Shabbat Shekalim 5769

There are four Shabbatot leading up to Pesah and this is the first.
Next Wednesday is the first of Adar , the month of Purim.
He who brings in Adar, increases joy!
mi shenikhnas
Adar marbim b’simha dgnya miaxn xc` qpkpy in
And, this Shabbat is designated at Shabbat Shekalim... the Shabbat of the
small coins. We are reminded that each year during Adar, the annual
sanctuary tax is collected.
During our service tomorrow morning, we will bless the new month of
Adar and read the following extra section of the Torah (Exodus 30:1116)
11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12. When you take the census of the people of Israel according to their number, then shall they
give every man a ransom for his soul to the Lord, when you count them; that there should be no
plague among them, when you count them.
13. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel
according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a shekel is twenty gerahs; a half shekel shall be the
offering of the Lord.
14. Every one who passes among those who are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall
give an offering to the Lord.
15. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they
give an offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
16. And you shall take the atonement money of the people of Israel, and shall appoint it for the
service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial to the people of Israel before the Lord,
to make an atonement for your souls.
Thus each person is to give exactly the same amount, the half shekel, the
mahazit hashekel lkyd zivgn ,whether rich or poor even,
according to
the Rambam if a pauper needs to give from the alms received. And the text
also connects this democratic donation to the soul work of atonement which
is in and of itself a very deep teaching that deserves its own
meditation and drosh!!!
Why specifically is a halfshekel
required? The Slonimer Rebbe relates the
halfshekel
to the underlying spiritual of the structure of the world the
2
the flow of shefa rty, divine bounty is related to bringing together the
halves, the parts, and creating zecg`, ahdut, oneness, cohesion,
unification. [Mystically the raising up the energy so that the Divine union,
coupling (zivug beef) can occur.] Where does the other half come from? ...
from the power of joining hithavrut zexagzd with
each and every other
member of the community, and with the Divine. By giving of our half
shekel we help create the mishkan, the place where dpiky Shekhina, the
Divine Presence, can find a home among us and within each of us. We
thus fulfill the mitzvah of “uvo tidvak wacz eae(Deuteronomy 10:20) cleave
to Divinity! “
The donations are called trumot zenexz from the word larom mexl to raise
up (as in the Rommemu prayer we davened earlier). We literally raise our
physicality up to a higher level when we contribute to building a home for
Spirit.
We raise up our required donation and benefits flow down to us.
This is about the spiritual principal that the itaruta d’letata `zzlc `zexrz`
leads to an itaruta dele’eila `lirlc `zexrz` every
arousal from below
leads to an arousal above.
Rashi tells us that, based on this section and an earlier parasha, there are
three types of zenexz t’rumot and each is essential.
the halfshekel
given for the building of the physical mishkan, used to
create the adanim mipc` base sockets in which the planks for the walls of
the mishkan would stand literally
forming the foundation of the
Tabernacle
the ongoing annual halfshekel
donation to fund the communal
sacrifices
the nedivot zeaicp generosity gifts which come from the heart and which
have no specific measure these
decorated the sanctuary and enabled
the creation of the holy vessels and implements.
And so, as we daven together in wonder, sharing this sanctuary with each
other, the message of this shabbat, I believe, is to understand in a very deep
way, that we are obligated to support, not only what we experience here
(1)
(2)
(3)
3
together, but also the flow of Divine energy throughout the worlds. We
have no choice but to give our half shekel. What our hearts lead us to give
beyond that of
our selves, our time, our skills, our riches is a more
individual choice. But we each must give that halfshekel,
even if it is out
of our subsistence allowance....
And this shabbat, we bless this new month of Adar, during these times that
feel so precarious, that Adar come in with life and peace and joy and
happiness and comfort and redemption!
I bless each of us to be able to look deeply inside and meditate on this
ancient teaching about the obligatory annual halfshekel
sanctuary
donation.
I bless us to look deeply inside to that place of nedivat lev al zaicp ,
generosity of heart, of t’ruma ,dnexz, of raising up, to find the truth of this
Torah for ourselves... and then to manifest action in the world
accordingly.
Read the rest

Parashat Beshalah and the month of Sh’vat: d’var Torah

“And the Divine walked before them during the day as a pillar of cloud to guide them on the way, and at night in a pillar of fire to illuminate for them, to walk on day and night”

My holy teacher the late Slonimer rebbe, may his memory be for a blessing in the world that is coming and his soul rest in the celestial shelter, the Netivot Shalom, uses these words to teach us about walking the path (the halikha, not the halakha – spiritual instructions not rules of conduct).

There are times that are light and times that are dark, some times good and some more challenging, and our task is to somehow live in the certainty that all is Divine manifestation, that all was created for the Divine Honor, l’khvodo.

The purpose of our very existence is to keep going during the days and nights….lalekhet yomam v’laila ללכת יומם ולילה says our verse. In every season and situation, those who are on the path of Jewish practice are enjoined to continually discern, and then fulfill, the Divine will – asking what G!d asks of us at this moment.

בכל העתים והמצבים יעבוד יהודי לשי"ת היעשה תמיד את רצון השי"ת הנדרש ממנו בעת הזאת.

In times of ease, when there is ambient light, circumstances are easy, our connection to the larger Essence is apparent, we serve through the trait, the midda of love, ahava. The clouds that guide us during the daylight are the Clouds of Glory, annanei ha kavod, the apprehension of the Divine Presence, Shekhina Herself , the sukka of peace that holds us and shelters us.

In times of relative absence of light, we serve with the aspect, the midda, of awe, yira. And this is a more difficult task. Sensing the Divine Presence when all is going well, is easier. In times of darkness we are asked to look deep inside and illuminate the spark of faith, that these difficult circumstances, too have meaning. We are asked not to allow ourselves to give up hope, to become immobilized by depression, but to remember that there is a Divine purpose to everything. In the words of the midrash, there is justice and there is a Judge (Midrash Raba – אית דין ואית דייןד) . And it is this very act of faith that sweetens the circumstances and illuminates the darkness.

What a high and difficult path…. the path of Divine service during dark times requires more spiritual strength and inspiration than experiencing and manifesting the love of G!d when all is easy and we are in the flow of sensing the bounty of the Universe.

And so we get to the month of Shvat…. This is the month when outside it is still dark, but the roots and seeds are just starting to come to life deep within the ground. And so we look deep inside for those seeds of hope, those seeds of faith – and we nurture them, and encourage them to sprout, and take the nourishment they need to break through into the light.

Read the rest