Shabbat Blast

From Cantor Joshua Kowitz

Dear CBO Families,

This Week’s Torah portion Parshat Vayakhel continues describing the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the other parts related to it. This Shabbat in addition to being Shabbat across America is Shabbat Shekalim. What you might ask is Shabbat Shekalim? Well, it is the first of four special Shabbatot that precede Pesach. Its name comes from the Maftir Torah reading which is found in Exodus chapter 30, verse 11-16. It is called Shekalim because each Israelite man was required to give a half shekel which was to support the construction costs of the mishkan.

Donating the half shekel had a second function as well, a census. In biblical times a census was often thought of as dangerous and caused people to be afraid. This is because it usually “preceded a war or a new Tax.”(Etz Hayim pg. 523) When they counted the men in biblical times it was to get a sense of how many men were eligible for army service. Our Chumash gives detail again by saying, “Each male in this census is to pay a poll tax of one-half shekel as a ransom for his life and to avert the possibility of a plague.” (Ibid)

Later in the maftir reading we learn that everyone gives the same amount of a half shekel, the rich not paying more and the poor not paying less. This is because that in G-d’s eyes everyone is equal and money should not separate people from doing their spiritual obligation.

In today’s world we are obsessed with money, it is impossible to get through life without having it and have one’s basic needs met. We place financial classes on people because certain individuals have more money and others have less. Are those people who have more money better than those who have less? We seem to pass judgment on those who are less fortunate, we do not know what they are going through or how life has been for them.

This maftir reading shows a scenario in which the financial status of a person isn’t the defining factor for who they are. It shows that we are all equal in G-d’s eyes, we are all made in the image of G-d and need to be kinder to each other. We need to help one another in any way we can. This world can be rough but with all of us listening to one another and giving equally we can bring light that is far brighter than any piece of gold or money.

Shabbot Shalom
Cantor Kowitz

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