“When you count the children of Israel to register them, they shall give a ransom for their souls to the Lord when you count them, so that there will be no plague among them when they are counted. This is what everyone who passes among those counted shall give: half a shekel according to the holy shekel; the shekel is twenty gerahs; the half-shekel is an offering to the Lord." (Exodus 30:12).
Omer Rashi explains: “When you wish to determine their number, to know how many they are, do not count them directly by their heads. Instead, each person should give half a shekel, and you will count the shekels and know their number. Thus ‘there shall be no plague among them’-because when people are counted directly, the evil eye may rule over them and misfortune may come upon them, as we found in the days of David."
The Power of the Collective
The greatness of the people of Israel does not lie in individual details but in the collective whole of Israel, as Moses our teacher says: “The Lord did not set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples-for you are the fewest of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7). Likewise King David says in 2 Samuel (23): “And who is like Your people Israel, a nation unique on earth."
The Kli Yakar explains that when Israel is counted individually there is concern that the act of counting will cause each person to reflect upon his own merits and obligations, fearing that his merits may not outweigh his duties. The sin of the Golden Calf was forgiven for the collective, not for each individual separately, yet the act of counting makes every person stand on his own. Therefore, the Kli Yakar notes that the verse is written in the singular-“When you count the children of Israel"-rather than in the plural.
Indeed, when does the Divine Presence rest upon Israel? When Israel stands united as one. This idea appears in the Midrash Tanhuma on Parashat Nitzavim (3), teaching that the prayers of the community are never rejected (Berakhot 8), and communal prayer is accepted even if none of the individual worshipers would be worthy on their own.
But how does the stature of Israel rise above the nations of the world? The Midrash explains that God told Moses that Israel’s greatness rises through the Hebrew words “When you lift up," which are usully interpeted to mean counting. As it says in Proverbs 14: “Righteousness exalts a nation." Rabbi Yehoshua says: “Charity exalts a nation"-referring to Israel, as it is written in 2 Samuel 7: “And who is like Your people Israel, a nation unique on earth." Yet regarding the nations it says, “and kindness to the nations is a sin," meaning that acts of charity among idol worshipers are often done only to prolong their power and prestige.
Establishing One World Against Another: Sacred Money Versus Destructive Money
We stand between the special reading of Parshat Shekalim that we read two weeks ago and the section about the shekel at the beginning of our weekly portion. The half-shekel is a commandment in the Torah requiring every Jewish man to contribute toward the building of the Sanctuary. This obligation applied when the Temple stood, yet even today we give charity in memory of the half-shekel before Purim. A related custom is the reading of Parashat Shekalim on the Sabbath before the beginning of the month of Adar.
The sages teach in the Talmud (Megillah 29) that the half-shekel contributions served three purposes: for communal sacrifices, for additional offerings, and for repairs of the Temple. The Jerusalem Talmud in Shekalim (1:1) states that the sages had authority to determine how the funds were to be used. In any case, the half-shekel represented money dedicated to holiness-a longing for the sacred.
Between the reading of Parashat Shekalim-the “portion of money"-we also read in the Book of Esther about another “portion of money." Israel sets one world against another: money meant for holiness versus money meant for gain and the destruction of a people.
In the Book of Esther, Haman says to King Ahasuerus: “If it pleases the king, let it be written to destroy them, and I will weigh out ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s treasuries." Reish Lakish explains in the Talmud (Megillah 13) that it was known to God that the wicked Haman would attempt to weigh out shekels against Israel. Therefore God preceded Haman’s silver with the shekels of Israel. From this we learn that on the first day of Adar announcements were made regarding the collection of the shekels (Shekalim 2:1).
It is well known that the ten thousand talents of silver were essentially a bribe to the royal treasury to obtain consent for the destruction of the Jewish people. Yet in the decree written by Haman and sealed with the king’s ring, two small words were hidden at the end. The decree sought to annihilate, kill, and destroy all the Jews, from young to old, on one day in the month of Adar-and only at the very end did it add: “and to plunder their possessions." Even though the plunder was not the true goal, he still would not pay the money himself. It would come from the spoils rather than from Haman’s own wealth. As the Book of Esther notes, “Haman spoke of the glory of his wealth."
Purity of the Hands and Gifts to the Needy
From the teachings of Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldwicht, the founding head of Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavne, we learn that this “portion of money" is fundamentally a lesson of faith directed to every Jew. What should a person do with the wealth that the Creator has granted him? Should he pursue it selfishly? Should he invest it in destructive ambitions like Haman’s plot “to annihilate, kill, and destroy all the Jews"? Or should he follow the model of the half-shekel, using money for noble and sanctified purposes, such as supporting the Temple?
