Eternal Light Of Luchos

בי"ז בתמוז ירד מרע"ה עם הלוחות ראשונות והגם שנשברו איתא שברי לוחות מונחין בארון כי כל המתנות שנתן הקב"ה לבנ"י הם לעולם

On the seventeenth of Tammuz, Moshe Rabbeinu came down with the first Luchos, and even though they were broken, we find that the fragments of the Luchos were placed in the Aron, for all the gifts that the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave to Bnei Yisrael are eternal.

On the seventeenth of Tammuz Moshe brought down the first Luchos, and even after they shattered, their broken pieces were kept in the Aron — teaching that whatever Hashem gives Bnei Yisrael is given permanently.

וגמירי משמא מיהב יהבי משקל לא שקלי

And it is an established teaching that with regard to something given as a gift, once it is given it is given for good and is never taken back.

There is a principle that a true gift, once granted, is never reclaimed.

ולכן הארת לוחות הראשונות נשאר לעולם לבנ"י

Therefore the illumination of the first Luchos remains forever for Bnei Yisrael.

Because of this, the spiritual light of the first Luchos was never withdrawn and stays with Bnei Yisrael always.

אבל אותיות פורחות למעלה לפקדון לבנ"י

But the letters flew upward, to be held as a deposit in safekeeping for Bnei Yisrael.

Only the letters themselves rose upward, held in reserve like a deposit awaiting Bnei Yisrael.

וכפי מה שזוכין מאירין האותיות

And in accordance with what one merits, the letters shine forth.

The degree to which those letters shine depends on how much a person merits to draw them forth.

ואיתא בשם האר"י ז"ל חג לה' מחר כי לעתיד לבוא יהי' י"ז בתמוז חג כשיתקנו בנ"י החטא יאירו הלוחות ראשונות

And it is brought in the name of the Arizal on the verse "A festival to Hashem tomorrow" (Shemos 32:5) that in the future to come the seventeenth of Tammuz will be a festival, for when Bnei Yisrael rectify the sin, the first Luchos will shine forth.

The Arizal teaches that the seventeenth of Tammuz will itself become a Yom Tov in the future, when Bnei Yisrael repair the sin and the first Luchos shine again.

כי יום זה הוא שמחה מצד מתנות הלוחות

For this day is one of joy from the side of the gift of the Luchos,

The day carries joy because of the great gift of the Luchos,

ועצבון מצד השבירה

and of sorrow from the side of the breaking.

and at the same time sorrow because that gift was shattered.

ולכן בש"ק דהיא מעין עוה"ב יש הארה מלוחות ראשונות

Therefore on the holy Shabbos, which is a foretaste of Olam Haba, there is an illumination from the first Luchos.

Since Shabbos is a taste of Olam Haba, some of the light of the first Luchos shines through on it.

וזהו בחי' זכור בש"ק דאיתא אם היו מקבלין הראשונות לא הי' שכחה בדברי תורה כדכ' חרות על הלוחות וזו החקיקה הי' ג"כ בנפשות בנ"י רשימה בעצם שא"א לשכוח

And this is the aspect of "Remember" on the holy Shabbos, as it is brought that had Bnei Yisrael received the first Luchos there would be no forgetting in matters of Torah, as it is written "engraved upon the Luchos" (Shemos 32:16) — and this engraving was also imprinted in the very souls of Bnei Yisrael, an inscription in their essence that could not be forgotten.

This is the inner meaning of "Remember the Shabbos" — the first Luchos, had they been received, would have made Torah unforgettable, since their engraving was etched into the very essence of the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

רק אחר החטא אכן כאדם תמותון נפלו לבחי' שכחה

It was only after the sin, when "indeed you shall die like men" (Tehillim 82:7), that they fell into the aspect of forgetfulness.

Only because of the sin did they descend to a state of forgetting, as the verse says they would die like ordinary men.

ומ"מ נשאר רשימה בלב מהראשונות

Yet even so, an inscription from the first Luchos remained in the heart.

Even so, a residual imprint from the first Luchos remained within the heart.

וז"ש הזהרו בזקן ששכח תלמודו ששברי לוחות מונחין בארון

And this is what is meant by "Be careful with an elder who has forgotten his learning," for the fragments of the Luchos remain placed in the Aron.

This explains the teaching to honor an elder who has forgotten his learning, for like the broken Luchos kept in the Aron, the holy imprint still rests within him.

ושבת יומא דזכירה הוא ולכן יש בו הארה מן הראשונות והוא עצמו בחי' נשמה יתירה מהנשמה שעלתה למעלה כמ"ש אותיות פורחות כדאיתא נשמה בגוף כאזכרה בגוילין:

And Shabbos is a day of remembrance, and therefore it has within it an illumination from the first Luchos, and Shabbos itself is the aspect of the neshamah yeseirah, from the neshamah that ascended above, as it is written that the letters fly upward, as it is brought that the neshamah is within the body like the mention of Hashem's Name upon the parchment scrolls.

Shabbos is a day of remembrance, so it shines with the light of the first Luchos, and the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos corresponds to the ascended letters — the neshamah dwelling in the body like Hashem's Name resting upon sacred parchment.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why the seventeenth of Tammuz, the day Moshe Rabbeinu descended with and broke the first Luchos, carries both sorrow and a hidden joy. Because every gift Hashem grants Bnei Yisrael is eternal and never reclaimed, the illumination of the first Luchos was never lost; only their letters flew upward to be held in safekeeping, shining forth according to what each person merits. That engraving was etched not only on stone but into the very essence of the souls of Bnei Yisrael, so that before the sin Torah could never be forgotten, and even after the sin caused forgetfulness, an inscription of that light still remains in the heart — which is why we honor an elder who has forgotten his learning, like the broken fragments still resting in the Aron. Shabbos, a foretaste of Olam Haba and a day of remembrance, carries this illumination of the first Luchos, and its neshamah yeseirah corresponds to those ascended letters, the neshamah dwelling in the body as Hashem's Name rests upon sacred parchment. In the future to come, when Bnei Yisrael rectify the sin, the first Luchos will shine fully and the day itself will become a Yom Tov.