The people were desperate for the Tablets. They could not imagine losing such an awesome gift. It was just outside their grasp, and they perceived Moshe as pulling the Tablets away. Moshe intended to protect them. He had to draw on his great strength to stand up to the people he was trying to help. Moshe was willing to risk everything and shatter this precious gift from God in order to protect his people. He actually had to fight to protect them.

We usually associate Chesed – Nurturing Life Force – with acts of obvious kindness, but there are times when Chesed demands that we draw on our inner strength and actually fight to help others. Children do not perceive natural consequences as Chesed, but they are. We fight our children in order to help them. There are times when Chesed demands that we not “help” someone, but to force them to help themselves.