Purim thoughts
I am working from memory, which is why I am not providing source citations. Unfortunately, there was levaya in town today. In his hesped, the rabbi of the shul mentioned the machatzit hashekel that was given equally by all. So I thought of Chazal's comment on Haman's chagrin when he realized that the machatzit hashekel given collectively by Klal Yisrael outweighed all the silver he offered the king in return for the lives of all the Jews.
The half shkalim all connect together in way that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. It is the same with the entity that is Klal Yisrael. Mordechai's name alludes to the morr dachya, a component of the ketores that is actually foul on its own but blends in with the other spices to produce a pleasing fragrance. So, too, even the unworthy among the Jews contribute to the people as whole and so can be counted among Klal Yisrael. Purim is the celebration of the second acceptance of the Torah. The MaHaRaL says that the Torah was not given to 600,000 plus separate souls but the single entity of klal Yisrael. (You can look forward to a piece that makes a somewhat parallel observation on the Jews' deliverance at the Yam Suf written by Rabbi Chaim Brown for the spring issue of Kallah Magazine.) So, too, at Purim, all the Jews came together to achieve the type of unity required for the acceptance of Torah, and kiyumu vekiblu.
This acceptance was considered even greater than the first, which may have been only intended to encompass Torah shebichtab and not sheba'al peh and had an element of duress implied in Chazal interpretation of the people standing at the foot of or under the mountain.
Further thoughts on the greatness of the machatzis hashekel: It struck me as ironic that shuls, yeshivas, and such rely on the base middos of kavod and kina to stimulate people to donate. Think of the listings of names of donors; the biggest donrs have the most prominent position, and the smallest donors get mentioned at the bottom of the list. So those who want pride of place will give more. But there is no such hierarchy for the machatzis hashekel, which functions as the ultimate equalizer.
Whether you are rich or poor, proud or humble, you give the same amount and cannot get any greater recognition than your neighbor. So it is fitting that such a pure form of donation, unblemished by self-aggrandizement or jealousy, would be the saving force for the Jews. Haman was completely motivated by kina and kavod, as we see from his self-promotion and his inability to tolerate anyone not giving him the form of recognition he believed to be his due. He had the position and the wealth that should have made all his aspirations come true. But the Jews, bound together with no self-serving motive or jealousy, together, triumphed over his machinations. The half shekel, and all it representes, is a key to Jewish victory.
The half shkalim all connect together in way that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. It is the same with the entity that is Klal Yisrael. Mordechai's name alludes to the morr dachya, a component of the ketores that is actually foul on its own but blends in with the other spices to produce a pleasing fragrance. So, too, even the unworthy among the Jews contribute to the people as whole and so can be counted among Klal Yisrael. Purim is the celebration of the second acceptance of the Torah. The MaHaRaL says that the Torah was not given to 600,000 plus separate souls but the single entity of klal Yisrael. (You can look forward to a piece that makes a somewhat parallel observation on the Jews' deliverance at the Yam Suf written by Rabbi Chaim Brown for the spring issue of Kallah Magazine.) So, too, at Purim, all the Jews came together to achieve the type of unity required for the acceptance of Torah, and kiyumu vekiblu.
This acceptance was considered even greater than the first, which may have been only intended to encompass Torah shebichtab and not sheba'al peh and had an element of duress implied in Chazal interpretation of the people standing at the foot of or under the mountain.
Further thoughts on the greatness of the machatzis hashekel: It struck me as ironic that shuls, yeshivas, and such rely on the base middos of kavod and kina to stimulate people to donate. Think of the listings of names of donors; the biggest donrs have the most prominent position, and the smallest donors get mentioned at the bottom of the list. So those who want pride of place will give more. But there is no such hierarchy for the machatzis hashekel, which functions as the ultimate equalizer.
Whether you are rich or poor, proud or humble, you give the same amount and cannot get any greater recognition than your neighbor. So it is fitting that such a pure form of donation, unblemished by self-aggrandizement or jealousy, would be the saving force for the Jews. Haman was completely motivated by kina and kavod, as we see from his self-promotion and his inability to tolerate anyone not giving him the form of recognition he believed to be his due. He had the position and the wealth that should have made all his aspirations come true. But the Jews, bound together with no self-serving motive or jealousy, together, triumphed over his machinations. The half shekel, and all it representes, is a key to Jewish victory.
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