Devar/5771/Ki Tisa
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עברית
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When you take the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them (Ex 30:12)
The Torah forbade us counting the Children of Israel by means of a direct census. That is to say, it is forbidden to count them one by one directly; rather they are to by counted by means of another object. And in continuation it says: This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (ibid 13). They are counted by their giving over a half-shekel each, but not by direct counting. The natural question is: why is the Torah so strict about this?
People tend to count their possessions. How many coins do I have? How many plates, how many books? But no Jew is considered a "possession" of his fellow, rather For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt (Lev 25:55). That is to say that nobody "owns" his fellow, initially -- because they are all servants of God, may He be blessed, and only He has permission to count His possessions.
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel (ibid 15). The amount given is not a reflection of the worth of the one counted, but rather a sign to recall that he "passed under the staff". Perhaps it also hints that a person's value is not contained in the abundance of his possessions, but rather in the sort of person he is, and in his good deeds. And for that reason he gives a ransom for his soul -- because a person's soul is his only true possession, that which he enriches in this world by fulfilling His commandments, and reaps the reward in the world to come.
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