Parshas Ki Tisa
כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘ לִפְקֻֽדֵיהֶם֒ וְנָ֨תְנ֜וּ אִ֣ישׁ כֹּ֧פֶר נַפְשׁ֛וֹ לַה' בִּפְקֹ֣ד אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶ֥ה בָהֶ֛ם נֶ֖גֶף בִּפְקֹ֥ד אֹתָֽם... זֶ֣ה | יִתְּנ֗וּ כָּל־הָֽעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַֽחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל... כֹּ֗ל הָֽעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים... הֶֽעָשִׁ֣יר לֹֽא־יַרְבֶּ֗ה וְהַדַּל֙ לֹ֣א יַמְעִ֔יט...
When you take the sum of the children of Israel according to their numbers, let each one give to the Lord an atonement for his soul when they are counted; then there will be no plague among them when they are counted… This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a Shekel…Everyone who goes through the counting… The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less (Shemos 30:12-15).
The parsha begins by describing that a population census was conducted by collecting a half-Shekel. Many commentators discuss when this took place chronologically and how does this event apply to our Avodas Hashem.
א.
The Avodas Yisroel explained that this mitzvah encapsulates the proper perspective of ourselves and our roles in this world.
Chazal taught (Kiddushin 40a-b) that a person must view himself as always living on the razor’s edge of Divine consideration; we must feel that we have lived a life that is equally filled with zchusim – merits- and transgressions. And everything depends on our next decision, our next action or thought.
The world also hangs in that sensitive balance. As the Gemara concludes: each person must consider that if he performs one mitzva he is praiseworthy, as he tilts the balance of himself and the entire world to the scale of merit. Conversely, if he transgresses one prohibition, woe to him, as he tilts the balance for himself and the entire world to the scale of liability…
The Koshnitzer Maggid explains that when a person realizes the weight and possibility of each mitzvah, when they can truly see the consequence and opportunity in every moment, a yid will enthusiastically pursue mitzvos while guarding himself against transgressions. Every yid must constantly view themselves as a “Benoni” and maintain the perspective that everything hangs in the balance and the very next mitzvah or sin, Chas V’Shalom, can tip that balance. Both the Tzadik and someone who struggles with their Avodas Hashem must maintain this perspective.
The pasukim allude to this concept. זֶ֣ה | יִתְּנ֗וּ כָּל- This they shall give, everyone. The Zohar (Volume I, 31a) explains that the word כָּל -everyone refers to a tzaddik. And the next words of the of the pasuk that says -הָֽעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים everyone who goes through the counting (can be translated as someone who transgresses the statutes) refers to those who are struggling with their Yiddishkeit.
Either person must give half a Shekel. The gematria of Shekel is the same as Nefesh. They need to view their souls as a half, in the middle, balancing on scale that holds everything in a delciate balance, their future and the future of the entire world.
The righteous cannot feel haughty and overly proud of their spiritual achievements and those who have had setbacks cannot beat themselves up over it. As the pasuk elaborates: The rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less. Those who are spiritually rich cannot make more of it and those who are spiritually poor should not feel less of themselves. They must all consider themselves like a Benoni.
The word Shekel is also related to the Hebrew word for “measuring”. A person must always measure themselves as half meritorious and half liable; a life that has been spent doing mitzvos half the time and transgressions the other half. There is an equilibrium and everything about our lives and our world hangs in the balance anxiously anticipating our next move. So, we must choose wisely and cling to the mitzvos and the opportunity to have ourselves and the entire world judged meritoriously as a result.
ב.
The Noam Elimelech has a different insight from these pasukim.
Pirkei Avos teaches (4:1): Who is a wealthy person? Someone who is happy with his portion. What exactly does Chazal mean by “his portion”?
The Gemara says (Chagigah 15a) that each person has two portions, one in the Gan Eden and one in Gehinnom. If he merits and behaves righteously, he takes his portion and the portion of his (wicked) peer in Gan Eden. If he behaves wickedly, he takes his portion and the portion of his peer in Gehinnom.
The Rebbe explains that a person’s true wealth is knowing that he has a unique portion set aside for him in Gan Eden. When he realizes that no one can take that away from him as long as he strives for goodness in his life, he will inevitably be filled with joy in his portion, in his wealth.
You can preserve that treasure, that portion in Gan Eden by realizing that you always have more work to do. That you must always align your behavior with Torah and mitzvos, that you must continuously try to grow in your Avodas Hashem. If you have that mentality, then that portion will be reserved for you and you alone. That is your portion. Your wealth.
Therefore, the pasuk prescribes that the rich shall give no more, and the poor shall give no less. If you are rich in Avodas Hashem, you should not let your guard down and let complacency devour your drive to grow. And if you are “poor” in your Avodas Hashem¸ you should not feel unworthy of that growth, you should not feel that Avodas Hashem is beyond your reach. Everyone gives a half-Shekel. Everyone is lacking. Everyone has room for improvement. And, everyone must grow. When you approach Avodas Hashem with that mentality, when you are motivated to grow regardless of who you have been until now, then your “half-Shekel” becomes an offering to the Hashem, to atone for your souls (ibid 15).
