[Par-lite] for Parshat Shekalim

[Menachem Leibtag]

*********************************************
****************

     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag

*********************************************
****************

 

                PARSHAT  SHEKALIM

 

     [for MAFTIR (Shmot 31:11-16)  &  HAFTARA
]

 

PART I -   A 'BASE' AND A 'CROWN'

 

     What did Bnei Yisrael do with the silver
collected from

the very first "machazit ha'shekel"? From the
commandment at

the beginning of Parshat Ki-tisa (that we
read as maftir for

Parshat Shekalim) it is not very clear - as
it simply states

that it should be given: "l'avodat OHEL MOED"
- for the needs

of the Tabernacle (see 30:16).

     Even though the commentators offer two
explanations for

what this specific phrase refers to: -
either:

  *  to purchase the "korbanot tzibur"
[community sacrifices]

  and hence a mitzvah for all future
generations as well; or

  *  to construct the Mishkan itself

   and hence a one time mitzvah - for
building the Mishkan

    [See lengthy discussion in Ramban on
30:16.]

 

  Nonetheless, from the opening psukim in
Parshat Pekudei it

is clear that there was indeed a special
donation of a

"machazit ha'shekel" for the specific purpose
of BUILDING the

Mishkan.

     In the following shiur, we will
undertake a careful

reading of those psukim (i.e. 38:21-31) in
attempt to find the

deeper meaning of what this silver was used
for.

  [It is highly recommend that you first read
38:21-31, i.e.

  the opening psukim of Parshat Pekudei,
before continuing.]

 

TALLYING THE GOLD & SILVER

     In Parshat Pekudei we learn that Bnei
Yisrael were

permitted to donate as much gold and copper
["zahav" &

"nechoshet"] as they chose. The primary use
of the gold was to

make the "keilim " [vessels] of the Mishkan
("aron",

"shulchan", "menorah", etc.), while the
copper was used to

make the "keilim" of the "chatzer"  - i.e.
the "mizbach

n'choshet" and the "kiyor".

  [This donation totalled approx. 30 "kikar"
of gold, and 70

  "kikar" of copper / note that the weight of
a "kikar" was

  about 30 kilo (or 65 lbs.).]

 

     To our surprise, there was no donation
of silver!  In

contrast to the gold and copper, the only
silver collected was

taken from the mandatory donation, known as
the "machazit

ha'shekel" - where each member of the male
population age 20

(and up) gave a half a shekel (see 38:26).

  Since the total census was 603,550, the
amount of silver

collected totaled 301,775 shekel.  As
'everyone' knows, every

3,000 shekel equals one "kikar" [just ask
your banker], thus

the total amount of silver collected was 100
"kikar", with a

remainder of 1,775 shekel.

     What did they do with so much silver?

 

SOCKETS FOR THE BEAMS

     Actually, the answer is quite simple.
The primary use of

the silver was to make "adanim" [weighted
base sockets] to

support the "kerashim" [wooden planks] of the
Mishkan.   To

set up the Mishkan - a total of 100 "adanim"
were needed.  The

first 96 "adanim" were used to support the 48
"krashim" that

formed the walls of the Mishkan.  [The
northern and southern

walls were 20 "krashim" each, and the western
wall need 8

"krashim" (20+20+8=48); the eastern side was
'open'.]  As each

"keresh" required TWO "adanim" [sockets], a
total of 96

"adanim" were needed. Plus, four additional
"kerashim" were

needed to support the "parochet", but each of
these "kerashim"

needed only one "eden" for support.  To
summarize, a grand

total of 100 [96+4] "adanim" were needed to
form the base

support of all of the "kerashim" of the
Mishkan. [See Shmot

26:15-25.]

     These 100 "adanim" were made from the
100 "kikar" of

silver - or simply each "eden" was made by
pouring 1 "kikar"

of melted silver into the mold.  These 100
"adanim" thus

formed the  base for the walls of the
Mishkan.  The leftover

1775 shekels of silver were used to make some
hooks ["vavim"]

to connect the curtains to the poles of the
outer courtyard

["chatzer"], and a sliver plating for the
heads of those poles

as well.

