English translation — פ' שקלים

Parshas Shekalim<pg>132</pg>

1.

In the commandment of giving the half-shekel we find two special details:

a)

The object in which the mitzvah is performed must be "machatzit hashekel"¹,

and not "shekel shalem",

and even in the verse this detail is emphasized most strongly,

that it is not said "eser gerah"

(as the verse continues¹

"esrim gerah hashekel")

but "machatzit hashekel".

And so is also the obligation for generations,

as ruled in the Rambam²,

"machatzit hashekel — its mitzvah is that he give half of the coin of that time, even if that coin was larger than the sacred weight".

And this emphasis specifically on "machatzit"

(and not "eser gerah",

which is the whole number³)

contains a novelty regarding all matters of the Temple

(and holiness in general),

that they must be "shleimim" and "temimim",

as: service vessels sanctify specifically when they are whole and full⁴,

offerings must be temimim specifically

(and not blemished)

and likewise the kohen who offers must be tamim,

and more — and here the precision is that it must be specifically "machatzit" and not a whole thing.

b)

Regarding the act of giving, the Rambam ruled&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;

that the half-shekel "he does not give it in many times,

today a little and tomorrow a little,

but rather he gives it all at once in one time."

That this too is a novelty regarding other monetary obligations,

that we do not find that there is an obligation to give the entire sum that he owes "in one time at once",

but not so here, that he is obligated to give "all of it at once in one time"&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;.

And seemingly these two details are a thing and its opposite: on the one hand, in this commandment there is emphasized a matter of lack of completeness — specifically "half of the shekel",

and on the other hand — here there is an emphasis that the act of giving must be a "complete" act,

"all of it at once in one time",

and not a giving in halves.

2.

And it is to be explained — in the way of mussar and chassidus:

Known is the hint concerning the matter of the half-shekel,

that the existence of the giver is only a "half,"

and in order that there be a complete thing

("shekel of holiness")

he needs a second "half."

And one of the explanations of this is: the two "halves"

(of "shekel of holiness")

allude to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Jewish people⁷,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel are compared, as it were,

that each one of them is a "half of a body"⁸

(half).

And according to the teaching of the Maggid⁹

on the verse¹⁰

"Make for yourself two trumpets,"

that "trumpets" means "half-forms,"

and "two trumpets" allude to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel,

that "both together constitute a complete form."

And the explanation of the matter is understood based on what is explained&lt;pg&gt;133&lt;/pg&gt;

in the book Tanya&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the soul of every Jewish person is "an actual part of G-d from above",

that is,

that the soul is not, in its own essence, a separate entity from Him, blessed be He, such that in addition to its own existence it becomes connected and united with Him, blessed be He,

but rather from the outset it is "entirely one" with the Holy One, blessed be He&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;,

"an actual part of G-d from above".

And this is the matter of "the half-shekel",

namely the revelation of the divine soul,

which awakens in a person the feeling that he is only a "half" alone,

and he yearns and desires to unite with the second "half-form",

with the Holy One, blessed be He.

3.

And behold, this recognition and feeling,

that a person has no completeness in himself, for his entire existence is only a "half" and "half-form",

finds expression

(primarily)

in the matter of self-sacrifice¹³.

For it is explained in Tanya&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the matter of self-sacrifice to God does not come from intellect and contemplation of God at all,

but without any contemplation, only as if it is something utterly impossible to deny the one God without any reason or argument at all,

and this is because the one God illuminates and enlivens the entire soul etc.

That is: that all of Israel are ready to sacrifice themselves to God is in a manner of "it is utterly impossible to deny the one God",

that is,

they feel that they cannot be separated from Him, may He be blessed&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;.

And this feeling comes by arousing in themselves their connection to God,

that Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are like two halves of forms,

and when one feels that "God is one" is his vitality and the truth of his existence

("because the one God illuminates and enlivens the entire soul"),

then it is not possible that there be a separation between the soul and the Holy One, blessed be He,

for they are only like "two halves of forms".

And this is the hint in the two opposites mentioned above in the mitzvah of the half-shekel —

(a)

specifically a half,

(b)

"his entire [being] as one at one time" — and on the contrary, both are dependent on each other:

When a person feels himself as a "half",

which is from the revelation of the connection to G‑d,

that he is not a thing separate from Him, blessed be He, but like a "half form",

then his surrender and giving to G‑d is in a manner of "his entire [being] as one",

without division.

And like the matter of self-sacrifice in simplicity,

which is one point above division,

that it is not applicable to say that a person has "a little" self-sacrifice or "a lot" of self-sacrifice,

for the explanation of self-sacrifice is — that he gives over his soul,

namely the point of his vitality,

to G‑d,

and division is not possible in this,

and automatically he gives over all that he has to G‑d.

And it may be said,

that this is also the hint in the statement of our Sages¹⁶

that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed to Moses "a coin of fire" and said to him "like this they shall give",

that the content of this commandment is not a giving of money alone,

but a giving of "a coin of fire",

a giving permeated with the fire of the soul,

and to the extent that it is entirely fire,

that is the matter of giving over his soul to G‑d,

the fire of self-sacrifice.

&lt;pg&gt;134&lt;/pg&gt;

4.

And behold, the donation of the half-shekel is

(mainly)

for the communal offerings that they offered during the year¹⁷,

for "offerings" are called "service" simply¹⁸,

because the service of the offerings alludes to the entirety of the matter of "drawing near" to G-d

(offering from the term drawing near¹⁹),

that this is the content of all matters of divine service,

through which a person draws near to his Maker — and from this it is understood,

that the commandment of the half-shekel is the foundation of the entirety of the matter of divine service.

And the explanation in this is sweetened — because divine service in completeness is specifically when a person feels in all his matters,

that he is nothing but a "half",

for as much as he serves G-d with all his powers,

this is nothing but a "half",

for were it not for the Holy One, blessed be He, helping him, he could not overcome it²⁰,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives a person the powers necessary so that he can serve the Name,

and moreover according to the words of our Sages, may their memory be blessed²¹

on the verse²²

"Who has preceded Me that I should repay";

And this feeling comes through "the half-shekel"²³,

whose concept

(in spirituality)

is the concept of self-sacrifice

(as above),

for when the foundation of his service is an arousal of "self-sacrifice to God for His unity,

that it be fixed in his heart constantly, truly day and night, it shall not depart from his memory"²⁴,

then he feels in all his affairs that he is nothing but a "half".

And through engaging in the Torah of the half-shekel,

which was given specifically "all of it at once,

in one time",

above division,

we will merit soon the true and complete redemption through our righteous Messiah,

that this redemption will also come not in order and gradation²⁵,

but rather

(as a clear ruling of the Rambam²⁶,

that)

"The Torah has already promised that in the end, Israel will repent..

and immediately they are redeemed",

immediately and truly at once,

and speedily in our days.

(From the talk of Shabbat Parshat Shekalim 5744)