The Power of the Half-Shekel: Lessons from Parshas Mishpatim and Shekalim
Introduction: The Two Torahs
This Shabbos, we have the unique opportunity to take out two Torah scrolls. The first is for our regular weekly portion, Parshas Mishpatim. The second is for the first of four special portions read in preparation for the holidays of Purim and Pesach: Parshas Shekalim.
In the times of the Beis Hamikdash (the Holy Temple), every male over the age of twenty was required to contribute a half-shekel (machatzis hashekel) annually. These funds were collected in a special treasury to purchase communal sacrifices. Because these new sacrifices were required to begin on the first of Nissan, the announcement for the collection was made thirty days prior, at the beginning of the month of Adar. Today, we commemorate this practice by reading the portion of the Torah that describes the half-shekel.
The Paradox of the Half-Shekel
When we examine the laws of the half-shekel, we find two surprising requirements that seem to contradict one another:
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The Requirement of a "Half": The Torah specifies a "half-shekel." While the Torah notes that a full shekel is worth twenty gerah, it doesn't say "give ten gerah." It insists on the term "half." Furthermore, this requirement is fixed; it must be a half-unit of the current currency, regardless of its fluctuating value.
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The Requirement of Wholeness: Usually, if one owes money for a Torah obligation, it can be paid in installments. However, the half-shekel must be given all at once. It cannot be split.
This creates a paradox: Why does the Torah insist on a "half," yet demand that this half be given as a "whole" (all at once)?
The Spiritual Lesson: We Are Only Half
The Rebbe provides a brilliant explanation for this. The requirement of a "half" is a constant reminder that a human being, on their own, is incomplete. We are only "half." We only become a "whole" when we connect with Hashem (God).
If a person feels they are "whole" on their own—successful, accomplished, and independent—they struggle to share. They think, "This is my money, my time, my success. Why should I give it away?" But when a person realizes they are only a half, and that Hashem is their "other half" and partner in all things, everything changes.
There is an old song in Russian and Ukrainian that asks: "What are you doing in the marketplace if you aren't buying or selling?" God brought us into this "marketplace" of a world to be active—to "buy and sell" through Torah and Mitzvos. If you recognize that Hashem gave you your life, your time, and your wealth, you don't hesitate to give back.
Imagine a man who receives a gift of $100,000. If the donor then asks for a single dollar back for bus fare, and the man refuses, saying, "No, this is mine now," we would call that outrageous. Yet, many of us do this with Hashem. He gives us 24 hours in a day; can we not give Him a few minutes for Tefillin or a Mitzvah?
The Mirror and the Window
There is a story of a man who was once poor and kind-hearted. After receiving a blessing, he became very wealthy but also very selfish. His Rabbi asked him to look out a window and tell him what he saw. The man replied, "I see people walking by." Then the Rabbi asked him to look into a large mirror. "What do you see now?" The man replied, "I see myself."
The Rabbi explained: "Both the window and the mirror are made of glass. But the mirror is covered with a silver lining. As soon as you add 'silver' (wealth) to the glass, you stop seeing others and only see yourself." We must scrape away that "silver" ego to see that we are only a half-shekel, dependent on others and on God.
The Status of the Convert
The Rebbe also applied this concept to the status of converts. According to Maimonides, the Jewish people entered the covenant through three steps: circumcision, immersion in a Mikvah, and a sacrifice (Korban). Today, since we have no Temple, a convert performs the first two steps.
Some commentators argue that because the third step (the sacrifice) is missing, the convert’s status is incomplete until the Temple is rebuilt. The Rebbe strongly disagrees. He writes to a famous convert, Obadiah, explaining that converts are not only equal to all other Jews but occupy an even higher level. While born Jews trace their lineage to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a convert traces their spiritual lineage directly to Hashem.
Practical Service in Exile
In the times of the Temple, service to God was highly emotional and intellectual—represented by the Korban (sacrifice). In our current state of exile, our service is focused on the "practical" steps: the circumcision and the Mikvah—the actual doing of the Mitzvos.