parshat Shkalim

We see all different purposes for the donation of Machatzit Hasekel. Why is a half­-shekel the currency of choice for all of these various purposes?

The six p’sukim of our maftir, known as Parashat Shekalim (Shemot 30:11-16), combine so many separate concepts that at first appear as referring to the same thing that it is difficult to keep things straight. At the center of it all, though, is the half-shekel coin. Let us see what it is apparently connected to.

The parallel and connection between the four Parshiot, the four cups of the Seder, and the four expressions of redemption.

The Sin of the Golden Calf is rectified by the communal service in the Holy Temple. This is achieved via the precept of the half-shekel offering, which ascends in the form of a united Jewish people and is transformed into a “coin of fire under God’s Throne of Glory.”