Class One. The dichotomy of demands in the maamar Lo Sihye Mishakeila: A) to be altogether involved in one’s personal spiritual growth (and “give birth” to emotions), B) While being so dedicated to others that there’s no time for stock taking and celebrating the successes. This seems much for the ordinary person. We have however,…

Ze Yitnu 5738 (Ma’amar of Parshas Shekalim). 1) Two half Shekels, you give a half and get whole (and there are many versions of this. In this Ma’amar, they are): the half of the Neshama in the body brings to us the half that is above the body.2) Everybody is the same (they give “only”…

This standard מחצית השקל מאמר has a typical approach with a completely novel aspect: The typical: no one is whole without another, thus we give half and the other half comes from outside of us. The atypical aspect is that we are commanded to give the “higher” half of Shekel called שקל הקדש the lower…

The half Shekel is a uniform gift given by every Jew emphatically in an increment of a half.

There are two half Shekels: 1) The half that man gives: on the one hand everyone gives the same ten: the עשר כחות הנפש; on the other, there are a rich 10 (Atzilus) and a poor 10 (Asiya). 2) The divine 10 which are always the same. They follow the person’s 10 in regular people…