Parshas Shekalim

1. Holding Their Heads High. Commenting1 on the passage concerning [the annual contribution of a half-shekel2 to the treasury of the Mishkan and later of the Beis HaMikdash], we find a puzzling teaching of the Midrash:3

When Moshe Rabbeinu [was taught] the passage concerning shekalim,4 he said to the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe! After I die, I will not be remembered.” Replied the Holy One, blessed be He: “By your life I swear that just as now you stand and give them this passage concerning the shekalim, and you make them hold their heads high, so, too, when year after year they read this passage before Me, it will be as if you stand there at that time and make them hold their heads high.”

What is the source of this assurance? The source is what they read in that passage:5 “And G‑d spoke to Moshe, saying, ‘When you will raise up the heads6 [of the Children of Israel]....’ The verse does not say, “Raise up the heads of the Children of Israel”; it says, “When you will raise up the heads of the Children of Israel.”

That is to say: The fact that the subject is expressed not as a command (Raise up), but in the future tense (When you will raise up), hints at a raising up of heads in the future, year after year, by Moshe — by the “extension of Moshe in every generation.”7

This is somewhat puzzling.8 Why specifically at this juncture, at Parshas Shekalim, did Moshe ask G‑d what would be in later generations (“after I die”), whereas he had never asked this question when taught all the earlier passages?

2. Giving a Coin of Fire. The answer will become apparent after we examine the spiritual content of this mitzvah: “Each man shall give a ransom for his soul.... This is what they shall give...: a half-shekel.... The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than a half-shekel....”9

On the phrase, “This is what they shall give,” the Sages teach:10 “The Holy One, blessed be He, took out a kind of coin of fire... and showed it to Moshe and said, ‘This is what they shall give.’”

Why did G‑d have to show Moshe a coin of fire? In explanation, Tosafos writes11 that Moshe “wondered about this [command]: What could a man possibly give as a ransom for his soul?”

At first sight, this answer appears to be problematic:12 How was Moshe’s wonderment satisfied by being shown a coin of fire?

This may be explained as follows:13 By showing Moshe a coin of fire, G‑d showed him that every Jew’s half-shekel coin was itself a coin of fire, for it was given with lively ardor, with the fire of the essence of the soul.. Some words are missing at this point in the original notes. This is why the half-shekel coin could serve as “a ransom for his soul,” whereby every Jew gave the very essence of his soul14 — not only [its lower, revealed levels, namely,] nefesh, ruach and neshamah, but even the [latent and transcendent] yechidah of his soul.

3. From Rich and Poor Alike. The above concept enables us to understand why it was stipulated that “the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than a half-shekel.”

This verse as it stands prompts a question. It must be speaking of being rich or poor in this regard [i.e., with regard to the spiritual meaning of the contribution], for [once we have been told that everyone has to contribute a half-shekel] there is surely no need to add that the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less. So if the verse is in fact speaking of being rich or poor in this regard [i.e., with regard to the spiritual meaning of the contribution], why should the rich in this regard not give more, and why should the poor in this regard not give less?

The explanation is that a difference between rich and poor can exist only in the soul’s revealed faculties.15 As far as the essence of the soul, the yechidah, is concerned, rich and poor are equal: the poor does not possess less and the rich does not possess more. This parallels the physical realm. There, the difference between strong and weak exists only in their revealed faculties. As far as their comprehensive vitality is concerned, strong and weak are equal: the weak, too, is alive, and the strong is no more than alive.

Thus, since the half-shekel was a “ransom for the soul,” whereby every Jew gave the essence of his soul,16 it was given in such a way that “the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less.”

4. Igniting the Nucleus. We can now understand why specifically the passage concerning the shekalim is linked to Moshe.

If the contribution of the half-shekel is to spring from the essence of the soul, as a “ransom for the soul,” there must be action on the part of Moshe (to whom are addressed the words, “When you will raise up the heads of the Children of Israel”) — because it is specifically Moshe who is able to arouse the yechidah within the soul, and thereby to “raise up the heads of the Children of Israel.”

This explains why it was specifically at Parshas Shekalim that Moshe asked G‑d what would be in later generations (“after I die”), for to enable a Jew to give “a ransom for his soul,” the essence of his soul, there must be action on the part of Moshe.

And this is the significance of G‑d’s above-quoted answer: “The verse does not say, ‘Raise up the heads of the Children of Israel’; it says, ‘When you will raise up the heads of the Children of Israel.’” The future tense intimates that “just as now you stand and give them this passage concerning the shekalim, and you make them hold their heads high, so, too, when year after year they read this passage before Me, it will be as if you stand there at that time and make them hold their heads high.” That is to say: When the Jewish people read Parshas Shekalim every year with the fire of ever-new vitality (in the words of the Sages,17 “Regard [the mitzvos] every day as if commanded anew”), the heads of the Jewish people are raised up by the extension of Moshe in their generation, who rouses the quintessential yechidah within their souls.