Around the phrase “and their plunder," the sages instituted the mitzvah of giving gifts to the poor on Purim. Charity to the needy is given to anyone who extends a hand, without investigation into their circumstances. The Shulchan Aruch codifies this rule following the Rambam and earlier authorities (Orach Chaim, Laws of Purim, Siman 694, Section 3): “We do not scrutinize requests for charity on Purim. Whoever stretches out his hand to receive is given-even a non-Jew." The Jerusalem Talmud in Megillah (Chapter 1, Mishnah 4) provides the earliest source for this important principle.
Indeed, even when the situation was reversed and the Jews in the Book of Esther were permitted to defeat their enemies and take spoils, the Megillah emphasizes: “The ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, were slain-but they did not lay their hands on the plunder."
In this act of giving Purim charity-and in charity more generally-there is again a contrast between two worlds: sanctifying material wealth versus a world that seeks wealth only for gain and destruction. There is also a practical element: the money helps provide the Purim meal. If the giver begins investigating every request, Purim might pass without anyone benefiting. There is also a measure-for-measure principle: since the giver does not examine the recipient too closely, Heaven will likewise not examine too closely those who come before God with requests.
Unlike the nations of the world, the Jews were satisfied with their very salvation and did not long for the wealth of their enemies out of greed for money, even though it had been permitted to them by the king’s decree. Thus the hands of Israel remained clean, without any “taking of hands." As Rashi explains in his words: “‘and their plunder as spoil’-Israel did not stretch out their hands to it, thereby demonstrating to all that their actions were not motivated by money."
From the Erasure of Amalek to the Joy of Redemption
Between the Sabbath of Shekalim and the Sabbath of “Ki Tisa," which opens with the commandment of the shekels, we were privileged to read the “Parashat Zachor." This time it was not only remembrance and not merely a verbal declaration of erasing Amalek, but also the actual erasure of Amalek in our own generation. To wipe out those who invested immense wealth-far greater than the “ten thousand talents of silver"-with one single aim: “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, from young to old, children and women, on one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar." All this while they themselves lived in astonishing luxury, even as many among their own people suffered hunger and scarcity.
This past Sabbath we merited to read “Parashat Zachor," and also to erase Amalek in practice, and during the Mincha prayer we again heard the section about the shekels, since we read the opening of Parashat Ki Tisa. It is a powerful combination: the world represented by the people of Israel standing in contrast to the world represented by the nations.
About eighty years ago, the Imrei Shaul, of blessed memory, asked: why does the teaching say “when Adar enters we increase in joy," when the Jews were still in great danger at that time? Should it not have said that joy increases when Adar ends?
He explained that this statement teaches us that precisely in the midst of hardship, joy itself is the remedy. Therefore, even before the salvation arrives, one must already increase in joy, and that very joy brings the redemption closer. With God’s help, when Adar concludes we will be able to increase our joy even more and bless the completion of the process-the erasure of Amalek of our generation from the face of the earth.
This struggle against Amalek-against its traits, its cruel ambitions, and its destructive desires-began already in the days of Joshua, who fought at the command of Moses our teacher. When Moses raised his hands, he signaled to Joshua and the warriors of Israel that even while fighting a natural battle against Amalek, they must direct their hearts to their Father in Heaven and to the higher ideals toward which the people of Israel must aspire.
The Netziv (in Ha’amek Davar) explains that when Moses told Joshua, “Choose men for us," he meant warriors who were strong in the “war of Torah," because such individuals are especially capable of prevailing even in a natural battle-similar to the forces of the House of David. Moses informed Joshua that his heart should be strong in the natural struggle, which also served as preparation for the future conquest of the land.
However, if-God forbid-the people of Israel were not to direct their hearts toward their Father in Heaven, then they would not be worthy of overcoming Amalek through natural means. In such a case, in order that they would not fall into destruction, it would become necessary for Amalek to be overcome through an open miracle, with Moses standing with the staff of God in his hand, for Israel is assured that 'the Lord will not abandon His people nor forsake His inheritance.'
Thus the people of Israel learned firsthand the lesson of the “portion of money"-first in the commandment of the half-shekel, and later in the story of the Megillah. From these “portions of money," in which Israel set one world against another, they rise to yet another level taught by the portion of the Red Heifer, which purifies them and grants them a life of purity.
After the reading of the portion of the Red Heifer, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 685:3) instructs that we read the remarkable prophetic reading from Ezekiel (chapter 36), in which the prophet describes the stages of Israel’s purification in the redemption. Although these words were written long ago, they seem especially fitting for our own time.
Thus says Ezekiel in his prophecy: “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the remnant of the nations who gave My land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with contempt of soul, in order to plunder it." Here again the desire of our enemies for plunder is mentioned.
But the prophecy continues with hope: “Therefore, O mountains of Israel, shall give forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel. The cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be cleansed; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will purify you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
The author is attorney Shalom Wasserteil, who serves as chairman of the real estate company Tzifha International.