The Yomim Noraim have drawn to a close and we are all wondering what we can do to retain the inspiration and growth that we worked so hard to gain during these special days.
The answer lies in the conclusion of this week's parsha. There, Hashem informs Moshe that his time in this world has come to an end. Moshe is commanded to ascend to the top of Har Ha'avarim which will be his final resting place. This begins the series of events culminating with G-d Himself eulogizing Moshe Rabbeinu at the conclusion of the Torah. There Hashem lists Moshe Rabbeinu's many special accomplishments. In the final pasuk of the entire Torah, the eulogy reaches its climax and Hashem praises Moshe for his single greatest accomplishment....the breaking of the Luchos (as per Rashi's explanation there).
Why did G-d consider this Moshe's greatest accomplishment? What was so significant and praiseworthy about this particular act that caused Hashem to proudly conclude the entire Torah with it?
That "Little Voice"
Hashem gave each and every one of us a Yetzer Tov - a "little voice" in our head that always tells us the right thing to do. Every human being is granted a Yetzer Tov for guidance, including even the most evil of men. One proof to this concept is the mechanism known as the Lie Detector. It's accuracy is based on the reality that when a person is asked a question at point blank and they choose to lie, almost every time something inside their body protests. Whether their heart beats a little faster, they sweat a little bit, their eyes dart, for some reason even the worst criminals cannot escape revealing a small feeling of discomfort from lying. This is true even if they practice their lie a thousand times. Why is this so? Because we each have a Yetzer Tov, a small voice that is screaming the truth from within us, and it is so real that acute machinery can detect its effect on us. Step one to sustaining spiritual growth is to train ourselves to obey this voice, for we are constantly provided with its unwavering guidance - we just have to sensitize ourselves to it *.
Moshe epitomized this practice of adhering to his Yetzer Tov no matter what personal sacrifice it demanded. For one to understand why Moshe's greatest accomplishment was the breaking of the Luchos, we must first consider its backstory: When the Jews were slaves in Egypt, Hashem chose Moshe Rabbeinu as the leader of the Jewish people and told him that the Jews would be rescued for one single purpose - to receive the Torah. With tremendous resolve and determination, Moshe successfully led our nation to achieve this goal, despite the countless times that we questioned, complained and challenged him. He was not willing to let anything get in the way of his mission. When the time came to finally receive the Torah, he went up to the Heavens for forty days and forty nights without any food or water. In Heaven, the Midrash explains that Moshe had to fight off fiery Angels who wanted the Torah for themselves. He was literally moser nefesh and devoted his entire life to attaining the holy Luchos and the Torah that they represented. Yet, when he came down from the Har Sinai he was greeted with the most horrifying news imaginable; the Jewish nation had undermined ALL of his efforts and lifetime's work by rebelling against Hashem yet again, and this time was worst than ever. Despite all the sweat, blood and tears that Moshe had invested into his mission, and despite the fact that he had no part in their sin, he knew that the right thing to do was to smash the luchos - and he did not hesitate to do so.
Can you imagine? Most of us could have come up with a thousand excuses not to break the Luchos, our life's greatest accomplishment. At the very least we would argue that the Luchos should be held onto until a later date when the Jews would repent and that the Luchos could still be saved. How many of us would be willing to listen to the "little voice" in our head with such conviction - sacrificing everything for what's right and letting go of everything that we devoted our lives to? This was indeed Moshe's greatest accomplishment and something that Hashem describes as his greatest honor. Moshe had trained himself to listen to his Yetzer Tov no matter what sacrifice it demanded from him.
Living Inspired
The reason why the breaking of the Luchos serves as Moshe's greatest accomplishment is because it was the result of the culmination of his constant willingness to adhere to his Yetzer Tov. Additionally, it demonstrated how Moshe did not rationalize around what he knew was right. He is meant to be our shining example of how to live a life of spirituality that will truly endure. The hardest aspect of teshuva, or any change for that matter, is to accustom yourself to follow what you know deep down is the right thing to do. The Sages teach us that the method to attain this character trait is through constant practice. Much like a muscle becomes stronger with each use, the more you listen to your Yetzer Tov the stronger its influence over you becomes. Once one is willing to bulk up his spiritual muscles, spiritual growth becomes almost natural. It is a worthy investment to devote your entire life to attaining this character trait - for this was the secret to Moshe's success and what Hashem considered his life's greatest accomplishment. May we all succeed in following Moshe's example of trusting that "little voice" in our head and doing what's right no matter how hard it may be, thereby strengthening the proper perspective on life that Yom Kippur has inspired us with.
Gut Shabbos
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* - This concept is based of a Shmuz by R' Ben Tzion Shaifer