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5. A Maamar. [At this point in the farbrengen, the Rebbe delivered the maamar beginning with the words, Ki Sisa es Rosh Bnei Yisrael.18 ]

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6. The Faith of a Jew. The maamarim based on Parshas Ki Sisa that were delivered by our forebears, the respective Rebbeim — the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Maharash, the Rebbe Rashab, and my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz — all discuss the subjects that are dealt with in the above maamar, such as the function of Moshe, who nurtures19 and nourishes the Jewish people’s faith, which relates primarily to the level of Divinity that transcends all worlds.20

The maamar pointed out the distinctive quality of the faith of the Jewish people vis-à-vis the faith of the other nations. They are not forbidden to believe in divine multiplicity21 because their spiritual source is [G‑d’s] speech, which is characterized by division;22 hence their concept of divinity allows for division. To this one might add that in one of the maamarim of the Rebbe Rashab23 (which was also delivered by my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz]), it is stated that angels, too, come into being through [G‑d’s] speech. [The Rebbe added with a smile:] — though that discussion makes no mention of belief in a composite divinity....

The question arises: How is it possible to even raise this issue — regarding compound divinity — when speaking of angels?

While I was studying this maamar, an explanation came to mind.

The Sages explain why the angels were created on the second day and not on the first, as follows:24 “Nothing was created on the first day, so that you should not say, ‘[The archangel] Michael stretched out the southern end of the sky, [the archangel] Gavriel did the same at the north, and G‑d laid it out in the middle.’ Rather, as the verse says,25 ‘I am G‑d, Who makes all things, Who stretches out the Heavens alone, Who spreads forth the earth, Myself.’ [The word that is translated here as ‘Myself,’ and is pronounced me’iti (מאתי), is spelled in the written Masoretic text as if comprising two words, mi iti (מי אתי), which means,] ‘Who was with Me?’ That is to say: ‘Who was a partner with Me when I created the universe?’”26

In view of the above Midrash, the very fact that the creation of angels on the first day could have brought about a thought of compound divinity suggests that angels do have some kind of relation to that subject. Otherwise, how could their creation arouse such a thought?27

This returns us to our earlier question: Is it not unthinkable that a context concerning angels should leave room for the possible error of divine multiplicity?

The answer is to be found in the above maamar — that the spiritual source of angels is [G‑d’s] speech, and speech is characterized by division, as explained above.28

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7. A Burglar’s Prayer. As was discussed earlier,29 there is a need for Moshe to actively nurture the Jewish people’s faith, because faith is a transcendent faculty.30 This is what makes possible the paradox whereby “the burglar, at the entrance to his tunnel, calls out to G‑d.”31 This function of Moshe is needed universally, because every individual can detect this paradox within himself, at least at a subtle level. For example: A businessman may prosper and be very charitable, but then, when things are less rosy, he tries to contrive ways of cutting corners, forgetting that the success of his dealings depends on the generosity with which he disburses charity.

In this light we can better understand a concept discussed at the beginning of the maamar on the verse,32 Smolo Tachas LeRoshi ViYemino Techabkeini, that appears in Torah Or, at the beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa — though some of the connecting links are missing from that text.33

(My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], once related34 that sometimes, when the Alter Rebbe was delivering chassidic discourses,35 he was in such ecstatic rapture36 that he would roll on the floor and meanwhile continue to deliver his maamar. The head chozer,37 Reb Pinchas Reizes,38 eager to hear the continuation of the maamar, would roll along after him. It seems that when this maamar was being delivered, either Reb Pinchas was not present, or he simply didn’t manage to keep up with the Alter Rebbe....)

At any rate, in that maamar it is written that “it is G‑d’s way with the Children of Israel, ‘the people close to Him,’39 that when a severe judgmental thrust40 is aroused in the Heavenly Court as a result of mortal actions, He becomes their savior..., for His ‘left hand’ does not express utter repulsion (G‑d forbid); rather, it serves as ‘the right hand that lovingly brings near.’41 And this is the meaning of the phrase, viyemino techabkeini — ‘His right hand embraces me.’”

The question arises: How can one possibly err and think that “the right hand that lovingly brings near” is really “the left hand that repels”?

