Broken Tablets,

Unbroken Covenant

 

 

of Ulpan-Or, the International Center
for Hebrew and Israeli Culture Studies.

 

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These past days in Israel have felt like living inside history. Since the beginning of Operation שַׁאֲגַת הָאַרְיֵה – Lion’s Roar, launched in the early hours of February 28, the region has been shaken by escalating conflict with Iran and its proxies.

 

Missile alerts and sirens have become part of daily life. Iranian launches and Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon have forced families, schools, and workplaces across the country to repeatedly run to protected spaces.

At Ulpan-Or, like many organizations across Israel, we are doing our best to continue our work and keep our mission alive even under these conditions.

 

Lessons continue, projects move forward, and communication with students and partners around the world goes on — but often between sirens, from shelters, and sometimes literally from inside protected rooms.

 

Employees run with laptops to the mamad (protected space), meetings restart after interceptions in the sky, and work resumes again once the all-clear arrives.

 

It is a strange mixture of tension and determination — the Israeli rhythm of resilience: pausing for safety, then returning to life, to work, and to purpose.

 

 

Torah portion Ki Tisa – From Broken Tablets
to Renewed Covenant

 

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisa, tells one of the most powerful and emotional moments in the entire Torah: Moses descending from Mount Sinai and shattering the Tablets.

 

The Torah describes the uniqueness of those first Tablets:

Hebrew:

 

According to the Zohar, all of Torah — every detail and every insight — was already contained within those Tablets.

 

• They were not just stone.
• They were a piece of heaven entering the physical world.

 

Yet when Moshe saw the Golden Calf, he shattered them.

 

 

The First Tablets vs. The Second Tablets

The Sages point to a striking difference between the two sets of Tablets.

 

The first Tablets were completely Divine:

The stone – created by God The writing – written by God.

 

After the sin of the Golden Calf, God commands Moshe:

 

 

Now something changes.

The stone is carved by Moshe

The writing is still written by God

 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explained this beautifully:

• The first covenant was given entirely from Heaven.
• The second covenant required human partnership.

The message is timeless.

God writes the words — but we must prepare the tablet of the heart.

As Proverbs teaches:

 

 

Why Moshe Became Wealthy from the “Scraps”

 

The Talmud teaches something fascinating (Nedarim 38a):

Moshe became wealthy from the fragments that remained when he carved the second Tablets.

 

Why from the scraps?

 

The commentator Zera Shimshon explains:

 

Moshe dedicated his entire life to serving the Jewish people.

Therefore God arranged that his prosperity would come not from Torah itself — but from the leftover fragments, so that no one could say he benefited personally from teaching it.

 

Rabbi Shimon adds another beautiful insight.

 

The message to future generations is:

If someone dedicates their life to Torah, God provides in unexpected ways.

 

• Sometimes directly.
• Sometimes through hidden channels.

But the blessing arrives.

 

(Based on R. Eliyahu Amar’s lesson)

 

A Chassidic Story – The Quiet Mathematics of Heaven

 

A wealthy Jewish philanthropist in America celebrated his 70th birthday in a unique way:

 

Instead of throwing a lavish party, he decided:

“I want to erase the debts of ten Torah scholars who are seventy years old.”

 

He traveled to Bnei Brak in Israel and visited elderly scholars who had spent their entire lives learning Torah.

 

 

He expected to discover enormous debts.

Instead he heard something astonishing.

 

One scholar owed about $500 to a grocery store and a small neighborhood loan fund.

 

The philanthropist was puzzled.

“How is it possible that after decades without business income you are not buried in debt?”

 

The scholar smiled.

“When a need appeared — a wedding, a medical expense, a family challenge — somehow help arrived. Someone donated. Someone helped. Somehow it worked out.”

 

The philanthropist met the next scholar.

And the next.

The same story repeated itself.

 

He later said:

“I came to erase debts. Instead I discovered the quiet economics of Divine providence.”

 

Contemporary Insight – Why Quiet Effort Lasts

The Talmud teaches a striking idea.

The first Tablets were given with great publicity — thunder, lightning, and dramatic revelation.

They were broken.

 

The second Tablets were given quietly.

And they endured.

 

Modern psychology confirms something similar.

Deep change rarely comes from dramatic moments.

It comes from quiet commitment repeated over time.

 

In a world obsessed with noise and visibility, Ki Tisa reminds us:

 

What is quiet is often eternal.

 

Israel Today – The Roar of the Lion

This message resonates deeply in Israel today.

In recent days our nation has been living through another chapter of history as the joint Israeli-American military operation שַׁאֲגַת הָאַרְיֵה – “Lion’s Roar” continues to unfold.

 

The name itself is powerful.

In Jewish tradition, the lion (ארי) represents courage, leadership, and the spirit of Judah — the tribe from which the kings of Israel emerged.

 

The roar of the lion symbolizes determination and resilience.

Yet what we see today across Israel is not only the roar of military strength.

 

It is also the quiet strength of society:

Families gathering for Shabbat even while running to protected spaces during sirens.

Soldiers preparing for missions.