ג.
The Divrei Yisroel explains that these pasukim are providing guidance for the emunah we need when laboring in our livelihoods. And, the Rebbe focuses on the unique language of - כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘- When you take the sum of the children of Israel which can be literally translated as “When you lift the heads of Bnei Yisroel.” What does this mean?
When a person is crossing a river, they cannot drown if their head remains above the water. We know that Chazal (Pesachim 118a) compares earning a livelihood to Kriyas Yam Suf. The worries and struggles we have while trying to earn a living are like the turbulent fast-moving currents of a river. If we keep our heads above water, as long as we keep our minds focused on our emunah, the waters cannot consume us, we won’t become lost in the current.
It says in Tehilim (128:2), If you eat the toil of your hands, you are praiseworthy, and it is good for you. The Kotzker said that the pasuk specifies the “hands”. Our hands must toil with our parnassah, but only our hands. Our heads need to remain focused and connected to Hashem.
Emunah keeps our heads above water and allows us to overcome the challenges of the work week. Therefore, the pasuk says כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘- When you lift the heads of Bnei Yisroel.” Teach the yidden to keep their heads above the fray.
However, perhaps there is another hint to this idea within these words. When you “lift” the letters of the word רֹ֥אשׁ to the next letters in the Aleph Beis you get the word שבת. Shabbos provides perspective. It teaches us that all our work during the week is solely dependent on Hashem and His Hashgacha.
ד.
Chazal teaches that the mitzvah of giving half a Shekel was an atonement for the Eigel, sin of the golden calf, which is mentioned later in the parsha. As we know, the Torah is not in chronological order. This is an example of Hashem providing the cure before the disease, the path back to reconnection, the prescription for teshuva, before the sin.
How can we see the process of teshuva in this mitzvah?
We can once again note the unusual language of כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֘- When you lift the heads of Bnei Yisroel.” Why didn’t the Torah simply say, “count the heads…”?
Why was this census done with a half-Shekel in particular?
The Seforim HaKedoshim quote R’ Chaim Vital who taught that everyone enters this world with a very specific purpose, a tafkid, a shlichus, a mission that is theirs alone to accomplish in this world. Our neshama has a very individualized role that no other neshama can accomplish from the time of creation until the arrival of Moshiach. No two souls have the same purpose or can achieve the same tikkun.
Like spiritual fingerprints, every neshama is different with its own set of unique skills, strengths, and weaknesses. However, it is specifically within the flaws, the weaknesses, the areas where we struggle that we can truly discover our individuality, our unique path in Avodas Hashem. While we can never truly know with certainty why we are here, we can feel confident in knowing that it is within our struggles that we can find our purpose. The aspects of our Avodas Hashem that comes easily cannot define our uniqueness. In our battles, we find a path toward our inner perfection. Our victory in those difficulties is our contribution to the world’s tikkun.
However, the Yetzer Harah uses those flaws to destroy our self-worth. He wants those flaws to go left untouched, for us to question ourselves and our Avodas Hashem. He doesn’t want us to use those flaws as opportunities for growth, for change, for tikkun.
We must understand, appreciate and celebrate our individuality that is born in the struggle. We must realize that within our flaws we can create perfection and our neshama can become closer to achieving its entire purpose for being.
The yidden had just left Mitzrayim. They saw wonders and miracles. They witnessed their enemies perish by the same sea that split for them. Yet, while they stood at Har Sinai, before the Shechinah, they fell so far; they resorted back to their old habits of idol worship and built the Eigel. Such a Yeridah! How could the yidden recover? How do they find a way back to Hashem?
They needed to realize that everyone has flaws, everyone falters, and everyone has the strength and ability to rebuild their relationship with Hashem through teshuva. They could not allow despair to overpower them.
They could have “lowered” their heads in shame. But Hashem tells Moshe to “lift up the heads” of the Jewish people. Encourage them. Lift their spirits. How? The pasuk continues לִפְקֻֽדֵיהֶם֒- to their numbers. The Kedushas Levi and Bas Ayin (among other Seforim HaKedoshim) explains that the word לִפְקֻֽדֵיהֶם֒ can also mean “flaws” or “lacking” as it says ( Bamidbar 31:49) וְלֹֽא־נִפְקַ֥ד מִמֶּ֖נּוּ אִֽישׁ- and not one man was missing from us. Hashem was telling Moshe to lift the yidden’s spirits and let them know that they are counted not by their strength but specifically by their “flaws”. Hashem has nachas from the struggle. That is the truest expression of Ahavas Hashem: to stretch yourself to do Hashem’s Will when it is difficult and unnatural for you. We are counted, we matter because of our flaws and not despite them.
Therefore, the yidden gave a half-Shekel. Reminding the yidden that everyone is lacking, everyone is incomplete. When you divide the gematria of Shekel in half (a “half-Shekel” ) it equals the word הנפלים- the fallen. When you realize everyone is lacking, that even the Tzadik as his own struggles, and that those shortcomings create moments for change and tikkun then you can lift yourself up. The half-Shekel is the message to help those who have fallen. It teaches us the value of our flaws and the potential that they hold.
