Joyful giving reveals inner generosity

באחד באדר משמיעין על השקלים ועל הכלאים.

"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 forbidden mixtures — the Sefas Emes will link both to wholehearted giving.

ע"י שהתנדבו בני ישראל למשכן בנדבת הלב לכן נשאר כח נדבה זו לבנ"י לעולם כמשרז"ל מצות שקבלו עליהם בשמחה עדיין עושין בשמחה לכן מרבין בשמחה שנתעורר נדבה רצון טוב כמ"ש רש"י וחשק בלבות בנ"י להתדבק בו ית' וע"י התגלות השמחה יכולין לברר ולתקן הכל וז"ש ועל הכלאים.

Because Bnei Yisrael donated to the Mishkan with generosity of heart, the power of that donation remained with Bnei Yisrael forever — as Chazal said, "a mitzvah that they accepted upon themselves with joy, they still perform with joy." Therefore we increase in joy (in Adar), for there is awakened a generous good will, as Rashi writes, and a yearning in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to cleave to Him. And through the revelation of this joy, one is able to clarify and rectify everything — and this is the meaning of "and concerning the kilayim."

The wholehearted joy of the original donations to the Mishkan became a permanent power within Bnei Yisrael. This is why we increase in simchah in Adar: the inner yearning to give and to cleave to Hashem reawakens, and this revealed joy has the power to sort out and repair everything — even the "kilayim," the tangled, mixed-up matters that need to be separated and set right.

ועיקר הרצון בהתגלות פנימיות נדבת הלב שיש בעצם לבות בני ישראל שנקראו בת נדיב לכן העשיר לא ירבה כו':

And the essence of the (divine) desire is in the revelation of the inner generosity of heart that lies in the very core of the hearts of Bnei Yisrael, who are called "the daughter of a noble one" — and therefore "the rich shall not give more," and so on.

What Hashem truly wants is the uncovering of the penimiyus — the innate noble generosity ("bas nadiv," Shir HaShirim 7:2) that lies in the essence of every Jew's heart. Since this giving flows from a shared inner essence rather than outer wealth, the half-shekel is equal for all: "the rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less" (Shemos 30:15).

Summary: The wholehearted joy with which Bnei Yisrael first donated to the Mishkan became a permanent inner power, which is why we increase in simchah from the first of Adar. This revealed joy and inner generosity (nedivus lev) can clarify and rectify everything, including "kilayim" — and because it flows from the equal noble core within every Jew, the half-shekel is given equally by rich and poor alike.