04 Mar PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING KI SISA – APPRECIATING THE LUCHOS

Isn’t it a little late for
that?!
After spending forty
days atop Har Sinai,
Hashem hands Moshe the Luchos, simply
described as “written by God” (Shemos 31:18).
No extended praise. No poetic flourish. Just a
straightforward description of the most sacred
objects ever given to humanity.
And then everything unravels.
Before Moshe even descends, Hashem tells
him that the people have betrayed Him with
the Golden Calf. Moshe pleads. He refuses
to give up on them. Hashem relents. Moshe
descends, Luchos in hand – only to witness the
devastation himself. And in one of the most
dramatic moments in the Torah, he shatters
them before the nation.
But then something strange happens.
Right before Moshe breaks the Luchos, the
Torah pauses the action to describe them again
– this time in vivid detail. We are told about
their divine craftsmanship, their miraculous
engraving, and the fact that the letters could
be read from both sides (32:16).
Isn’t it a little late for that?!

Why didn’t the Torah tell us all of this when
the Luchos were first given? Why wait until
the moment of their destruction?
Rav Bernard Weinberger zt”l, in Shemen
HaTov, offers a penetrating answer. The Torah
is reflecting a deeply human pattern: we rarely
recognize the full value of something while
we still have it. When Moshe first received
the Luchos, they seemed almost routine –
and so the Torah describes them simply.
But as Moshe prepares to shatter them, their
grandeur suddenly comes into focus. Only at
the brink of loss do we fully see what we had
held in our hands.
The Torah does this with the Luchos. Chazal
do the same with Shabbos.
Earlier in our parshah, Chazal (Beitzah 16a)
teach about the neshamah yeseirah – the
added spiritual capacity a Jew experiences
on Shabbos, allowing for a more elevated
enjoyment of food, rest, and holiness. But how
do they know this extra soul exists?
They derive it from the closing words
of V’Shamru: “u’vayom hashevi’i shavas
vayinafash” (Shemos 31:17). Chazal read
“vayinafash” homiletically as “vay avdah
nefesh” – “woe, the soul is lost.” When Shabbos

ends, something departs. From
the pain of its exit on Motzei
Shabbos, they infer that an
added dimension must have been
present throughout Shabbos.
This is a most perplexing source.
Why establish the existence of
the neshamah yeseirah from
its eventual absence? Why not
point to its arrival on Friday
night rather than its departure on
Saturday night?
The Sefas Emes explains that this itself reflects
human nature. We often become fully aware
of a gift only at the moment we feel its loss.
Absence often speaks louder than presence.
And that is the quiet thread running through
our parshah. The Torah highlights the divine
beauty of the Luchos only when they are about
to be shattered. Chazal highlight the glory of
Shabbos only when it slips away.
There are many practical applications of this
insight. Parents overwhelmed by carpools and
bedtime routines sometimes long for quiet
– until the house is too quiet. Children take
their parents’ support for granted – until they
must shoulder financial burdens themselves.

Health feels invisible – until it suddenly isn’t
(lo aleinu).
The Torah’s “late” description of the Luchos is
not late at all. It is a wake-up call: Do not wait
for the breaking point. Do not wait for Motzei
Shabbos. Train yourself to notice the engraving
while the Tablets are still whole. Pause during
Shabbos and appreciate its sweetness. Tell a
loved one something you appreciate today, not
in hindsight. Thank Hashem for a body that
simply works.
Because the most miraculous gifts in our lives
rarely announce themselves. They sit quietly
in our hands – until they don’t.
And by then, it is a little late for that.