Hayom Yom: Tamuz 17

The difference between the first tablets (of the Ten Commandments) and the second:

In the tablets proper: The first were the "work of G-d"1 but the second, "hew for yourself."2

In the script: According to the sages in Eiruvin 54a, only the first ones had (the spiritual quality described by the words)3 "engraved on the tablets."

In the spiritual standing of the people Israel: When the first were given, they were tzadikim, for as they stood at Mt. Sinai "their defilement came to an end." But at the second tablets they were baalei teshuva, repentants.

In the spiritual standing of Moshe: When the Torah was given, Moshe received one thousand "lights" as a gift; with the sin of the Golden Calf these were taken from him and were not restored with the second tablets (except on Shabbat, as stated in P'ri Eitz Chaim).

The second tablets, however, did have this superior quality: That they were given along with halachot (laws), midrash and aggadot, etc., a "double gift of Torah-wisdom,"4 as explained in Nedarim 22b. Also, at the second, Moshe's face shone with rays of light.