יבכִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘ לִפְקֻֽדֵיהֶם֒ וְנָ֨תְנ֜וּ אִ֣ישׁ כפר נַפְשׁ֛וֹ לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה בִּפְקֹ֣ד אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶ֥ה בָהֶ֛ם נֶ֖גֶף בִּפְקֹ֥ד אֹתָֽם:יגזֶ֣ה | יִתְּנ֗וּ כָּל־הָֽעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַֽחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים גֵּרָה֙ הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל מַֽחֲצִ֣ית הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַֽיהֹוָֽה:
12"When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to the Lord an atonement for his soul when they are counted; then there will be no plague among them when they are counted. 13This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel. Twenty gerahs equal one shekel; half of [such] a shekel shall be an offering to the Lord.
Question: Why does Hashem specifically say to give a Half Shekel ? Is there any significance or symbol for the specific amount ? Also, why is the Shekel given versus any other type of object? Is there any significance or symbol for the Shekel itself?
One Answer: a reason given by Chabad. Org for the use of a Half Shekel is that the Half Shekel was also the amount given in the time of Bais Hamikdash. Therefore, the Half Shekel can be seen as a symbol for the past, present, and future relationship between Hashem and His people
The "Chassidic Masters" say - Why not a complete coin? To teach us that no man is a complete entity unto himself. Only by joining with another can a person become a “whole thing.”
ReplyDeleteI like this answer because it relates to what we are learning now in Chumash, that Adam was not "complete" until Hashem created Chava, making them both whole.
--elianna Ashendorf
Abby Pollack
ReplyDeleteSforno says the sense is that everyone gives half a shekel. the poor dont give less and the rich doesnt give more, its a pretty reasonable amount, and it was appropriate to pay a certain amount on behalf of ones soul. amount doesnt matter in this context, just counting to see who is there.
Ariella Rosencrantz
ReplyDeleteThe Noam Elimelech says that half a shekel is compared to fire in this parsha. He explains that fire can be used to "create, protect, and nourish, or it can be used to harm and destroy." This half shekel is in this parsha to remind us of the responsibility we have to use money carefully and in the right way.
I like this idea because it shows that the torah always has relevance to today, and we can still use this idea now when choosing how to use money.
Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-coin-of-fire/
The half shekel isn't chosen randomly rather it has a very big symbolic significance. One opinion is from the Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, he comments on using a silver half shekel as oppose to any other type of material and the significance of when the half shekel is mentioned in the parsha. He says that money is like fire it can either be used for good things or for very bad things. The half shekel the beginning of our parsha is meant to warn us of the dangers of wealth. Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum has another opinion he says that Hahsem commanded us to give a half shekel specifically to show us that we are not complete when we are by ourselves we needs to be part of a community to really '"be whole" and united.
ReplyDeleteI really love both of these answers I love Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensks answer because it reminds us that although money can seem like the most important thing in the world but using the shekel reminds us that its not and to be careful with how we view and use our money. I also love Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaums opinion because it demonstrates how important having a community is.
Tova Rubin
ReplyDeleteRabbi Yisrael Jungreis says that we give half a shekel to show that we are incomplete when we are alone and that we are dependent on each other in order to be complete. Also, this is an example of how Hashem created the refuah before the machalah, because the money they gave to build the mishkan saved them and was the refuah that saved them from the machalah, Haman later on in history. I like this idea because it shows that everything happens for a reason and that Hashem is looking out for us when we don't even realize it.
According to the Daat Zkenim, the half shekel was used as a reminder to the nation that they spent half a day not destroying the golden calf. The half shekel is brought to atone for their sin.
ReplyDeleteI do not particularly like this approach because it does not seem like a strong argument. There seems to be reasons much more powerful than this, and this does not seem like a good way to atone for such a horrible, momentous sin.
-Naomi Kutin
Miriam Hoffmann
ReplyDeleteWhen the Torah talks about giving the Half-shekel it makes sure to say that the rich should not give more and the poor should not give less. A half-shekel is not nearly enough money for a karbon and it certainly doesn’t cover the sacrifices offered everyday. But giving a small amount every Jew becomes an equal partner in all the sacrifices throughout the year. Even more so the half-shekel emphasizes the importance of the commandment, “Love your fellow as yourself.” By himself each Jew is incomplete, they don’t have enough money for a Karbon. Only together with all the other Jews does he become complete and do they have all the money for Karbanot.
I love the unity/ togetherness aspect of Judaism so I like that even in a simple task as counting how many people there were that this concept was stressed.
This idea comes from the Lubavitcher Rebbe; translated and adapted by Yosef Loebenstein
https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/2301414/jewish/Half-a-Shekel.htm
The construction of the Mishkan was a means of attaining forgiveness for the worshipping of the golden calf. The half-shekel teaches us that no Jew should consider himself complete. He must know that he needs to be united with the collective Jewish people. When there is peace and unity among the Jewish people, Hashem says, as it were, ‘I have no dominion over them.’
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the half shekel represents that we as Jews, as individuals are incomlete without our congregation is really meaningful because I strongly believe that when you can see that you're not alone and that you have people standing behind you, it'll make all the difference.
-Batsheva.D
Rav Eliyahou Schlessinger says that only the men participated in Chet haegel, not the women, so only half the people participated in the Chet haegel and this is why it’s only half a shekel. I think this opinion is very clear and makes sense. He sees it as a simple, straight to the point answer.
ReplyDelete