And Moses said: Huh?

Modern Israeli 1/2 Shekel

The word of the week is שקל  Shekel - which is both the word for the currency of modern Israel, and a measurement - לשקל means to weigh. In last week's reading, Ki Tisa, we saw it in the phrase: 

זֶה יִתְּנוּ, כָּל-הָעֹבֵר עַל-הַפְּקֻדִים--מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל, בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ:  עֶשְׂרִים גֵּרָה, הַשֶּׁקֶל--מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל, תְּרוּמָה לַיהוָה

"This is what everyone who is entered in the records shall pay: a half-shekel by the sanctuary weight — twenty gerahs to the shekel — a half-shekel as an offering to the Lord... the rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than half a shekel..."
[Exodus 30:13-15]

• It's about community.

And by the way-- Who is in that community? Who counts?
How do you know how many and thus - strong you are? 
The answer is given in the the Torah - a census was taken. 

The method of census taking is quite beautiful: everyone gives a half a
shekel. The poor are not to give less, the rich are not to give more.
Half a shekel. When you tally all the shekels up, multiply by two:
that's the population. Now you know who you can count on, and 
thus who counts - you get your status as a member of the community by giving. 

The Torah here is not being subtle: To be a part of the community, you're
going to need to contribute to it.

• And Moses said: Huh?

The tradition teaches that Moshe couldn't understand the commandment. 

Somehow a half a shekel was going to make a difference? 

(How many of you feel that way when considering the change that might be 
accomplished through donation of your change?)


According to the tradition brought down by the Kotzker Rebbe (a Chassidic Rabbi)
God, the ultimate teacher, showed Moshe a half shekel on fire. 

Shekel coin minted in 68 CE

The fire symbolized the passion that is the necessary complement to the donation. It's not about the amount of worth donated, what matters is what worth we place on the mission, our burning passion put to a good cause.

I learned a beautiful drasha (teaching) that asked the question:

• Where did all those half-shekels go?

The answer: the adanim - the base plates at the bottom of the walls of
the mishkan - the portable temple - they connected the walls, locking
in the panels, forming the foundations and stabilization - so that
winds would not be able to push them down.

The Torah is saying: it's your contribution and participation that makes the
institution viable and strong. Oh, and whose institution is it?
Everyone, equally. The poor and the rich, half a shekel.

When we realize that the community will not be defined in a top-down fashion
(see Cyd Weissman's recent article), but rather will always be a conglomeration of
individuals coming together in search of meaning, learning, and 
connection - then we will realize the potency of this week's message - 
we are all half shekels, and in the words of the great Kabbalist and 
poet of Tzfat (and writer of Lecha Dodi) Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz:

"Why a half shekel? To teach us that only by combining with another
soul do we become whole. "






Mick Fine
UJA-Federation of NY & MAZON Rabbinic Fellow
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Contact me via email at mickfine@gmail.com

Want to teach this? I wrote a source sheet (below). Just right click and hit "Save image", then print. 
Let me know how it goes!