Ki Tissa

Moses ascends Mt. Sinai for the second time to receive the Torah from God.  The first tablets were smashed when Moses came down from the mountain to find that the Jewish people had crafted a golden calf. According to Talmud sage Reish Lakish congratulates Moses on the destruction of the first tablets of stone while receiving the second. 

Why would Reish Lakish say such a thing?  Can you image someone saying that the breaking of the stones inscribed by the finger of God was a good thing?

Perhaps what Reish Lakish meant was that for anything to be truly appreciated we must first earn it.  We need to become worthy of the gift received.  We need to feel like we deserve it.  The Jewish nation regretted its actions, did teshuvah, and only then did Moses climb Sinai to meet God again and claim the Torah.

Every day we are confronted with the question of self-worth, which is affirmed or denied by our actions.  Each day we have the opportunity to new ourselves anew.  

When we begin to  reengage with our sacred Torah  we can reclaim not only the holy text but part of our soul as well.

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