Half-Shekel, Mishpatim and Purim
This Shabbos, in addition to the regular Torah reading of Mishpatim, we also read a selection of the Torah concerning the Half-Shekel annual contribution Jews were obligated to give each and every year.
The reason we read this special parsha this week is because this Shabbos we bless the new month of Adar. The Mishnah states that when Adar arrives the Jewish courts in ancient Israel would make an announcement that people should bring their Half-Shekel donation to the Bais Hamikdash-the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. This half-shekel, given by all men over the age of 20 annually would pay for all the offerings of the new season which begins in the next month of Nissan.
However, our Sages provide us with another explanation for the giving of the Half-Shekel in the month of Adar.
When Haman cast lots to determine the month in which he was going to have all the Jews annihilated, he rejoiced, thinking that the month of Adar was an inauspicious month for Jews, particularly because it was the month in which Moses passed away.
When G-d “heard” Haman’s boast G-d mocked him and said that the 10,000 silver talents that he offered to give King Achashveirosh as payment for the loss of the Jewish people, He laughed: “The half-shekel the Jews give every year have neutralized the power of your 10,000 silver talents.”
From this discussion in the Talmud we can see that there is a connection between giving of a Half-Shekel and the miracle of Purim in which Haman’s diabolical plot was thwarted.
Another point: This year we read Parshas Shekalim together with Parshas Mishpatim that deals with Jewish civil and criminal law. What connection is there between the giving of the Half-Shekel and Jewish civil and criminal law?
Half-Shekel Unity
One explanation offered is that the Half-Shekel contribution symbolizes the interdependence and unity of all of Israel. Rather than requiring a whole Shekel, the Torah wants us to realize that we are only one half, and are whole only when we are connected to the other.
This was precisely the refutation of Haman’s argument in favor of destroying the Jewish people.
In his request of the king to sign the decree of annihilation Haman stated, “There is one nation, scattered among all the other nations.” According to one interpretation, Haman’s point was that the Jewish people are by nature a fragmented and discordant people.
To repudiate this charge, G-d responded that, in fact, the Jewish people are inherently a united people as is evidenced by the giving of the Half-Shekel which underscores the notion of unity.
This is also why the Sages of that time instituted the exchanging of food gifts with our friends as a way of refuting Haman’s accusation of division. On the contrary, we go out of our way to exchange gifts with our friends.
What about all the Disputes?
We must still understand, how the Half-Shekel is the proof of our unity, when we observe the many disputes and conflicts that have plagued the Jewish community from the very birth of our nation until the present day and age.
The basic answer to this question is that the overt conflicts within our community belie the inherent and core unity beneath the surface.
History has shown us that in times of crisis we saw the underlying unity surface.
To illustrate my point:
In the aftermath of the Six-Day War, we had the privilege of visiting outlying Jewish communities as part of our rabbinic training.
When we visited Springfield Illinois, the local rabbi gave us addresses of members of his community that he thought we should visit. Reading his address book, he came to a Mr. Gingold, and said, “don’t bother going to him, he doesn’t believe in anything and has no connection to the Jewish community.”
“That is precisely the person I want to visit,” was my reaction to his statement.
Sure enough Mr. Gingold demonstrated how true the rabbi’s words rang. He was an agnostic> He even bragged to us that he hadn’t visited a Shul in decades, while he had visited churches regularly, indicating that he felt more kinship with Christians than for Jews.
Realizing that I could not discuss theology with him, I changed the subject to current events. This was in July 1967, so it was natural that I would bring up the Six-Day-War that occurred just a few weeks before my visit.
As soon as I mentioned the Six-Day-War, his whole demeanor changed and he told me that as soon as the war broke out he flew to NY to meet with his business associates to raise funds for Israel. He personally donated 50,000 (over 50 years ago, quite a hefty sum) and got his associates to donate as well…
Here, a totally secular Jew who was totally removed from the Jewish people, at a time of crises, responded to the needs of his people. He didn’t even realize how strong his ties to the Jewish people really was.
Resolving Conflicts
However, one may pose another challenge to the assertion that the Jewish people ae a united people. Granted the amount of charity and other acts of lovingkindness given by Jews is unparalleled, yet we cannot ignore the conflicts that arise in Jewish communities.
The answer to this challenge is that G-d created us to be different. The Talmud puts it this way: “Just as there are no two people who look alike, so too there are no two people who think alike.
Moreover, the Jewish people are commanded to use their mind to the fullest. No other culture, as far as I know, mandates constant study of deep intellectually challenging texts such as the Talmud, not just for rabbis and scholars.
It is thus inevitable that thinking people who are dedicated to the intellectual process will argue. Once argumentation exists and is even viewed as positive it can degenerate into mundane areas of life where argumentation becomes a negative.
To deal with conflicts that arise, the Torah provides us with a judicial system that helps to bring law and order and eventual peace in a naturally discordant society.
This is the subject matter of the parsha of Mishpatim, which begins with the words: “These are the judgments you shall place before them.” Rashi explains that with these words G-d commanded Moses to transmit Jewish law to the sages and confer upon them the authority to adjudicate Jewish law.
The Torah acknowledges that there will be conflicts in all areas of life, but it provides us with the remedy as well.
Unity of the Future
Furthermore, we are promised that in the Messianic Age, peace will reign throughout the world.
This does not only mean that there will be no more war between nations, it also means that there will be total peace and harmony within the Jewish community.
Thus, Jewish unity is both the inherent state of the Jewish people and the ultimate overt reality. In between, we have the teachings of the Torah of Peace, which helps us actualize our inherent unity, removes the threats from modern day Hamans and paves the way for the coming of Moshiach and the Final Redemption.