On the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh Adar, we read an additional portion of the Torah about the half-shekel tax.1 After the Exodus, the half-shekel collection was a way to count the people as well as an atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. In later generations, the monies collected from the half shekel tax were used to buy animals for the communal offerings. Contributing to the tax gave people a share in the offerings and a means for atonement.

The Mishnah writes: “On the first of Adar, the court announces the collection of [half] shekels. And they also proclaim regarding the obligation to uproot forbidden mixtures of diverse kinds of food crops in gardens and fields.”2

What is the connection between the half-shekel tax and kilayim, the prohibition of forbidden mixtures? Why does the Mishnah lump the two together?

Simply put, they are both timely. Animals for the sacrifices were generally purchased in the month of Nissan. As Adar is one month before Nissan, the people were being given one month’s notice. It was also the beginning of the growing season, when one could discern whether one’s fields and orchards were growing mixed species. Hence, both were announced on Rosh Chodesh Adar.

Now, let’s go a little deeper. When it came to shekalim there was a certain equality at play. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.”3 It made no difference what one could afford to give; rich or poor, everyone gave the same half-shekel, indicating that we all have the same inherent worth.

But then there’s kilayim, the prohibition against growing different species together. Apparently, we are not one and the same. Differences do exist, and we should not blur the lines between things that are inherently diverse.

The United States Declaration of Independence contains those memorable words penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1776: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I cannot imagine that anyone would take issue with these noble sentiments, but while we all may be created equal, are we all the same? Clearly not.

While shekalim preaches unity, kilayim teaches diversity. Yes, we should treat all people with equal respect, compassion, and dignity, but we can still acknowledge the differences between us. The unity of the half-shekel contributed by everyone equally is offset and counterbalanced by the unique nature of each individual.

In the Havdalah prayer recited after Shabbat, we speak of some of these differences. “Blessed be G‑d … Who distinguishes between the sacred and the mundane, between light and darkness, and between Israel and the nations.”

Confusing light with darkness, the holy with the ordinary, and Judaism with other ideologies is neither wise nor honest.

Blurring the lines of Jewish identity risks diluting the very thing that makes us Jewish. We must be warm, loving, and accommodating to all, but that doesn’t mean that everything is the same for everyone. All things to all people usually boils down to no things for no people.

Making believe we are all the same may sound noble, but in the end, it only obfuscates and muddles our unique, respective realities.

Shekalim and Kilayim appear together in the same Mishnah to remind us that while we are indeed all equal, we are, in fact, not all the same. And both approaches are true and necessary.

Does it seem to be contradictory? It may well. But this is the reality of life. You know the line about the teacher who told his student, “You are unique! Just like everyone else in this class.” And both are absolutely true.

Long ago, the Talmud taught us, “Just as no two faces are identical so, too, are no two mindsets identical.” 4 We don’t have to be the same, act the same, earn the same, or think the same in order to love and respect one another. We may be very different from each other, but we each have our own unique and distinctively different characters and life missions to fulfill. May our individuality shine through and, together, may we all get the job done to bring the world to its ultimate fulfillment.