And the Lord said, “I have pardoned according to thy word” (Bamidbar 14:20)

After Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Golden Calf, Moshe ascended to Heaven a second time to beg forgiveness for Bnei Yisrael. On Yom Kippur, Hashem declared, “selachti kidvarecha” – I forgave you according to your word, and gave us the second set of tablets.  Rav Yitzchak Hutner (1906-1980) asks the following question: If Hashem forgave us, why didn’t he restore the first set of tablets? Chazal go into great detail discussing the difference between the two sets of Luchos, but they don’t address why, if Hashem forgave us, didn’t He give us the Luchos Rishonos again.

Rav Hutner offers an astounding parable to explain this. Imagine Reuven holds a sensitive secret and wishes to confide in his best friend Shimon. Knowing that Shimon may have a hard time keeping the secret, and if it becomes public, he may suffer a loss, Reuven gets Shimon to swear secrecy before revealing the secret to him. Yet, soon after, Shimon can’t control himself and spills the secret. Overwhelmed with remorse, he calls Reuven and pleads for forgiveness. Reuven, despite his loss, wholeheartedly forgives his friend Shimon. However, the next time Reuven has a secret to share, will he entrust Shimon again? Though Reuven forgave him, he also learned that he can’t trust Shimon to the same extent that he thought he could. Their bond endures, but this aspect of their relationship has changed, demanding a different way of interacting.

Similarly with the luchos shenios. Hashem completely forgave us, but we were no longer on the same level as previously. Chazal tell us that the luchos shenios surpass the first in certain ways, but in others the luchos rishonos are better. They are definitely different, reflecting the changed connection with Hashem.

As Yom Kippur is upon us, we realize that in the past year we have acted in ways that call for teshuva. We ask Hashem to restore our relationship and grant us a clean slate. We are not looking to rewind time, but rather to forge a renewed bond – one shaped by our mistakes and sincere repentance. Our goal in Teshuva is to reconnect with Hashem, even if the relationship now bears the marks of our journey.

On Motza’ei Yom Kippur, it is traditional to have a Yom Tov meal to celebrate our belief that we have been forgiven. Yet, in this infant state of our new relationship, it is important that we fortify it with Torah and mitzvos. We need to show our newfound commitment by taking actions. May this year be more special than the last, bringing us closer to the geula shelayma, which we pray will come speedily in our times.