Shekalim

Shekalim awakens inner will and teshuvah me'ahavah· Essay 1

"On the first of Adar they announce concerning the shekalim" (Shekalim 1:1). The Sefas Emes opens with the Mishnah's statement that the public call to bring the half-shekel goes out at the start of Adar. Why in Adar? He asks why this partic…

Lifting the head to Hashem through bittul· Essay 2

The matter of "gathering" (hak'hel) for the mitzvah of Shabbos: for on Shabbos we become unified in the secret of Oneness (raza d'echad), namely to be attached to the root of all vitality. The Sefas Emes explains that the assembling of Bnei…

Half-shekel and serving for Klal Yisrael· Essay 3

My grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, said regarding the fact that before the [sin of the] Golden Calf, Shabbos is written after the making of the Mishkan, while afterward Shabbos is written first — that before the sin t…

Shabbos beyond sin, the half-shekel· Essay 4

Chazal established that Parshas Shekalim be read on Shabbos; presumably there is a connection to Shabbos. Since Chazal fixed the reading of Parshas Shekalim specifically on a Shabbos, there must be an inner link between the half-shekel and …

Mesiras nefesh and individual absorbed into the collective· Essay 2

My grandfather, my teacher and master z"l, in the name of the Rav of Pshischa z"l, explained the verse "which you shall place before them (asher tasim lifneihem)" in light of Bnei Yisrael's declaration "we will do (naaseh)" preceding "we wi…

Offering oneself in place of korbanos· Essay 3

From what Chazal said, to read Parshas Shekalim now, even though there is no korban — Chazal instituted reading Parshas Shekalim even in galus when no shekel-offering and no korbanos are brought; the Sefas Emes asks what this reading accomp…

Giving shekalim frees and renews· Essay 1

On the first of Adar they announce concerning the shekalim and concerning the kilayim (forbidden mixtures in the fields). The Sefas Emes begins from the Mishnah's public proclamation at the start of Adar about giving the half-shekel and abo…

Weighing deeds by the inner point· Essay 2

"Moshe found it difficult... and the Holy One, blessed is He, showed him a coin of fire" (Tanchuma, Ki Sisa). The Sefas Emes cites the Midrash that Moshe Rabbeinu could not grasp how the half-shekel could atone, until Hashem showed him a fi…

Unity of the klal through self-nullification· Essay 2

The gathering (hakhalah) precedes the mitzvah of Shabbos, for Shabbos is what gathers in all created things to return them to their root; and this depends on the gathering together of Bnei Yisrael to nullify themselves (bittul) to Hashem — …

Generosity's root connects Yisrael to Hashem· Essay 2

"And they shall take for Me a terumah (portion)," etc. In the Midrash: "A good acquisition (lekach tov) I have given you," etc. — a purchase contains gold and silver, etc. The Midrash (on Shemos 25:2) reads "lekach tov" — Hashem's gift of T…

Every individual completes the collective Mishkan· Essay 3

"From every man… you shall take My terumah (offering)" (Shemos 25:2). The Sefas Emes opens on the verse commanding that the contribution for the Mishkan be taken "from every man," and he focuses on the role of the individual. This means tha…

Shekalim, tzedakah, and freedom· Essay 1

"On the first of Adar they announce concerning the shekalim and the kilayim" (Shekalim 1:1), as it is written: "A person's gift makes room for him, and before great ones it leads him" (Mishlei 18:16) — for through the acceptance that a pers…

Doing and bittul complete each other· Essay 2

"These are the things that Hashem commanded to do…" The pasuk opens Parshas Vayakhel with a command "to do," yet the very next subject is Shabbos, on which we refrain from doing. And it refers both to Shabbos and to the labors of the Mishka…

The half-shekel coin of fire within the soul· Essay 3

In Rashi: Moshe Rabbeinu had difficulty [understanding how a person could give a ransom for his soul], and the Holy One showed him a coin of fire, [saying] "like this they shall give." (Rashi, Shemos 30:13) The Sefas Emes takes up Rashi's a…

Half-shekel and Yaakov's fiery point· Essay 1

Moshe Rabbeinu was puzzled regarding the machatzis ha'shekel (half-shekel), [so] the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him a coin of fire, [saying] "like this they shall give" (Tanchuma; cf. Rashi, Shemos 30:13). Moshe could not grasp how a m…

Joyful giving reveals inner generosity· Essay 2

"On the first of Adar, announcement is made concerning the shekalim and concerning the kilayim (forbidden mixtures)." The Mishnah teaches that the start of Adar brings a public call to give the half-shekel and to clear the fields of forbidd…

Generosity from below arouses Hashem's love· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Many waters cannot extinguish… the love…" (Shir HaShirim 8:7). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse that no flood of waters can put out the love between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. For we see that after all the sin, Bnei Yisrae…

Tzedakah restores what sin lost· Essay 3

"When Adar enters, we increase in simchah (joy)." The Sefas Emes opens with the well-known teaching that the month of Adar is a time of heightened joy, and he sets out to explain the inner source of that simchah. This is the joy of the dona…

Half-shekel awakens inner love· Essay 1

"We announce concerning the shekalim and concerning the kilayim (forbidden mixtures)." (Shekalim 1:1) The Mishnah teaches that at the start of Adar the court publicly announces both the half-shekel collection and the removal of forbidden mi…

The half-shekel unites the soul's two portions· Essay 1

Concerning the mitzvah of the shekalim before Nisan, as it is written, "When you lift up (ki sisa)... the head of Bnei Yisrael," etc. The Sefas Emes addresses why the half-shekel is given before Nisan, noting the Torah's phrase "lift up the…