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It’s Purim today! Shabbat starts on Friday at 7:22pm and ends on Saturday at 8:18pm. The weekly Torah portion is Ki Tisa and Shushan Purim.
SAVE THE DATE: On Wed 26 Mar, the weekly shiur will complete tractate Bava Metzia, which we’ve been studying for 12 years!
Mincha is now in recess for the summer and will resume on Mon 7 Apr. Join the WhatsApp group for any updates.
Weekly sushi & shiur continues on Wed at 1.20pm at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: neighbour rights. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.
Thought of the Week with thanks to Ezra May.
This week’s Torah reading, Ki Tissa, whose opening we also read two weeks ago as Parshat Shekalim, describes the census taken. But famously, instead of a direct counting, every person was to donate one half shekel, which were counted instead. The collected coins were then used to fund the construction of the Tabernacle. Interestingly, the Torah refers to the coin as a “shekel hakodesh” – a “holy dollar”.
This terminology seemed even to puzzle Moshe. For Rashi says that when instructed about contributing a “half shekel – a holy shekel”, Moshe was unsure and G-d had to show Moshe a heavenly coin of fire to explain it to him.
This Midrash appears difficult. How could Moshe not know what a coin was?
By looking at the answer G-d gave – “a coin of fire”, we can work out Moshe’s issue. Moshe’s concern was not simply: what coin?
Moshe was unsure if a common coin that may have been used to pay and trade for all sorts of impure and unholy things, could now be used for such a holy purpose as funding the building of the Tabernacle – the very place where G-d rests in this world.
This was a revolutionary concept. Previously it was always the first, best or a specially dedicated or designated animal or item that was used. So Moshe was shown a coin of fire. Fire can either cause great destruction – if uncontrolled – or it can provide comfort, light and warmth.
The same fire can either be used for good or bad. Similarly money is something that people can either sin greatly with or perform good deeds with. An uncontrolled obsession with money can be most damaging. But spending money to contribute to society and assist others is of course a great benefit.