It took Moses 40 days to receive the Torah from G-d on Mt. Sinai. When he was coming down he saw the Jewish people idol worshipping the golden calf. The Midrash tells us that the letters of the tablets flew away and the luchot became very heavy and Moses dropped them to the ground and they broke.
It took Moses 80 more days to win forgiveness for the Jewish people after this episode.
But when Moses finally returned from the mountain on Yom Kipur, the new set of tablets that he brought with him were greater than the first. The second set was carved from the depths of pain and remorse.
This teaches us that it takes much more effort to rebuild a relationship after it has been broken than to build it in the first place. But when we succeed, the new structure is much stronger and it can never be broken again.
Hope is the gift Yom Kipur gives to us. Everything is possible. With persistence we can overcome any challenge and adversary.
“Be strong and brave. Do not be afraid or feel insecure before them, because G-d is the One Who is going with you, and He will not fail you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Some excerpts taken from “60 Days…” by Simon Jacobson
www.livealittlehigher.com
