Shalom and thank you for your question!
It is true that Moses destroyed the first set of tablets upon which were written the Ten Commandments, however the Pentateuch also teaches us that the Almighty also provided a second set, in the book of Exodus, chapter 34:1, “And the L-rd said to Moses, carve for yourself stone tablets like the first..”
It is interesting to note that Moses saved the fragments of the first tablets, which eventually made their way to the Temple in Jerusalem. Commentaries explain that the broken fragments symbolize how ‘a broken heart’, in other words, sincere repentance for misdeeds, and humility in general, is dear to G-d.
In Deuteronomy 34:12 it says “…and to all the great fear that Moses brought about before the eyes of the children of Israel.”
The great commentator Rashi (acronym for Rabbi ShlomoYitzchaki, 12th acclaimed classic commentator,) cites additional commentaries who explain that this great ‘fear’ or ‘awe’ refers to the deed of breaking the first tablets. The Midrash (part of the Oral law which contains explanatory stories and analogies on the Torah,) says that the L-rd told Moses “Well done that you broke the Tablets.”
What kind of affirmative compliment is this to give Moses, the loyal leader who led the Children of Israel through the trials and tribulations of forty years in the desert? Not only that, but it happens to be the last sentence in the Torah. Is this a way to conclude the Torah, by reminding us of the greatest sin of worshipping the golden calf, which is why Moses broke the Tablets?
When Moses saw the Jewish nation, who had so recently heard the Ten Commandments and agreed to keep them, violating this ‘engagement’ with G-d, he felt that he could not present them at that point in time with such a holy gift. He thereafter prayed and entreated G-d, who later told him to carve the second set, as mentioned above. With the second set of Tablets came the teaching of the Oral law, the legal code of Judaism, based on the precepts which are in the Pentateuch, but expanding and giving details about HOW to carry out the commandments. So actually the second set of Tablets was not only a second chance, (the concept of ‘second chance’ Is very important and we learn it from other places in the Torah as well,) but a qualitative upgrade!
The breaking of the first set of Tablets therefore paved the way for greater revelation of G-dliness in the world. In Chassidic teaching this is called ‘descent for the sake of ascent.’
So the Torah concludes with an allusion to the idea that life in this world is orchestrated in a pattern of descent , which is for the purpose of ascent. If you glance through the history of the world carefully, you will see that although there always seem to be tragedies, crime, and disasters, the collective awareness of the human race has changed. Whereas once there was a lot of territorialism, feudal lords and serfs, slavery… today on the whole society seeks human rights and ways to make less, not more war. This is because all the descents have been for the purpose of ascent, to the point where the world will be totally rectified, G-d willing.
That is why the first Tablets had to be broken.
