you. (Shemot 25:16)

The whole luchot and the broken luchot were placed in the Aron. - Talmud, Berachot 8b

According to the Talmud, the Aron contained both the second set of Luchot as well as the broken remains of the first set. From this we can learn that three types of Jews, or three stages in which a Jew might be, are represented in the holy Aron.

The first Luchot were given to Moshe before Bnei Yisrael sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf. At that time, Bnei Yisrael had been cleansed even of the “filth” which the sin of Adam and Chava had affected on all humanity (Shabbos 146a). The presence of the remains of the first Luchot in the Aron thus represents the Jew in his purest state, as the Jews were at Matan Torah, when the first Luchot were given.

The second Luchot were given on Yom Kippur, after G-d pardoned Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. Their presence in the Aron represents the Baal Teshuva, who may have strayed from the Torah in the past but is now repentant for his wrongdoings. Cleansed from his past, he now surely deserves a place in the Aron.

Finally, there is the third Jew who is represented in the Aron: due to his wrongdoings and sins, he lacks the purity of the first Luchot , but he is not represented by the second Luchot either. He is, G-d forbid, still in the state which caused the breaking of the first Luchot. The broken form of the first Luchot as they are in the Aron, represents the impenitent (as-of-yet) sinner. Even in his current state, he can and must have a place and a part in making the Mishkan.Thus we find that even before doing Teshuva on the past, a sinful person is still obligated to study Torah and fulfill all the Mitzvot (see SH"A HaRav, Hilchos Talmud Torah 4:3).