We can understand this in the light of the explanation in the above-quoted maamar — that when one observes an obstacle in the path of his business success and may possibly perceive it as “the left hand that repels,” he should realize that this challenge is really “the right hand that lovingly brings near.”

8. The Righthanded Left Hand. To explain: We learn in the Midrash42 that “when Yaakov and Eisav were in their mother’s womb, Yaakov said to Eisav: ‘Brother! Before us are two worlds, This World and the World to Come.... If you so desire, you take This World and I will take the World to Come....’ Eisav thereupon took This World as his share, and Yaakov, as his share, took the World to Come. In due course, when Yaakov came from the house of Lavan and Eisav saw that Yaakov had sons and daughters, menservants and maidservants, he said: ‘Brother Yaakov! Didn’t you tell me that you would take the World to Come and I would take This World? From where did all this property come to you?”

Now, what is the real reason for which any Jew — like his prototype, Yaakov — is given materiality,43 the things of This World? It is only for the sake of spirituality,44 the World to Come. He is given materiality for two reasons: (a) so that he will be able to devote himself to Torah study and the service of G‑d, undisturbed by financial worries;45 and (b) so that he will transform the materiality itself into spirituality,46 by giving charity.47

Accordingly, if a Jew realizes that G‑d prospered his business affairs for the sake of their spiritual purpose, then as soon as he observes that something is hampering his success he understands plainly and simply that the solution is not to contrive ways of cutting corners, but to fortify his endeavors in Torah study, Divine service, charity, and so on.422

Or, to restate this concept in the terms used by the above-quoted maamar in Torah Or: When someone’s business success is withheld, this does not mean that he is being repelled by [the Divine attribute of judgmental severity that derives from] the left vector,48 whereby “His left hand is under my head”; the individual concerned is not being distanced from G‑d, even temporarily. Quite the contrary: by means of his present financial setback, he is being brought near to G‑d by [the Divine attribute of benevolence that derives from] the right vector,49 whereby “His right hand embraces me.” In truth, by withholding financial success from him, G‑d “becomes his savior”50 — for in response to this setback, he will no doubt be aroused to increase his efforts in Torah study, Divine service, and charity. And then, as a matter of course, G‑d’s blessings to him will likewise increase, in material matters, too.

And just as this sequence applies with regard to one’s “ample sustenance,”51 so does it apply with regard to matters of health. When good health is withheld from a person, G‑d forbid, he should recognize that he is not being repelled by [the Divine attribute of judgmental severity that derives from] the left vector, but here, too, it is “His right hand [that] embraces me.”

Likewise with regard to being blessed with children. Those who received a blessing from the Rebbe [Rayatz] for “healthy and viable children”52 and are still waiting for the fulfillment of that blessing, which was already on the way but was suddenly interrupted, should know that they are not (G‑d forbid) being distanced, even temporarily. Rather, G‑d will be their savior, and in due course they themselves will see that the delay itself was an expression of “His right hand [that] embraces me.”

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9. The Mishkan. [Atthispointinthefarbrengentherewasa discussion ofthe passages on the fashioning of the Mishkan and its utensils, which first appear in the weekly readings of Terumah and Tetzaveh and then are repeated in the weekly readings of Vayakhel and Pekudei.53 This discussion, which the Rebbe edited for publication, appears in full in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 1, p. 195ff.,54 and in summary form in the Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh, letter #930, Heb. Vol. 4, p. 190ff.]

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10. HiddenLinks. Sections 3 and 4 above spoke of the yechidah within the soul, the innermost essence of the soul, which transcends the distinction between “rich” and “poor,” for this distinction applies only to the revealed [i.e., external] levels of the soul. And it is specifically Moshe who can reveal this innermost essence and cause it to surface.

Likewise, it was explained earlier55 that the faith that Jews have in the most essential aspect of the Infinite One, blessed be He, is brought forth and revealed specifically by Moshe. True, this faith is ours as an inheritance from Avraham Avinu, and it is by virtue of this heritage that Jews are called “believers, the sons of believers.”56 Nevertheless, it is specifically by Moshe that this faith is summoned forth and revealed in the deepest point of their souls.. In the original, bipnimiyus.

