Sicha, Parshas Shekalim 5744 & 5711
A. A Wholehearted Half
In our reading, the Torah commands giving the half-shekel (Source 1). This money was used to purchase the communal offerings and more, so that every Jew would have an equal share in the service of the Temple (Source 2). Maimonides rules that the half-shekel must be given in its entirety at one time, not in parts (Source 3).
The Rebbe emphasizes that this is a unique aspect of the half-shekel: regarding the mitzvah of charity, one may—and it is even preferable—to divide the giving into many separate times (Source 4). Here, however, the giving must be complete and given all at once.
This presents an apparent paradox: one gives only a “half,” yet that half must be given completely.
From this we learn an instruction in serving G-d: on one hand, a Jew must know that he is only a “half,” and that all his strength and accomplishments come from G-d. As the Midrash says, “Who preceded Me that I should repay him?”—all the mitzvot a person performs are only possible because of what G-d first gave him. A person affixes a mezuzah only after G-d gives them a house, performs circumcision only after G-d gives them a son, and so on (Source 5).
On the other hand, his mission in the world must be carried out with complete dedication, all at once and with full responsibility, without relying on G-d to complete what he himself did not do.
B. A Coin of Fire
Our sages relate that G-d showed Moses a coin of fire and said, “This they shall give” (Source 6). What difficulty did Moses have in understanding the half-shekel? The Tosafot explain that Moses struggled to understand how giving a silver coin could atone for a person’s soul (Source 7).
The Rebbe asks: how was Moses’ question answered by showing him a coin of fire?
The Rebbe explains that when G-d showed Moses a coin of fire, He taught him that the half-shekel given by the Jews is a coin of “fire”—given with vitality and enthusiasm, from the depths of the heart and soul. Such giving is worthy of atoning for the soul. The Rebbe brings a parable from the Baal Shem Tov about a student who learned the craft of goldsmithing, but his teacher forgot to tell him that he must light a fire. Obviously, all his work produced nothing. This was G-d’s answer to Moses: the essential element is the fire and warmth that comes from the essence of the soul (Source 8).
Based on this, we also understand why in this mitzvah, “the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less.” When the giving comes from the essence of the soul, there is no difference in quantity, because that inner point is equal in everyone.
C. Moses’ Ongoing Involvement
There is a puzzling Midrash: regarding the portion of the shekels, Moses said before G-d, “After I pass away, I will no longer be remembered…” G-d answered him: just as you now stand and teach them the portion of the shekels and elevate them, so too every year when they read this portion, it is as if you stand there and continue to elevate them. This is alluded to in the phrase “When you will elevate” (ki tisa)—future tense, for all generations (Source 9).
The Rebbe asks: why was it specifically regarding the mitzvah of the half-shekel that Moses expressed concern about future generations?
The explanation is that for the half-shekel to come from the essence of the soul—to be a gift of a “coin of fire”—it requires the influence of Moses, whose role is to elevate the heads of the Jews. Only he can reveal the yechidah, the innermost level of the soul, within every Jew.
Therefore, Moses asked specifically here, because giving the “atonement for his soul” requires Moses’ influence.
G-d responded that every year, when the Jews read the portion of the shekels with vitality, the “Moses of the generation” acts and awakens the yechidah within the soul of every Jew.
