Our Shekalim vs. Haman's Shekalim

It was known to Hashem that Haman would one day pay Shekalim for [the annihilation of] the Bnai Yisroel, so He made sure that the yearly Shekalim given by the Jews would precede those of Haman, as it says in the Mishnah (Shekalim 1:1), "On the first of Adar, the announcement to give the yearly Shekalim was issued."

(Gemara Megillah 13b)

The Aggadah quoted above suggests that Hashem intentionally arranged that the date for the collection of these Shekalim be the beginning of Adar. These Shekalim were the "antidote" to Haman's Shekalim, which were paid to King Achashverosh in order to arrange the killing of the Jews on the *thirteenth* of Adar (Esther 3:9). The merit of the yearly collection of Shekalim for the Korbanot, which customarily began two weeks before that date, protected the Jews from Haman's evil decree. This is probably the source for the custom of donating a half dollar (or half of whatever currency is used in one's particular country) to charity, on the day before Purim as a remembrance for the half Shekels donated to the Temple. It was the merit of those donations that brought about the miracle of Purim, so it is appropriate to remember them at the onset of Purim.

For some reason, the Mitzvah of giving the half Shekel is seen by Chazal [=our Rabbis] as a way of neutralizing, or offsetting, the damage caused by Haman's Shekalim. What is the connection between the two matters -- how can it be understood that our Shekalim acted as an atonement for Haman's?

"There is a people that is known to be one people -- that is, a unified people (see II Shmuel 7:23: "Who is like Your people Israel, one nation on earth?") -- that is now, however, scattered and divided up throughout all the nations. For this reason, it is not worthwhile for the King -- Hashem -- to let them be!"

Haman was trying to convince Achashverosh that there would be no Divine protection afforded the Jews. Because of the lack of unity among the Jews Hashem would no longer be interested in preserving them. Thus, argued Haman, this would be the perfect opportunity to attempt to annihilate the Jews! According to this reading, the sin that almost caused the greatest holocaust of Jewish history was the lack of harmony and love among Jews. When the Jews show a lack of unity, they lose their usual Divine protection. The first ones to take advantage of this weakness are always the Amalekites (from whom Haman descended).

In Devarim 25:18 we read that when the Amalekites attacked the Jews shortly after their exodus from Egypt, the Amalekites "cut down all the stragglers in the [Bnai Yisroel's] rear." Rashi explains that this reference is to people who were (because of their unworthiness) expelled from the protective "tent" of the Clouds of Glory. The people who had lost their unity with the rest of the nation, the ones who were separated from the camp of the Bnai Yisroel, were the ones to fall prey to Amalek.

Similarly, as Kli Yakar points out, immediately preceding the first account of Amalek's attack on the B'nai Yisrael (Sh'mot 17:7), we read: "They called that place Massa (provoking) and Meriva (quarrel), after the quarrel of the B'nai Yisrael and their provoking of Hashem." Once again we see that it is when the Jews show the trait of divisiveness and lack of unity (such as through quarreling) that they become prey to Amalek's aggressiveness.

The Malbim (c. 1900) explains that as long as the B'nai Yisrael are united in one cohesive group, their collective group merit is very great. But when the people are counted, and a stress is laid upon the *individual* identity of each person, this merit is no longer in effect. In order to offset the danger that this would pose, the half Shekel was given as an atonement. The giving of *half* a Shekel, he explains, is to have each person realize that he is not a "complete" person without the association of his fellow Jews. His power comes not from remaining an individual, but from being a part of the whole.

We may add that the half Shekel donations of both the census and the yearly Temple dues, reflect this theme of unity in a number of ways. The Torah is quite insistent that the amount given by the people be equal for all: "The rich man shall not give more, and the poor man shall not give less, than half a Shekel" (ibid. v. 9). The giving of the half Shekel was the great equalizer. It was the Mitzvah that, more than any other, stressed the unity and cohesiveness of the Bnai Yisroel.

This theme is seen further when we contemplate how the Shekalim were used. As mentioned before, they were used to buy supplies for the public sacrifices of the Temple. The Midrash (Pesikta Rabbati 10) comments, "The public sacrifices were bought with the Shekalim of all of Israel, in order that all of Israel may be partners in these sacrifices." Again we see the concept of the Shekel being the factor that unites all of Israel as one people.

Now we can understand how the Mitzvah of the half Shekel was interpreted by the Gemara as a neutralization of Haman's evil plans. Haman's entire "sales pitch" was based on the fact that the Jews were not entitled to Divine protection anymore as a result of their disunity. The Shekalim, which were collected two weeks before Purim, showed that Israel *did* inherently possess the trait of unity, even if they occasionally slacked from it. Therefore, they were worthy of Hashem's protection from the diabolical scheming of Amalek!

Similarly, when Haman's plan was eventually foiled, Mordechai sent messages to all the Jews in the Persian Empire, telling them to "*congregate* [L'Hikahel] and protect themselves." They would conquer their enemies only through joining forces with each other, and showing their unity. And that is just what the Jews did (Esther 9:2,15)!

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that we commemorate the Purim salvation by "sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor" (Esther 9:22). Through the tribulations of Purim, we learned the importance of unity. Until today we take advantage of the Purim holiday, using it for strengthening our Achdut [=oneness]!