As is explained elsewhere,57 this distinction accords with the classic contrast between Avraham and Moshe. On the verse in which Avraham is called by name [at the Binding of Yitzchak],58 “the cantillation symbols dictate a pause between the two successive mentions of his name.”. Zohar III, 138a (in Idra Rabbah). This indicates that there is a difference between the pristine spiritual level of Avraham when his soul was still in the World of Atzilus, and his spiritual level after his soul descended to the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. By contrast, on the verse in which Moshe is called by name [at the Burning Bush],59 “the cantillation symbols do not dictate a pause between the two successive mentions of his name.”469 This indicates that even after his soul descended to the Worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, he remained as he had been in the World of Atzilus.60 And for this reason it is specifically through Moshe that the faith that Jews have in the very Essence of the Infinite One, blessed be He, is aroused in the deepest point of their souls.466

To restate this in greater detail: The Zohar teaches61 that “there are three that are bound to each other — the Holy One, blessed be He; the Torah; and the Jewish people — and each of them has a hidden dimension and a revealed one.” As is explained in the teachings of Chassidus,62 the revealed dimension of the Jewish people bonds with the revealed dimension of the Torah, and thereby bonds also with the revealed dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He. And the hidden dimension of the Jewish people bonds with the hidden dimension of the Torah, and thereby bonds also with the hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He.

All this is accomplished through Moshe — because it is he who reveals and calls forth the essence of the soul, the yechidah within the soul, which is the hidden dimension of the Jewish people. This bonds with the hidden dimension of the Torah, the pnimiyus of the Torah [i.e., Chassidus], and thereby bonds also with the hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He — the innermost Essence of the Infinite One, blessed be He.63

11. No Mere Extension. From the above we can appreciate the necessity of cultivating a spiritual bond64 with the Rebbe [Rayatz] — the Moshe of our generation, [for there is] “an extension of Moshe in every generation.”328 (True, the term used [in the Zohar] is merely “an extension of Moshe.”65 However, since we are speaking of a person [of consummate spiritual integrity], who is wholly essence,66 to him applies the principle that “when you grasp part of an etzem, you have grasped it all.”67 Hence, even the extension of Moshe in any generation includes the entire essence of Moshe.)

And when one is bound to the Rebbe — the Moshe of the generation, who embodies the entire essence of Moshe — the Rebbe binds the deepest, hidden dimension of one’s soul, by means of the deepest, hidden dimension of the Torah, with the deepest, hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He.

All Jews should therefore know that by fulfilling the Torah and its commandments alone, without being bound to the Rebbe, and without studying the innermost dimension of the Torah that has been revealed by the Rebbeim of their respective generations, one can indeed attain the loftiest levels of holiness — but one will lack the bond between the essence of his soul and the very Essence of the Infinite One, blessed be He.68 There must be a bond with the Rebbe — the Moshe of the generation, who embodies the entire essence of Moshe — who connects the hidden dimension of a Jew, that is, the essence of his soul, with the hidden dimension of the Torah, that is, the innermost dimension (the pnimiyus) of the Torah that has been revealed by the Rebbeim, and through that, with the deepest, hidden dimension of the Holy One, blessed be He.

12. Eliciting Material Blessings. Just as the above concept applies in spiritual matters — that the essence of the soul is called forth by the Rebbe, the Moshe of the generation — so too in material matters.

With regard to one’s basic, essential vitality — which transcends distinctions of strong and weak, for the differences between them apply only to their outward faculties69 — it is specifically through the Rebbe, the Moshe of the generation, that this vitality becomes revealed and is elicited. In the stage at which one’s essential vitality is diffused, if it is not only dormant but even malfunctioning one can consult a physician, and he can help, whereas with regard to one’s basic, essential vitality, he cannot. In such a case one must consult the Rebbe, the Moshe of the generation, who embodies the entire essence of Moshe, and he can elicit essential vitality, too.

Accordingly, a physician may even hold that a certain individual cannot survive (G‑d forbid), but when it comes to one’s basic, essential vitality the doctor is not the ruling authority; the Rebbe, the Moshe of the generation, can elicit essential vitality.

13. A Spiritual Bond. Even merely talking about cultivating a spiritual bond with the Rebbe is productive — in the spirit of the verse,70 “We will render the prayer of our lips in place of the sacrifice of oxen.”422

[The Rebbe concluded:] May G‑d grant that we will not need this [virtual kind of substitute], but that the Rebbe himself — the Rebbe Shlita71 — will lead us to greet our righteous Mashiach.

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[14.]At a certain point in the course of the above farbrengen, the Rebbe said: My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], once told the story72 of an unnamed chassid who was on his lone way home after a farbrengen with his chassidic comrades. They had spent a long evening internalizing the concept that all existent entities are created from nothing, yesh mei’ayin; hence, everything in the world, vis-à-vis its Creator, ought to be in a state of bittul — in utter unconsciousness of self. Indeed, by that time of night, this chassid had attained such a state of bittul that no trace of ego remained.

Suddenly, while he was on his way home in the dark, he was accosted by a gentile policeman who called out: “Who goes there?”

The chassid was quick to identify himself: “Here goes bittul!”