Timeless Torah

After this week’s customary reading of the Biblical portion, there will be an additional Torah scroll that is unfurled. It is from this second Sefer Torah that we will hear of the ancient requirement that every Israelite was to contribute a half-shekel as “a ransom for his soul”. This mandated donation atoned for the sin of the Golden Calf. In actual practice, the collected monies were used to acquire the public offerings brought upon the Altar and also for the upkeep of the Temple itself.

This special Maftir reading has even entered into the language, and therefore the consciousness, of our people. That is the reason why synagogue-going Jews refer to this weekend as Shabbos Shekolim.

This intimate association of Shabbos and Shekolim may seem strange and invite the accusation by the purist that Judaism is a merchant’s religion. Could we imagine that the indiscriminate mingling of sacred and secular would not expose us to criticism? However appealing such a charge would be, an honest analysis would reveal this to be a misguided attack. In proclaiming Shabbos Shekalim, our intent is not to honor money but to define it.

Our first observation gleaned from this Biblical passage is that a religious evaluation of wealth is based on the Divine law that financial resources need to be shared with the public. Thus wealth is never personal, it is a social contract that binds man to man.

But there is still a deeper significance that our Sages attach to money. The precise value of the half-shekel charity tax is recorded in the Talmud. It consisted of ten gerah, a much smaller coin than the shekel. (One shekel equalled twenty gerah.) The Rabbis explain that these ten coins symbolize the Ten Commandments. It is precisely this Jewish understanding of wealth that we wish to elaborate upon, especially in light of the recent economic boom.

In today’s stock market highs and lows and international arenas of finance, we evaluate the dollar today only to devaluate it tomorrow. We speak of money’s purchasing power and its ability to leverage. We buy and sell precious metals with only one anxiety, its purity of silver and its content of gold. But how many of us give a second thought to the “Ten Commandment Content” of the Almighty dollar which is appropriately emblazoned with the words, “In G-d We Trust”?

Do we worry how much of our wealth was acquired at the expense of, “Thou shall not steal”? Do we remember the Law, “Thou shall not covet”? Does it bother us that money should not be amassed at the expense of, “Thou shall not bear false witness” and, “Thou shall not murder”?

Our get-rich-quick generation had better learn this. Wealth at the expense of honesty, and riches through the surrender of principle will defame the true value of money as well as dehumanize our own innate worth. To think of economic power as a monstrous bulldozer relentlessly crushing everything that stands in its way, is to forget that Shabbos and holiness must be part and parcel of Shekalim and dollars.

In other words, you can bet your bottom dollar that G-d not only judges your use of your own money as a barometer of how well you interact with your fellow man, it’s also an indicator of your relationship to the Almighty of the dollar.

Of course, in this pre-April 15th deadline rush to prepare our taxes, it’s still important to audit our books by all the accountancy standards that currently exist. And we hope that you always realize profits and never deficits. But we do ask that you don’t forget one thing: That when the Supreme Auditor examines the ledger of your life, He should be able to pronounce, “Financially sound. Spiritually solvent.”