Ki Sissa – Doing Things in Half Measures
At the start of this week’s sedra, each Jew is told to contribute a half shekel for the running and upkeep of the mishkan. Everyone, regardless of their financial status has to contribute an half shekel, the rich are not feted as platinum level donors and there are no concessions for the poor. As we have seen over the last two weeks, the mishkan is a communal venture and the public sacrifices that are offered there have to come from the Jewish people as a whole rather than just from the privileged few.
One of the first things that Adam is told is that ‘it is not good for man to be alone…’ He needs a helpmate, someone who is different and distinct from him, someone who can remind him of his own imperfections and set him straight if need be. Similarly the process of Torah study is meant to be a group effort rather than an individual endeavour. Alone we are liable to make mistakes and errors of judgement, as a group or even in pairs we are more likely to arrive at the truth.
Perhaps the reason why they are told to contribute a half shekel rather than a whole one is to communicate this message. None of us are complete, we all need each other. The Torah was not given to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov because they were individuals. Only once we had become a nation could we accept and receive the Torah. Someone who feels that they can ‘go it alone’ will never be a complete individual, they will always remain a half.
This is why the half shekel is incumbent upon each and every Jew, no one is exempt. A poor person is in fact obligated to borrow money to pay this tax (in fact, being a form of regressive taxation, it actually affects the poor more than the rich.) The Jewish nation is made up of every Jew regardless of their bank balance, every one of us has something to offer and we are all expected to contribute.
That’s the message of the half shekel, plain and simple and will be back again next week too as the special maftir for Shabbat shekalim!
Wishing you a good Shabbos.
