Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

"The rich shall give no more and the poor no less than half a shekel…." (30, 15)

Half and not whole

We must know that the fact that Moshe was commanded to collect from the Children of Israel half a shekel and not a whole shekel entails great intention, for thereby the Torah comes to tell every person in Israel that a person never reaches perfection when he is by himself; it is only after he has joined with another Jew. Therefore, when each one of the Children of Israel gave only half a shekel in the census done by Moshe, two contributions of two people added up to one whole shekel.

Moreover, no one in Israel ever knew who had joined his half shekel and had made it into a whole. This teaches us that even the simplest Jew has the power to complement even the greatest person in Israel.

As it says in "Ahavat Yonatan": "… the reason they gave half a shekel and were not to give more is so that a person should not think wrongly that he does not need other people; rather, all Jews need one another and a person alone is nothing.

It was also half a shekel to teach that a person also has no worth unless he joins to another half a shekel. Therefore, they gave "every one that passed over to the counted ones, half a shekel" to teach us that all Jews should be one group and "the rich shall give no more"".

Shabbat Shalom!!

Mayer Sasson