Glossary of Terms Used in the Ki Tissa Weekly Torah Portion

Half a Shekel

“Half a shekel” is the condition that we set for ourselves under our own scrutiny and correction, so as never to come to a state of drawing lights for ourselves from above downward, but to always receive lights from below upward, in rejection. This is how we discover Ein Sof (infinity).

The problem is that when we constantly draw to ourselves, we can only see the layer closest to us, known as “this world.” All that stands behind this layer is worlds, Ein Sof, eternity, wholeness, that are hidden and cut off from us. If we perceive reality not by drawing to ourselves but by exiting ourselves, we will suddenly discover Ein Sof.

Is it we who determine the half shekel?

Without the half shekel, we cannot begin to work with the Torah. Each of us must give the half shekel. We must set ourselves up in such a way that from this moment on, our instrument for the revelation of Godliness will be the half shekel—balance, only giving, and in as much equivalence of form as possible.

The Golden Calf

The “golden calf” is all the Zahav (gold), meaning Ze Hav (give this). It is the whole of the immense will to receive that exists within us for all the pleasures. All our desires exist simultaneously.

Stiff-Necked People

We work with the revelation of our egoistic desires and therefore constantly return to them. The back of the neck is like Pharaoh, the posterior side of Creation. When the big will to receive appears, it actually helps us.

“Stiff-necked people” are not necessarily bad; we have huge Kelim with which we can attain godliness. A person with small desires does not belong to Israel; Israel must be very egoistic. The nations of the world, however, have small Kelim, and therefore cannot obtain Godliness. The people of Israel are called a “stiff-necked people,” meaning we have something with which to progress, something to correct and work with.