This week begins the first of the four parshiyot, the special Torah readings that begin with Parshat Shekalim. Each week we also read a chapter of Prophets after the Torah reading. Reflecting these important readings, the Sages instituted special haftorot as well to follow each of the four parshiyot..
Naturally, the topic of the haftorah will in some way relate to the giving of the half-shekel to the Temple, which is the theme of Parshat Shekalim. The story chosen by the Sages is one that aids us in understanding the significance of the half-shekel and its role in tying the Jewish people to the Temple.
The story begins with Yehoash’s ascension to the throne of Judah, one of the “good” kings. We are told immediately that he followed God, guided to Him by Yehoyada the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). Yehoash was aware that the Temple lay in disrepair (more detail as to why is offered in the account found in Chronicles), and that the people were still making use of altars outside of the Temple. As such, he set out to have the Temple repaired, which would involve an epic amount of fund raising. Yehoash sought out the Kohanim, and commanded them as follows (Kings 2 12:5-6):
“And Yehoash said to the priests: 'All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of the LORD, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD, let the priests take it to them, every man from him that bestoweth it upon him; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.'”
The commentator Radak explains that the Kohanim were instructed to return to those they normally received their priestly gifts from, and to solicit funds necessary for the repair of the Temple. As the standard half-shekel donation had not been brought forth for quite some time, along with other unfulfilled pledges, the overall take would seem to have been an ideal opportunity to repair the Temple. It would be a slow process, but would culminate in the full restoration of the Temple.
Alas, after many years went by, Yehoash saw that no repair work had started on the Temple. What takes place next is fascinating (ibid 8-10):
“Then king Yehoash called for Yehoyada the priest, and for the other priests, and said unto them: 'Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? Now therefore take no longer money from them that bestow it upon you, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.' And the priests consented that they should take no longer money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house. And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD; and the priests that kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD”
What happened? Why hadn’t the Kohanim fulfilled their mandate? What solution was being proffered by Yehoash?
The Radak again weighs in. He explains that Yehoash, seeing that no repair work had begun on the Temple, was concerned that the Kohanim were collecting the monies for themselves. It would appear the Kohanim’s method was to raise the desired overall sum, and once that number was reached, repair work would then commence.
However, Yehoash, on a literal level, saw something nefarious afoot. Thus, he presents a solution that would in essence minimize the role of the Kohanim in the process. The monies collected needed to go straight to repairing the Temple. At no point would the Kohen hold onto the money. This leads to Yehoyada’s plan of constructing a receptacle near the altar, setting it up as the place for past and future collections. According to the Radak, the Kohanim acceded to this without any resistance.
Were the Kohanim truly suspected of pocketing the monies they had raised? Furthermore, it would appear Yehoash had an original plan, but once he saw it going awry, he developed an alternate. Why didn’t he go with the second plan from the start? Finally, in truth, the second plan seemed to be a trivial differentiation from the first plan. After all, the Kohanim could still hold on to any monies they raised. In other words, if they really were of the criminal mindset, setting up a box would not seem to be the ideal solution to preventing further stealing.
The answer could lie in understanding the desired objective of Yehoash. At this point in Jewish history, the relationship between the Jews and the Temple was frayed, if not completely disconnected. This was reflected in the continued use of the external altars, and it was something Yehoash wanted to fix. The Temple’s state of physical disrepair in many ways reflected the very breach that existed between the Jews and the Temple.
The plan, then, was to re-engage the people through the half-shekel, as well as other voluntary donations. The central theme of the half-shekel is the dedication to the worship of God valued by the entire nation as a whole. Yehoash understood a critical idea in re-establishing this important relationship.
There is a tension that exists in how the average Jew sees the Temple. While the Jewish people are intimately tied to the Temple, their access to it is severely restricted. The Temple is part of their identity, but they cannot enter it. The Kohanim, then, served as intermediaries, a link of sorts between God and the rest of the nation. Naturally, then, Yehoash sent the Kohanim, the trusted representatives of the Temple, to solicit the monies. As the Radak points out, returning to those familiar to them who had been supportive in other ways in the past would ensure the necessary funds would be collected. And the monies collected being used towards the repair of the Temple, the greatest expression of the giving of the half-shekel, would once again bind the Jews to the Temple.
The Kohanim followed this plan perfectly. They kept raising money, waiting until the point where the repair work could begin. Yehoash, though, saw a potential distortion begin to emerge. As pointed out earlier, it was imperative that the relationship between the Jewish people and the Temple be repaired. The giving of funds to the repair of the Temple would be the ideal way to bring this about.
However, it has to be evident without question that the Temple was being repaired as the direct result of the actions of the people, and not the Kohanim. Once a period of time went by, where monies were collected but no repair work was done, the people would view any future work done would be the work of the Kohanim themselves, rather than the direct product of their donations. In other words, the Kohanim were functioning as representatives of the Temple, taking the monies and apportioning them as they saw fit. During this sensitive period of time, this would reinforce the present gap felt by the Jewish people. It had to be evident that the Kohanim were simply middle-men, vehicles to bring about the objective of the repair work.
Initially, the first plan would have worked perfectly – except that the process devolved to a two-step job, rather than a direct flow from Kohen to repair. Thus, the solution submitted by Yehoyada – build a receptacle that would hold all the funds. The only time the Kohanim would have any money would be when bringing it from the people to the Temple. The people would then see a direct link between them and the Temple.
The critical point being stressed in this episode is the importance of the way the Jewish people relate to the Temple. There is a tremendous abstract gulf that separates the Jew from the Temple. Yet the Jew must not think he is excluded from its objective, even though he was not a normal participant. The Temple was a mechanism to bring about critical ideas about God and His relationship to the Jewish people, ideas that were accessible to those choosing to pursue them.
Therefore, it was imperative that every Jew consecrate for himself a link to the Temple, expressed through the giving of the half-shekel. Yehoash understood this clearly, and successfully repaired not just the Temple, but the breach between the Jewish people and their worship of God.