No subject

of Klal Yisrael

are interdependent. [This explanation can
help us understand

the concept of "kol Yisrael areivim zeh
l'zeh".]

 

     This understanding can explain an
important comment made

by Rashi in Parshat Yitro.  In chapter 19,
the Torah describes

Bnei Yisrael's arrival at Har Sinai using a
singular verb:

     "va'YICHAN sham Yisrael neged ha'har"

      -And Israel encamped next to the
mountain (see 19:2)

 

Rashi comments:

     "as ONE person, with ONE heart"

 

     Rashi's commentary may emphasize this
very point in

regard to the collective nature of Am
Yisrael.  One could

suggest that the Torah can be given to Am
Yisrael only AFTER

we become a nation - a collective entity.
This may indicate

that our relationship with God exists first
and foremost at

the national level.  At Har Sinai (and later
in the Mishkan)

Am Yisrael (as a "klal") meets Hashem.  Our
own relationship

with God as individuals then becomes
possible, as each

individual is an integral part of that
greater whole.

     This concept could also explain the
pasuk that we say

every morning in "hodu" (Tehillim 105:6) that
describes

Avraham Avinu as ZERA (seed): "zera Avraham
ohavo, bnei Yaakov

bechirav...".

     As Bnei Yisrael can be considered an
'organic' unit, then

like any other organic unit, it must have
begun with one seed!

 

     Based on this understanding, we can
advance a possible

reason for giving a "machazit ha'shekel"
specifically when

taking a census.  When a group is counted
individually, there

tends to be a focus on the independent nature
of each

individual. However, should we count the
nation collectively,

i.e. by each person giving a "machazit
ha'shekel", we focus of

the collective interdependent nature of the
nation.

     Considering that God has given Am
Yisrael a Divine

purpose as a collective group, i.e. to become
God's special

nation, then we ask God to judge each
individual more

leniently IN ORDER that he can fulfill that
Divine purpose.

Therefore, in its introduction to this
mitzvah, the Torah

states:

  "v'lo yihiyeh NEGEF b'fkod otam..." -[Count
them using a

  machazit ha'shekel] in order that there
should not be a

  plague when you count them." (see Shmot
31:12)

 

  Otherwise, counting each person
individually would reflect

a lack of understanding of the collective
nature of Am

Yisrael, thus invoking God's anger.

 

     Therefore, it is not by chance that the
money collected

from the "machazit ha'shekel" is used to buy
the KORBANOT

TZIBUR - the collective offerings brought
each day in the Bet

ha' Mikdash. These daily offerings {korban
Tamid/ see Shmot

29:42-44!] represent the entire nation as we
stand before God

in the OHEL MOED - the tent of meeting -
where Am Yisrael can

'meet' Hashem, thus 're-living' the
experience of Ma'amad Har

Sinai (see shiur on Parshiot
Terumah/Tezaveh).

 

     [A shiur on the Haftara for Shekalim
will follow the

     Further Iyun section.]

======

 

FOR FURTHER IYUN

A. Read I Divrei Hayamim chapter 21 (alt.
Shmuel bet chapter

24). In that chapter, David ha'Melech
conducts an unnecessary

census of Bnei Yisrael which kindles God's
anger. God gives

David a choice of three punishments, from
which David chooses

the most severe one from the hand of God
(what we say everyday

in tachanun). After this plague has taken
some 70,000

casualties, the plague stops when David
offers a korban on the

field of Arnan the Jebusite, which later
becomes the site of

the MIZBAYACH and the BET HA'MIKDASH on Har
ha'bayit.

     Once again, we find a connection between
the MIZBAYACH

and OHEL MOED (the Mikdash) and counting the
nation.

     See the various commentators on that
chapter (and on the

parallel chapter in Sefer Shmuel II chapter
24) concerning why

it was improper for David to count the
people.

     See also Rashi on Shmot 30:11.

 

B. In Parshat Kitisa, i.e. Parshat Shekalim
(Shmot 30:11-16),

it is not clear what specific type of census
the psukim are

referring to.

     The possibilities raised by the
commentators include:

1) the machazit ha'shekel for the daily
korbanot tzibur,

2) a special census to collect money for the
building of the

Mishkan (relate to Shmot 38:25-28!).

3) the census of Bnei Yisrael taken in
preparation for their

journey towards and conquest of Eretz Canaan
(see Bamidbar

chapters 1->2).

4) any census which Bnei Yisrael must take
before going to

battle.

     In your opinion, which interpretation
appears to be most

logical?  [See the parshanim.]

 

C. In our shiur on Yom Kippur, we suggested
that KIPPUR (or

KAPPARA) may imply 'protection' from a
punishment which one

may deserve. Relate this concept to Shmot
30:12, where the

machazit ha'shekel is referred to as KOFER
NOFSHO, and later

as KESEF HA'KIPPURIM.

     Does this relate in away to the question
above (B)?

     Relate this to the concept of DAM
ha'KIPPURIM found in

relation to the MIZBACH ha'KTORET (see
30:7-10), and our shiur

on Parshat Tezaveh.

 

=========================

 

HAFTARA  for Parshat SHEKLAIM - II MELACHIM
12:1-17.

 

     The Haftara describes the collection of
funds that was

made during the time period of King Yoash in
order to repair

and renovate the Bet Ha'Mikdash.

     To understand WHY it was necessary to
renovate the Bet

ha'Mikdash during the time of Yoash, we must
first review the

tragic events that led to how he became king.

     Recall that Achav, the king of Israel,
made a treaty of

the King of Sidon (and hence his marriage to
Jezebell) which

led to the proliferation and legitimization
of Baal worship in

Israel (see I Melachim 16:29-34).

     At the same time when Achav was king of
Israel,

Yehoshafat was king of Yehuda. Although
Yehoshafat was a good

king, he had also entered into a military
treaty with Achav.

This friendship ultimately led to the
marriage of Yehoshofat's

son YORAM with Achav's daughter ATALYA. Due
to the bad

influence of the house of Achav, both YORAM
and his son and

successor ACHAZYA became kings who rebelled
against God (see

II Melachim 8:16-29).

     Achazya, King of Yehuda, was also killed
during YEHU's

revolt against the house of Achav (see II
Melachim chapters 9-

>10).  In retaliation for Yehu's murder of
the members of both

royal families, ATALYA, the only remnant of
the House of

Achav, murdered the entire royal family of
Yehuda. The only

survivor of Atalya's terror was Achazya's
infant son YOASH

(see 11:1-2).  The "kohen gadol" Yehoyada
kept the infant

Yoash hidden, while ATALYA took over the
kingdom of Yehuda.

     Therefore, since the time of
Yehoshafat's death, i.e.

during the reign of YORAM, ACHAZYA, and
ATALYA, the Bet

Ha'MIKDASH in Yerushalayim was quite
neglected, and the

kingdom had gone astray from God.

     After reigning for six years, Atalya was
finally ousted

by a coup d'etat orchestrated by the High
Priest Yehoyada.

Yoash, then only seven years old, was
proclaimed king. During

the early years of his reign, Yoash was a
good king. With the

guidance of Yehoyada, proper worship was
restored in the Bet

ha'Mikdash. Nonetheless, the Mikdash itself
required major

renovations.

     Finally, in the 23rd year of his reign,
Yoash, together

with Yehoyada, make a special effort of raise
funds for proper

fixing  of the Mikdash. Towards that purpose,
Yehoyada makes

the first "pushka" (tzdaka box/ see 12:7-12),
and placed it in

the Bet Ha'Mikdash near to the MIZBAYACH.