 

Communities supporting one another with extraordinary unity.

 

Just as in the story of the Tablets:

Moments of crisis can lead to a deeper covenant, stronger unity, and renewed purpose.

 

 

Lions in Modern Hebrew 🦁

 

Since this week we hear the roar of Lion’s Roar, let’s explore some modern Hebrew expressions using the words ארי (lion) and כפיר (young lion).

The Lion of Judah — Symbol of the Kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem

The Lion of Judah (Hebrew: אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה – Aryeh Yehudah) is one of the most powerful and enduring symbols in Jewish history.

 

It represents strength, kingship, courage, and divine destiny, and it is closely associated with both the Kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.

1. Biblical Origin

The symbol originates in the blessing of Jacob to his son Judah in the Torah.

The key verse appears in the Book of Genesis.

גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה

Gur Aryeh Yehudah

“Judah is a lion’s cub.”

— Genesis 49:9

Jacob continues by describing Judah rising like a lion whom no one dares disturb.

The imagery communicates:

• Royal authority
• Fearlessness
• Leadership among the tribes

From that moment, the tribe of Judah became symbolically linked to the lion.

2. The Tribe That Produced Kings

The lion symbol became even stronger because Israel’s royal dynasty emerged from Judah.

 

The greatest king of Israel, King David, came from the tribe of Judah and ruled from Jerusalem.

Later rulers of the Kingdom of Judah traced their lineage to David.

 

Thus the lion came to represent:

• The Davidic monarchy
• Political sovereignty
• Jerusalem as the royal capital

In biblical imagery, the lion symbolizes the king who protects and leads his people.

 

3. The Lion and Jerusalem

 

Over time, the lion became visually associated with Jerusalem itself.

 

Today the official emblem of the city features:

• A standing lion
• A background of the Western Wall stones
• Olive branches symbolizing peace

 

The modern municipal symbol of Jerusalem consciously draws from the ancient Lion of Judah tradition.

 

Meaning in the emblem:

Element	Symbolism
Lion	Tribe of Judah / royal strength
Stone wall	Ancient Jerusalem
Olive branches	Peace and hope

4. Archaeological Evidence

The lion symbol was not only literary; it appears in ancient artifacts from Judah.

Examples include:

• Royal seals
• Coins from the First Temple and later periods
• Decorative carvings from Jerusalem

These images reinforced the association between Judah’s kingship and the lion.

5. Spiritual and Messianic Meaning

In Jewish tradition, the lion also gained future spiritual meaning.

Because the Messiah is expected to descend from the line of King David, the symbol Lion of Judah came to represent:

 

• Redemption
• Restoration of Jewish sovereignty
• The ultimate Davidic king

 

The lion therefore symbolizes both past glory and future hope.

6. Why a Lion?

In the ancient Near East, the lion symbolized:

• Royal power
• Courage in battle
• Authority over enemies

For Judah this symbolism matched the tribe’s destiny as the leader of Israel’s tribes and the source of its kings.

7. The Lion in Modern Israeli Culture

Even today, the Lion of Judah appears in:

• Jerusalem’s official emblem
• Israeli art and architecture
• Synagogues and Torah decorations
• Jewish ceremonial objects

It remains one of the most recognizable symbols of Jewish identity, resilience, and sovereignty.

 

✅ In essence:

 

It is a symbol of strength rooted in faith, kingship rooted in responsibility, and hope rooted in history.

 

And now – Hebrew expressions with the word “Lion”

 

 

 

The Hebrew word אַרִי (Ari) — lion — appears in many biblical, rabbinic, and modern expressions symbolizing strength, courage, leadership, and power.

 

• חֵלֶק הָאַרִי

Transliteration: Ḥelek HaAri

Meaning: The lion’s share — the largest or most significant

portion.

 

• לֹעַ הָאַרִי

Transliteration: Loa HaAri

Meaning: Snapdragon (a flower); literally “the lion’s mouth.”

 

 

• שָׁאַג כְּאַרְיֵה

Meaning: To roar like a lion — to speak or act with powerful authority.

 

• גִּבּוֹר כָּאַרִי

Meaning: Strong or brave like a lion.

 

• קָם כְּאַרִי

Meaning: Rose like a lion — awakening with strength and determination.

 

 

•  אַרְיֵה בַּחֲבוּרָה

Meaning: “The lion of the group” — the strongest or most dominant person.

 

💡 Reflection

 

 

The Eternal Message of Ki Tisa

 

The broken Tablets were not discarded.

The Talmud teaches they were placed inside the Ark together with the second Tablets.

 

Even the broken pieces remained sacred.

Because Judaism teaches something profound:

Failure is not the end of the story.

 

Sometimes the broken pieces are part of the covenant.

 

As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote:

“The greatness of Judaism is that it turns failures into sources of growth.”

 

Ki Tisa reminds us:

The Jewish story was never built on perfection.

It was built on resilience, return, and renewal.

 

And like the lion that rises again after every fall, the people of Israel continue to stand — strong, courageous, and hopeful.

 

 

 

Shabbat Shalom.