Welcome To My Kosher Home

   As Jews we are constantly praying for and anticipating the rebuilding our Beit Hamikdash so that we will, once again, have the opportunity to serve God the same way that our ancestors did before we were exiled. Ever mindful of human nature, the Rabbis instituted many halachot and customs designed to safeguard the memory of certain mitzvot and to keep them fresh in our minds during these long years in galus. One such safeguard instituted by the Rabbis was the reading of four special Torah portions on each of the four Shabbatot leading up to the month of Nissan and Pesach. These so called “arbah parashiot”, which are read from an additional Sefer Torah, refer to certain of the special mitzvot which we no longer can perform but which historically were performed at this time of year.

    In parshat shekalim we learn about the mitzvah incumbent on all Jewish males from the age of twenty to sixty to bring a machtzit hashekel, a half shekel coin, to the treasury of the Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash. These coins were brought into the treasury of the Beit Hamikdash and were used to fund the various items necessary for the performance of the daily sacrifices such as the korban tamid, the korban mussaf and the wood and salt for the altar throughout the year. The Sefer Hachinuch writes that the purpose of this mitzvah is to give equally to all of Bnei Yisrael the opportunity and merit of bringing these korbanot. It’s for this reason that everyone had to bring exactly half a shekel, no more and no less, so that every person, regardless of his wealth, or lack thereof, had an equal share in the mitzvah. Our rabbis also teach us another important lesson from the machtzit hashekel, namely, that Bnei Yisrael is one unit. There is no Jew who stands alone and complete unto himself without the need for another. Rather, every Jew needs someone else in order to be complete.

    The Gemara relates that each Nissan only the funds collected for the new year would be used to fund that year’s korbanot. Any moneys left over from the previous year were used for different purposes. This, therefore, necessitated that all funds be collected by the beginning of the month of Nissan. In the time of the Beit Hamikdash, messengers were sent out on the first of Adar, a month before, to remind the people to bring their coins to the representatives of the Beit Hamikdash. This gave the people a full month to turn in machtzit hashekel.

    Today, in the absence of the Beit Hamikdash, we can’t perform this mitzvah. So you see, in order that the mitzvah of the machtzit hashekel not be forgotten, our rabbis instituted this practice whereby we take out an additional Sefer Torah and read about it. They established the time for this to coincide with the exact same time of year that the messengers would start announcing to the nation that they should bring their machtzit hashekel, namely on or before Rosh Chodesh Adar. May the merit of our remembering this mitzvah bring us to its actual performance when the Beit Hamikdash will be rebuilt – may it be speedily and in our days.