"Bigdei Kahuna" Parsha page by Rabbi Yehuda Katz

This parsha sheet is being dedicated to my beloved father, Nachman Shimon ben Yehuda Meir Hakohan,Z"L.May it be a merit for his soul.

KI SISA

"The wealthy shall not increase and the poor shall not decrease from 1/2 a shekel....................."(30:15)

Hashem is commanding Mosha to make a count of the males from the age of 20 and up. Each male would only be allowed to give 1/2 a shekel, and by so doing the males would be counted. A question, can be asked as follows: Why was a 1/2 shekel chosen? I would like to propose the following original answer, Bezrat Hashem. The wealthy of verse 30:15 is perhaps referring to a person who is rich in Torah and Mitzvoth, and the poor of the verse is referring to a person who is lacking in good deeds. When the Torah commands these individuals to give 1/2 a shekel, there is a lesson that the Torah wishes to teach these individuals that is pertinent to their particular circumstance. A person who has done alot of good might think that he has reached his potential and need not be concerned any further in trying to improve himself. Yet when the Torah commands him to give 1/2 a shekel, he soon realizes that what his giving is only 1/2 not a whole. He will soon realize that he too is only 1/2 of what he could be, and will begin to examine his ways as to how he can further improve his ways even better. Nobody is truly complete, only G-d is perfect. The man might have done great deeds in the past, but still needs to continue on this path and try to "perfect" his ways even better. Complacency is an abhorrent concept to the Torah. The "poor" man also needs to learn a lesson from the 1/2 shakel.By giving 1/2 a shakel , he will soon realize that even with 1/2 a shakel a mitzvah can be acquired.Perhapes the Torah is not as hard as he might have thought in the past. Even 1/2 a shekel can "buy" you a good deed. Little by little he can add Mitzvoth to his portfolio, and also become wealthy with good deeds. Its not as expensive as he might have thought. The greatness of the Torah is that there exists a lesson for everyone. Each Mitzvah has contained in it the needed remedy for every person. The giving of 1/2 a shakel teaches us this concept. Our souls need nourishment, and the Torah is exactly where this nourishment can be found. Have a good Shabbos