One of the first accountings of the Israelites comes in this week’s Torah reading, in Exodus 30:13-15. Everyone over twenty years old is required to pay a half-shekel – it is both an offering and a way of counting the people.
Why a half-shekel?
The scholar Moses Alsheich explained that it teaches about unity. We should not think of ourselves as separate from each other. Everyone is equal to one-half, and only by joining with others can we form a complete unity. We become united with other people and therefore are all responsible for one another.
This is a great teaching – when we are alone, we are incomplete. As Jews, and as humans, we succeed as an interconnected group, not as individuals.
Wishing everyone a week of sustaining connections, Shabbat Shalom in advance,