Shattered Luchos Awaiting Rectification
במדרש מברך רעהו בקול גדול כו' שהי' קולו הולך מסוף העולם כתיב הכא קול גדול וכ' התם קול גדול ולא יסף כו'
In the Midrash: "He who blesses his fellow with a loud voice (Mishlei 27:14)" — that his voice would travel from one end of the world to the other; it is written here "a loud voice," and it is written there "a great voice that did not cease (Devarim 5:19)," and so forth.
The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash that links the "loud voice" of blessing to the "great voice" of Matan Torah, a voice that carried from one end of the world to the other.
הענין הוא דאיתא הראשונות שהיו בקולי קולות שלטה בהם עין
The matter is as is taught: the first Luchos, which were given amid loud sounds, were dominated by the ayin hara (evil eye).
He explains that the first Luchos, given with great fanfare and loud sounds, were vulnerable to the ayin hara precisely because of that public openness.
אין לך יפה מן הצניעות
You have nothing finer than tznius (modesty/concealment).
He cites the principle that nothing is finer than tznius — that holiness is best preserved through concealment rather than open display.
ומ"מ קודם החטא היו מוכנים בנ"י לקבל לוחות הראשונות בקולי קולות היינו שהי' מתוקן כל העולם והיו משועבדים כל האומות תחת בנ"י ולא הי' הסט"א יכול לעכב התפשטות התורה והי' הולך מסוף העולם כו'
Nevertheless, before the cheit (the sin of the eigel), Bnei Yisrael were prepared to receive the first Luchos amid loud sounds — meaning that the entire world was set in order, and all the nations were subjugated beneath Bnei Yisrael, and the sitra achra (the side of impurity) was unable to hold back the spreading of the Torah, and it would travel from one end of the world, and so forth.
Before the sin of the eigel, Bnei Yisrael were fit to receive the Luchos openly, because the world was rectified, the nations were subordinate to them, and the forces of impurity could not block the Torah from spreading worldwide.
אך אחר החטא נאמר אין לך יפה מן הצניעות שצריך להיות התקונים בהסתר
But after the cheit it was said, "You have nothing finer than tznius" — for now the rectifications must come about in concealment.
After the sin, that open path was lost, and from then on the work of rectification had to proceed in a hidden, concealed manner.
וזה הי' מקטרג אותו רשע באשר בנ"י חטאו ואינם יכולין לתקן ולקבל הקול גדול
And this was what that rasha (Bilam) prosecuted against: that since Bnei Yisrael had sinned, they were unable to set things right and to receive the great voice.
Bilam's prosecution rested on this: since Bnei Yisrael had sinned, they could no longer repair themselves and receive that open, great voice of Torah.
אכן באמת כל זה עשו הרשעים
Yet in truth, all of this was the doing of the resha'im (the wicked).
The Sfas Emes counters that this failure was really the handiwork of the wicked, not an inherent flaw in Bnei Yisrael.
וע"י מלחמת עמלק נתרשלו בנ"י מלהיות מוכן לתקן הכל
And through the war of Amalek, Bnei Yisrael were weakened from being prepared to set everything right.
The war against Amalek sapped the strength of Bnei Yisrael, leaving them unable to remain prepared to rectify everything.
ולכן נשבע הקב"ה שאין שמו שלם עד שימחה שם עמלק במהרה בימינו
Therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, swore that His Name is not complete until the name of Amalek is erased, speedily in our days.
Because Amalek caused this, Hashem swore that His Name remains incomplete until Amalek's name is wiped out.
ואז יתקדש שמו הגדול
And then His great Name will be sanctified.
Only with the erasure of Amalek will Hashem's great Name be fully sanctified.
ואיתא שברי לוחות מונחים בארון
And it is taught that the broken pieces of the Luchos rest in the Aron.
He brings the teaching that the shattered first Luchos were kept in the Aron alongside the second ones.
והיינו כי בודאי המתנה שנתן לנו הקב"ה לא הי' למגן ואם כי אז לא היינו ראוים לקבל ונגנז בארון ונשברו הלוחות בי"ז בתמוז וצריכין לתקן כל אלה השברים וזה היא באמת כמו פיזור וגלות בנ"י בכל הארצות כדי ללקוט אותן השברים וכשיתוקן הכל נוכל לקבל הלוחות הראשונים
And this is so because surely the gift that the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave us was not for nothing; and even though at that time we were not worthy to receive them, and they were stored away in the Aron, and the Luchos were shattered on the seventeenth of Tammuz — we must repair all these broken pieces, and this is truly like the scattering and galus of Bnei Yisrael throughout all the lands, in order to gather up those broken pieces; and when everything is set right, we will be able to receive the first Luchos.
The point is that Hashem's gift of the first Luchos was never wasted; though we were not yet worthy and they were stored away after shattering on the seventeenth of Tammuz, our task is to gather up those broken pieces, and the galus of Bnei Yisrael scattered among the nations is precisely that gathering, which will culminate in our receiving the first Luchos.
ולכן איתא בשם האר"י ז"ל חג לה' מחר שלעתיד יהי' י"ז בתמוז יו"ט כי מצד נתינת הלוחות בודאי
And therefore it is taught in the name of the Arizal that "tomorrow there will be a festival to Hashem (Shemos 32:5)" alludes to the future, when the seventeenth of Tammuz will be a Yom Tov — for from the side of the giving of the Luchos it would surely have been so.
He cites the Arizal that the phrase "tomorrow a festival to Hashem" hints that the seventeenth of Tammuz will one day become a Yom Tov, since from the standpoint of the giving of the Luchos that day was inherently festive.
הי' יו"ט גדול
It would have been a great Yom Tov.
Inherently, it should have been a great Yom Tov.
ורק מצד שא"י לקבל נהפך לנו לאבל מחולנו
It is only from the side of our being unable to receive them that it was turned for us into mourning from our dancing.
It only became a day of mourning because we were unable to receive the Luchos, turning our dancing into grief.
וכשיתוקן הכל יהפך לנו שבעה עשר בתמוז לששון ושמחה
And when everything is set right, the seventeenth of Tammuz will be turned for us into gladness and joy.
When the rectification is complete, that very day of the seventeenth of Tammuz will be transformed into a day of gladness and joy.
וכמ"ש צום הרביעי כו' יהי' לששון:
And as it is written, "the fast of the fourth month... shall be for joy (Zechariah 8:19)."
He seals this with the navi's promise that the fast of the fourth month (Tammuz) will be turned into joy.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why the first Luchos were given with a great, world-spanning voice, yet ultimately had to be replaced by a hidden, concealed mode of avodah. Before the sin of the eigel, Bnei Yisrael were fit to receive the Torah openly, with all the nations subdued and the sitra achra powerless to block it; after the sin, the principle that nothing is finer than tznius took hold, and all rectification had to proceed in concealment. He shows that this loss was the work of the resha'im and of Amalek, whose war weakened Bnei Yisrael, which is why Hashem's Name and Throne remain incomplete until Amalek is erased. The shattered first Luchos still rest in the Aron, and the galus of Bnei Yisrael scattered among the lands is in truth a gathering of those broken pieces, so that one day we will merit to receive the first Luchos again. Citing the Arizal, he concludes that the seventeenth of Tammuz, inherently a festive day of the giving of the Luchos, will ultimately be transformed from mourning into joy, fulfilling the navi's promise that the fast of the fourth month will become gladness.