If it suits the king, then let us proclaim to destroy them
and ten thousand measures of silver . . . (Esther
3,9). Resh Lokish said: It was clear to the Creator of the
World that in the future Homon would weigh shekolim
against Yisroel, therefore He preceded their shekolim
to his shekolim. Hence, the mishna says that on
the first of Adar there is a proclamation about the
shekolim and kilayim (Megilloh 13b).
There is a very clear calculation figuring that 600,000 Jews
who came out of Egypt, times 40 years of giving the Half
Shekel, which is the amount of years a person was required to
pay (from age 20 until 60 which is 40 years) totals the
equivalent of 10,000 kikar kesef, talents of silver.
Therefore, when Homon bribed Achashverosh to murder all the
Jews and offered 10,000 kikar kesef, Am Yisroel had
already preceded him with the same amount of money for
tzedokoh through the Machatsis Hashekel to
redeem themselves, and it eventually saved their lives.
What is the depth and underlying message of the Machatsis
Hashekel? The Half Shekel was a token for tzedokoh
and the means of counting the Jews.
Charity, which is the rich giving to the poor, creates
sholom, or peace, since all become complete and none
are lacking. This unifies all. When Am Yisroel is
unified, there is a spiritual occurrence of the tzaddik
giving of his merits to the rosho to balance each
other and create the shleimus.
This idea of unity among Am Yisroel can only be
created from the concept of the Machatsis Hashekel,
where each Jew realizes that he is part of a whole. There
is no existence for an individual Jew independent of his
affiliation with Am Yisroel, just as there is no
existence for a hand independent of the rest of its body.
Hashem created Yisroel as one neshomoh with each
individual representing different fragments of the same
body.
To illustrate this point, Hashem showed Moshe Rabbenu the
symbolic coin of fire which He took from beneath the Heavenly
throne where nishmas Yisroel lies. Fire represents
achdus because of its nature to spread till all are
affected. Fire does not isolate itself, just as a Jew is not
an isolated entity. The depth of this reality stems from our
origin, the single source. Therefore, "shekel" is the
numerical equivalent of "nefesh" which symbolizes
achdus, referring to all the offspring of Yaakov Ovinu
in the single tense, as in shiv'im nefesh (70 "soul"),
whereas the offspring of Eisov are enumerated in the
plural.
We see a beautiful hint to this theme from the gift Eliezer
gave Rivka Imeinu. The Torah says he gave her "nezem zohov
bekka mishkolo" (a gold nose ring, weighing one
bekka), the exact weight of the Machatsis Hashekel
which was bekka lagulgoles -- a bekka for
each person.
He also gave her "shnei tsemiddim al yodeha asoroh zohov
mishkolom -- two bracelets on her hand weighing ten
measures of gold." This alludes to the two Luchos with
the Ten Commandments, to show that the condition for
receiving the Torah was the message of the Shekel,
which is achdus.
The depth of achdus of Am Yisroel is signified
by the structure of the Luchos, which had on one side
five commandments of bein odom laMokom, and facing it
were the other five commandments pertaining to bein odom
lechavero. Hashem said the mitzvos of bein odom
lechavero, which make the Jews unified, are what reflects
yichud Shomayim, the oneness of Hashem. As much as one
invests in getting to love his fellow Jew, he succeeds
simultaneously in coming closer to Hashem.
The underlying reason why one should love any Jew
unconditionally is because of his realization that it is
Hashem's will. Think for a moment, when you see an
unsympathetic-looking Jew, how his mother would relate to him
and what his mother would feel if he were insulted. Hashem,
who created each individual with an exalted purpose and
continuously invests thousands of intricate miracles to keep
him alive with love, is severely pained by His child's
abuse.
Our emunah and love of Hashem is the true source of
our relationship with each other. To believe that no one can
help or harm us without it being decreed from above, allows
us to be forgiving of our fellow man who was just a messenger
in hurting us, and instead to reflect more inwardly when pain
is inflicted upon us about how to modify our own behavior to
relieve us from this decree.
Giving others the benefit of the doubt, the basis of bein
odom lechavero, reflects our level of bitochon in
Hashem that He carries out true justice, but wants us to free
our brethren from guilt, just as a father, while punishing
his wayward son, appreciates those who tolerate him and
attempt to minimize his misdeeds. Our loving relationship
with each other is an acknowledgment of Hashem as our common,
supreme Father.
