Av 29

In the Hebrew year 2448 (1312 BCE), Moses carved the second set of Tablets out of sapphire, as recorded in Exodus 34:4. After seeing that the Israelites had made the idolatrous Golden Calf, Moses broke the first set of tablets (Exodus 32:19) and God then instructed Moses to carve new tablets. (The Midrash says that Moses was allowed to keep the extra scraps of sapphire, and from that he became personally wealthy.) The second set of tablets was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, along with the first broken set. This second set symbolizes the ability of every person to make amends and rebuild anew. In fact, it was on the day of Yom Kippur that Moses came down from Mount Sinai holding the second set of Tablets, and it is on every subsequent Yom Kippur day that we have a special opportunity to make amends.