578. Half a Shekel – 2

February-March 1977

Concerning the matter of half a Shekel, that it should be explicitly half and not a quarter or a whole Shekel, according to what is explained in The Zohar, Shekel means Mishkal [weight], something we must weigh.

Accordingly, we should discern that Shekel means that a person must weigh his actions, to make a choice, meaning that he cannot complain that he is poor in knowledge and qualities, meaning that he was born without talents or virtues, so it is very hard for him to walk on the straight path, while his friends, who were born rich, meaning with great talents and inherent virtues, it is easier for them to sentence themselves to the side of merit.

The verse tells us about this, “The rich shall not give more.” That is, wealth does not add to him, giving him better suitability and strength to sentence to the side of merit. “And the poor shall not give less,” meaning his poverty does not deny him from making efforts to sentence to the side of merit.

Rather, concerning sentencing, everyone is equal. In other words, the Shekel—when a person weighs his actions, thoughts, and desires—is always only half, since as our sages said, “Anyone who is greater than his friend, his inclination is greater than him” (Sukkah 52).

In order to have choice, there must be an equal weight because when the two pans of the scale are equal, it can be said that he can choose. Conversely, if there is more and less, it is impossible to speak of deciding. This is as our sages said, “One should always see oneself as half guilty and half innocent” (Kidushin 40), for only then can we speak of deciding.

This is the meaning of “explicitly a half Shekel.” It comes to teach us that one always has only half, since when he has a little bit of good, he has a little bit of bad. And when he has a lot of good, opposite that he has a lot of bad. This is the meaning of “God has made them one opposite the other.”