A major factor in our intolerance of each other is our
differences. It is very hard to appreciate those who are
different from us, either in background, minhogim,
dress, or language.
Let us try to picture our true purpose in this world using
the analogy of a car. Am Yisroel is a vehicle, or
merkovoh, for the Shechina. A car has many
parts, an engine, carburetor, steering wheel, windows and
seats. No two parts are alike, nor would we want all the
parts to resemble each other because each one has its
specific design and function in the vehicle. Just as a
rainbow's beauty depends on its array of color, and a
garden's magnificence depends on its varied flowers, so too,
our variety of ethnic groups and approaches and emphases to
avodas Hashem reflects Hashem's endless greatness. If
we appreciate each other because of our differences, that is
what makes us complete.
True achdus has a very important condition that we
learn from the posuk in Parshas Shekolim: "Ki siso
es rosh Bnei Yisroel." Am Yisroel is only unified when
they are headed by a Rosh, a leader, and are totally
under his guidance. As in our bodies, unity is not achieved
when all limbs are equal, but only when all components carry
out their proper function as dictated by the brain. If for a
moment our organs would decide to be independent of our
brain, we would cease to function, or at best, be "brain
damaged." Our talmidei chachomim are our "heads," and
in order to attain the achdus necessary to achieve our
purpose of representing Hashem's Oneness, we must relinquish
our will to do as they dictate.
The one who knew this best was Homon Horosho. He, as the
instrument of the Soton himself, came with tremendous
accusations against Am Yisroel to destroy the love and
connection of Hashem to His nation in order to annihilate
them. He said to the Melech Achashverosh -- while directing
his words to the Melech Malchei Hamelochim -- "Yeshno am
mefozor umeforod bein ho'amim."
His accusation was that they are scattered and not unified
because they don't listen to their head, namely Mordechai.
The moment Am Yisroel become disjoined because of
their failure to subjugate themselves to the "head," they
automatically become detached from Hashem, as a disabled
vehicle is abandoned by its driver. The further we distance
ourselves from each other, the further the distance Hashem is
from Am Yisroel as well.
Homon carried on with his accusations, "Am echod hein
they are one nation," alluding to the shortcoming of the Jews
in failing to humble themselves properly before their
leaders. He said, "They are all equal." When it comes to
making decisions they pasken for themselves as if they
were on an equal level as the rov.
Therefore, Esther Hamalkoh replied with the appropriate
message, "Leich kenos es kol haYehudim lehikohel vela'amod
al nafshom -- Go bring together all the Jews to gather
and stand in order to save their lives." How did they
actually unite?
The key was on Purim when all the Jews accepted upon
themselves the yoke of the Oral Torah transmitted by
talmidei chachomim: "kiyemu vekiblu aleihem," and
thereby merited having the evil decree annulled, leading to
eternal celebration and joy. The way to unite and annul the
worst decrees in history, is to dedicate ourselves to
accepting the instructions of our gedolim.
The Rebbe from Orzhorov, author of Beer Moshe, reveals
that "rosh" equals in numerical value (when every
letter is spelled out and summed up), the exact amount as the
posuk, "Ve'atem hadeveikim baHashem Elokeicham, chaim
kulchem hayom." The way to reach the unity where all will
enjoy life -- the tzaddik and the rosho
together - - is when all hearken to the words of our
Rosh. Then the unity created allows the merits of the
Righteous to disperse among the weaker Jews to create a
complete healthy body.
The word "Machatsis" hints to this message with the
letter tzaddik in the center, referring to the rov,
and the letters closest to it on either side spelling
"chai," as in those who cleave to the guidance of
their rabbonim, while the remaining letters further away
spell "meis," as in those who distance themselves from
daas Torah.
The tzaddik in the center of the word Machatsis
also stands for "tzedokoh," to emphasize that when
we give to each other, it makes the evil decree of
meis turn into chai, as Chazal say,
"Tzedokoh tatzil mimoves."
So, when we hear Parshas Shekolim this week, we should
remember our battle plan to give charity to each other and to
emphasize unity, by abiding by the guidance of our rabbonim.
Internalizing the message of the Machatsis Hashekel
will, undoubtedly, lead us all to a miraculous Purim and
a Nisan of Geulah.
