Why Did Moses Break the Tablets?

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Did Hashem became angry at Mosheh for breaking the tablets? Reply

Moses was aware that any people living by and under these laws would be abundantly blessed. When he beheld the sin of the people he judged that they were not worthy of such blessing. Reply

The tablets of the law were broken by Moses because the children of Israel had broken the law. Reply

The people, coming from idolatrous Egypt, were certainly challenged. Especially considering how dependent they were on Moshe for inspiration and direction.

But they too were just 40 days removed from the revelation at Sinai when the existence of G-d was perhaps more crystal clear than any other point in history! Reply

Re: Anonymous TX Exodus 32:18
And [Moses] said: "[It is] neither a voice shouting victory, nor a voice shouting defeat; a voice of blasphemy I hear."

Moses was saying, "I do not hear any of the 597,000 non worshipers shouting victory of having put a stop to the blasphemous conducts, nor do I hear the idolatrous shouting, we have been defeated." Reply

Exodus 32:19 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. Reply

RE: What really caused Moses to become angry ? Isaac, my guess is it might be impossible to get angry in the very presence of G-d.
On a side note, it almost feels as if Moshe didn't want to leave the mountain. The tablets must have already been done when G-d encouraged him to leave saying that the people had corrupted themselves. Just seems to me as if they were having a conversation, or just spending time there, even after the tablets had been done. So, who knows, maybe the tablets had already been ready after 30 days, and the other ten days Moshe stayed with G-d and when the situation got delicate down there, G-d told him to leave. Maybe this is also why G-d remained (relatively) calm. Reply

According to the Chasam Sofer. The Chasam Sofer asks why did Moses wait until he got down from the mountain to become angry. Surely it was God himself that told him that his people have gone astray.

It was because, Moshe was not worried about the people sinning, he had Torah in hand which would remedy the situation. But in fact there was only a small minority, about 3000 people involved, and the rest, about 597,000 (some say this was just the number of men) was just standing about doing absolutely nothing, i.e. they were not worshipping, nor were they preventing the others from worshipping the golden calf.

Moses became very angry upon seeing this, because he knew the Jewish people were not ready for this set of tablets written by the hand of God, which was on a higher level. Under the circumstances Moses therefore had decided to break the tablets.

Albert Einstein had said. The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
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What really caused Moses to become angry ? God had told Moses, "Go down from this mountain, for your people have corrupted themselves."

At this time he had not yet become angry. Only after coming down did he first become angry.

If it was due to the fact that seeing Jews worshipping a golden calf, why then did he not become angry upon first hearing it from God himself ?

It was not because he did not believe God, and wanted to see it for himself, no, this cannot be. It is therefore obvious there was something else which he saw that upset him.

So, can you tell me what it was ? Reply

I've seen this situation happen a hundred times in front of my eyes, when he ran down the hill totally shocked, in panic, pale, with his mouth wide open. I believe that he was so shocked that he dropped the tablets. In the end, what were they worth if the peeps wouldn't even listen to the first commandment?

What I would like to know is this. After they had built the Arch, G-d said something along the lines of "You better don't break this one! If you break this one there won't be a second one..." (paraphrasing, as I don't know the Chumash too well). So somehow He opened up that can of worms again, and I wonder why? Reply

Why Moses broke the tablets. I agree with Judith in Los Angeles:

"The Bible is clear why he broke them. God had told Moses of the golden calf when he was still in God's Presence, and Moses had pleaded on their behalf to save them-- from a number of interesting perspectives. But when he came down the mountain and saw the merriment, heard the singing, the craziness of the scene and their worshiping this idol of gold, he was infuriated -- just as God had been, and lost it. And threw down the tablets. they were clearly not worthy of this covenant. and that was before Aaron lied about his role and how the idol came to be. Can you blame him?
judith
los angeles" Reply

Moses destroying the tablets I like the explainations given in the four statements. I was always under the impression that Moses destroyed the tablets because he was so mortified by what he saw, he became angry and felt that the people were not worthy to receive G-d's Law. Reply

the natural and simple reason Going by Moses' temperament - he killed an Egyptian in one shot, he hit the rock twice instead of just commanding it - we can say the most simple reason for the above query is that Moses, who was so close to God, imbibing all that God had in his mind for His people, was so upset to see his people indulging in idolatry that he found no purpose being served in giving it to them and hence broke them.

Yes, its like tearing apart a sheet of agreement because the terms are violated or not agreed upon...! Reply

Thanks I especially like #3 - the Torah was given to the People of Israel, not just to Moses, for him to share them! Reply

Why did Moses break the tablets? All these explanations overlook one very important fact, that is the Torah has in it a remedy for all sins.
Prayer, repentance, and charity pardons the iniquity of sin which can be learned from this very episode. Which is what the Jewish people did to save themselves from this harsh decree. So why Moses of all people would want to deny the Jewish people (whom he loved) of the one thing that can save them, i.e. the Torah. And without the Torah what use would God have for the Jewish people ? Which is to say, if Moses broke the tablets to keep the Torah from them, and by doing so was (God forbid) successful, then they would have certainly been destroyed, because denying God was the reason for the decree, and without the Torah they would have continued to worship idols. A lose lose scenario.
What should be looked into is why did Moses become angry enough to break the tablets in the first place, and then afterwards ask why break the tablets. Reply

What if Moses wrote those commandments himself on these tablets and simply broke one in order to get attention and captivate the masses ? What a better way to make a splash and get the upper hands on commoners ? Through this action he positioned himself as the leader of them all ! This sounds more logic ! Apple company used this meme passed down throughout the years to sell its tablets computers to the masses & to lead the market ! Reply

all of the possible answers Moses was very human and... hot tempered. For instance, he did not have to kill the Egyptian supervisor and when he realized his mistake, he ran away. Latter on, he gave more evidence, verbally and hitting rocks. Therefore, he did what one can expect of Moses in front of this total deception.
Anyway, not all the Israelite were responsible for the sin of the calf. The women did not participate and did not supply the gold. The Nation could never have been completely destroyed. Reply

Breaking the tablets When we make a toast that is like a pact it is common for the glass that one drinks from to be cast into a fire or onto the ground to be broken. It is also like stepping on the glass at a wedding. It seals the deal. The glass cannot be put back together nor the tablets. The tablets and the glasses sacred missions are fulfilled symbolizing that the pacts be not be undone. "What G-d hath joined together . . ." G-d joined man to the commandments not to the tablets. Reply

Disrespected laws Moses was not just the humblest man on this planet, to disrespect laws is to disrespect the laws of our G-d, in other words not to idolize or take any Holy bible in vain for political gain.

Thank you for sharing this. Reply

The Bible is clear why he broke them. God had told Moses of the golden calf when he was still in God's Presence, and Moses had pleaded on their behalf to save them-- from a number of interesting perspectives. But when he came down the mountain and saw the merriment, heard the singing, the craziness of the scene and their worshiping this idol of gold, he was infuriated -- just as God had been, and lost it. And threw down the tablets. they were clearly not worthy of this covenant. and that was before Aaron lied about his role and how the idol came to be. Can you blame him? Reply