 

WHO COUNTS?

     So why is this detail so important?

     One could suggest that this silver from
the "machzit

ha'shekel" was intentionally chosen to form
the "adanim".

Considering that these "adanim" formed the
very BASE of the

Mishkan (and supported the entire structure),
it may be

significant that they were manufactured
specifically from the

material that was donated EQUALLY by every
member of Am

Yisrael.   In contrast to the vessels of the
Mishkan, that

were manufactured from the 'donated' gold and
copper, the

sockets that formed the very base of the
Mishkan remained

unique and special - and hence were made out
of silver.

     Similarly, one viewing the Mishkan form
afar, would see

the silver coating on the very top of each of
the poles of the

courtyard ["amudei ha'chatzer"], and on the
hooks connecting

the curtains to these poles.  This detail
created a silver

like 'perimeter', that may have appeared like
a silver crown

surrounding the Mishkan. This 'crown', just
like its 'base',

was made from this 'everyone is equal'
donation of the silver

from the "machazit ha'shekel".

     Therefore, the very base at the bottom,
as well as the

shiny crown at the top, reflect the
'collective' donation -

where each member of Am Yisrael is equal.
However, in between

them, we find the vessels made from the extra
donations of

gold and copper from private individuals.

 

THE PROPER BALANCE

     This may reflect the proper balance
between the need on

the one hand for everyone to be equal and
work together at the

very base level of Judiasm, yet at the same
time allowing for

each individual to make his own personal
contribution in any

additional realm that he may choose. Yet, all
said and done,

when one looks from the outside, the
'finishing touches' [the

silver crown surrounding the Mishkan] must
reflect the very

same unity that forms its base.

 

     In later generations, after the Mishkan
was built, the

"machazit ha'shekel" was used to buy the
"korbanot tzibur".

Again we find that the very basic "korbanot
TAMID & MUSAFIM"

were offered daily on the MIZBAYACH reflected
the unity and

collective nature of Am Yisrael.  However, in
addition to

those standard  "korbanot tzibur", each
individual was also

permitted to offer an additional "korban
nedava" [voluntary

offering], but once again, at the base level,
we all stand in

front of God as "knesset Yisrael" - as one
collective unit.

     What may be the deeper meaning of this
'balance' is

discussed in Part Two.

 

===

 

PART II  - MACHAZIT HA'SHEKEL & KLAL YISRAEL

 

     Why does the Torah command us to collect
a HALF of a

shekel? After all, once we are taking up a
collection, would

it not be more logical (and profitable) to
collect a WHOLE

shekel instead of a half?

     This special law that each member of
"klal Yisrael" must

bring a MACHATZIT ha'SHEKEL (a half of a
shekel) suggests that

the very concept of a "machatzit" (a half /or
a fraction) may

be significant.

 

     One could understand this "machazit"
aspect not only as

quantitative, but also as qualitative.  In
other words, the

act of giving specifically a 'fractional'
amount (opposed to a

whole), emphasizes to the individual that he
should consider

himself as an integral part of a more
complete entity.

     To help explain this concept, we'll
employ a parable from

nature.

 

TWO MODELS

     The nature of the relationship between
an individual and

the group that he is part of can be
understood in one of two

ways:

  1) Like a tree in a forest

  Applied to our case, each INDIVIDUAL could
be viewed as a

  single tree, while Am Yisrael (the "klal")
would correspond

  to the forest (with many trees).

  2) Like a leaf on a tree

  Am Yisrael itself could be compared to a
tree, while each

  individual Jew would correspond to the
various parts of the

  tree, such as the leaves, roots, twigs,
branches, etc.

 

     A 'qualitative' understanding for
"MACHATZIT ha'shekel"

suggests that we use the latter example to
explain the

relationship between KLAL YISRAEL and each
individual jew.