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Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law
engraved by Hotelin, c.1868 by Gustave Dore
When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” (Exodus 32:19)
Why did Moses break the tablets?
We know that the actual Tablets were but a physical embodiment of the holy Covenant between God and the Jewish people.
He had successfully diverted God’s wrath over the sin of the Golden Calf, but now he had to deal with a rebellious people.
Aleph (also spelled Alef) is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet
The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,1 wanted to teach his son the alef-beis. He called one of his disciples into his study to discuss the matter. The Rebbe said, “You have a mitzvah and I have a mitzvah. Your mitzvah is to support your own family. My mitzvah is to teach my son. Let’s trade mitzvos. You will teach my son, and I will pay you so that you can support your family.” The Alter Rebbe went on to explain exactly how this instruction should proceed. “You’ll begin with the letter alef. What is an alef?” The Alter Rebbe continued melodically in Yiddish: “A pintele fun oybin, a pintele fun untin, a kav b’emtza—[The alef is] a dot above, a dot below, and a diagonal line suspended in between.” - chabad.org
