Parshas Terumah-Shekalim: Not Business as Usual

“This they should give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel….” (Shemos 30:1)

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hazal say that the machatzis hashekel served as atonement for the Eigel Hazahav. How does donating such a relatively small amount of money atone for such a huge sin as the Eigel Hazahav?

A key part of the sin of the Eigel Hazahav was the fact that Bnei Yisrael kept throwing in all of their valuables (jewelry, gold, silver, etc.) for a worthless cause. Rashi explains that Aharon didn’t believe they’d actually do that, and thought he’d be able to delay the entire process if he suggested they pour their own wealth into the fire. The fact that they did so shows how dedicated they were to the cause. (Yitzchak Szyf, Torah.org)

It was a freezing Yerushalayim night, the sky an inky black, as I drove along. Suddenly the heavens opened, and sheets of water poured down, obliterating visibility. Thunder roared; lighting cracked. I shivered. It wasn’t the best setting to be driving to a levayah.

But an old friend of mine was flying in for her father’s kevurah, and although I hadn’t seen her for many years, nor had I known her father, I wanted to be there for her. Little did I know that I would be the one gaining more.

The best atonement for such a sin is to use our money properly, in our avodas Hashem. People spend money on things they’re most passionate about. The donation of the half-shekel for the purpose of purchasing public offerings in the Mishkan/Beis Hamikdash clearly signifies the importance of properly using one’s wealth for valuable causes.

Reb Ephraim, my friend’s late father, was born in Berlin and saw Hitler’s troops marching down the streets of his city. At age seven, he and his family escaped to the US, leaving behind a family business, comfort, and security. They made it out alive, but life as immigrants wasn’t easy. Parnassah was tight because his father refused to work on Shabbos. As Ephraim grew older, he helped the family’s finances by driving an ice cream truck. Still, he never had his own route, as he, too, refused to work on Shabbos.

Ephraim was one of the few boys in his hometown to make it to Rav Aharon Kotler to learn in Lakewood. Torah was his lifeline, his focus that would drive him for the rest of his life.