מחצית השקל

Shavua Tov. Today’s Parsha, כי תשא, begins with the instructions to give the מחצית השקל, half shekel, to the Beit Hamikdash.

This served two purposes. One, was to have enough funds to pay for the operating costs of running the Temple. This included payment of public sacrifices, which allowed everyone to have a part in them. And two, the counting of the half shekel (26 shekels in today’s money), was a way of taking a census of the population.

The Torah tells us that if this Mitzva was observed properly, there would not be a נגף among בני ישראל.

The word נגף, comes from the מגיפה, meaning plague. (The Corona Pandemic is often referred to as a מגיפה.) One explanation of this protection from plague is that it is preferred to count items and not people to protect us from עין הרע.

But a more relevant explanation is to emphasize the power of Tzedaka, and connecting to Kedusha. Moshe Rabbeinu did not want the people to rely solely on him. He wanted the people to connect to Hashem and His sanctuary, by contributing towards its daily operation.

There is no doubt that we must realize that spiritual pursuits are what get us through difficulties and pandemics.