When Moshe Rabbeinu
beheld Bnei Yisroel worshiping the golden calf, he threw down the luchos and
smashed them. Chazal tell us (Shabbos 88a) that afterward Hashem thanked Moshe
for breaking the luchos. Eighty days later, on Yom Kippur, Moshe descended from
Har Sinai with a second set of luchos, with the same contents. What was the
impetus for Moshe's decision to break the luchos, and if he felt they weren't
worthy of receiving the Torah what changed eighty days later when he returned
with a similar set of luchos?
The Gemara (Avodah Zara 5a) states that the second set of luchos differed from
the first set. Had they merited the first set, Bnei Yisrael would have been
free from the dominion of the yetzer hara and would never have had to contend
with the oppression of foreign nations. They wouldhave achieved a level of
existence without sin. Prior to their sin, the Torah (i.e. the first set of
luchos) was tailored to the needs of a nation that had reached the pinnacle of
spiritual ascent. When Moshe saw that the nation had sinned, thereby falling
from their newfound spiritual plateau, he understood that the Torah in its
present state was not suitable for Bnei Yisrael. They would need a new set of
luchos that was tailored to a nation that had tasted sin. The actual Torah would
remain in its purity, exactly how it had been prior to their sin; however, the
manner in which it would be conveyed to Bnei Yisrael would have to be
different.
Rav Wolbe (Shiurei Chumash) elaborates on this very relevant concept. Every
generation has a specific manner in which it can, and does, relate to the
Torah. Those responsible for transmitting the Torah must understand the
peculiarities of their specific generation and transmit the Torah accordingly.
The Torah remains the same; it's merely the language that changes.
Chazal say, "Yiftach in his
generation paralleled Shmuel in his
generation." What does this mean? Shmuel was a prophet similar to Moshe
and Aharon, while Yiftach didn't even merit prophecy at all. Rav Tzadok
Hakohein explains that just as Shmuel succeeded in transmitting the Torah to
his generation, Yiftach did all that it took to transmit the Torah to his
generation. The difference in the spiritual levels of the generations was
immense, but the mission remained the same. Yiftach succeeded in finding an
appropriate means of conveying the Torah's eternal message.
Reb Yechezkel Levenstien said that when he learned in the Yeshiva of Kelm, his
Rabbeim would say that speaking about the terrible punishments in Gehinom to
motivate people to improve is not the proper approach for our generation. The
Alter of Slabodka would always stress gadlus ha'Adom - the greatness of man. He
understood that our era required a softer more optimistic approach and he
tailored his discourses accordingly.
No matter the means of transmission, the beauty of the Torah remains the same.
We all have the ability to help others in their Torah growth; we just have to
find the right language. What spoke to the last generation might not speak to
our generation, and what speaks to our generation might not speak to our
children's generation. If we bear this in mind when delivering Hashem's eternal
message, we will be'ezras Hashem succeed in imbuing others with a true Torah
outlook, in a manner that rivals the pedagogy of Shmuel Hanavi.
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