This week’s parsha, Ki Tisa, speaks of counting the Jewish people by means of the half shekel.  The Torah states that this was done in order to avoid a plague that could result from the counting.  Indeed King David, against the better judgement of his advisors, insisted on counting the people and this did result in a plague.   Some say that it is the indirect counting of people which helps to avoid the plague, since counting people treats them like numbers instead of as the deeply individual and infinitely valuable  humans they are.  But then why a half shekel?  A regular whole shekel should do the job (and would, as a side benefit, raise more funds for the community).

The half shekel famously teaches that as Jews we are incomplete, we need each other.  Perhaps what helps to avoid the plague through the counting by half shekel is not just that we are counting coins instead of people, but that these are half coins.   Through realizing how dependent we are on each other, we become the kind of people who help each other, care for each other, and watch out for the health and welfare of each other, minimizing the chances of a plague.  Maybe it’s not so much a mystical thing as a reality.  When people feel they must worry about their neighbor and the good of others and the community, plagues will be avoided.   This applies to health concerns, environmental concerns, and cultural and moral well being.  It takes all of us, caring about others, to make the world a safe place.

We are all currently facing a kind of plague.   We must see our responsibility not only as one of keeping ourselves healthy or other individuals who we might infect healthy, but indeed the public health of our wider society.  Let me quote from the email one Shul (I don’t know which one) sent that has been widely shared:

“As you are well aware and have heard repeatedly, the risks of serious infection and death are greatest in the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions. As an individual, if your immune system is not compromised or if you do not have a health condition that puts you at risk, then you are probably going to be fine. Many of us will likely become infected and for most of us, symptoms will be mild or flu-like. If, on the other hand, you are at greater than average risk for complications from something like the flu, then this virus is more dangerous to you. This is a new virus to which none of us has natural immunity, for which there is no vaccine, and for which there is no current treatment beyond supportive care.

If this virus is already out there and nearby, is spreading rapidly, and most people who get it have mild symptoms, why does it matter if it spreads slowly or quickly?

First, if fewer people get sick then fewer will become dangerously sick and even fewer people will die.

Second, slowing it down buys us time, and time greatly matters, especially at this early point in the epidemic. It means delaying a massive outbreak until we are closer to having effective treatment or a vaccine.  It means avoiding overwhelming our hospitals and health systems that could affect many more people with all kinds of health needs. And it might lead to natural immunity building up in people who are exposed this year and less vulnerable next year if / when it re-circulates.

Finally, as observant Jews, we gather together in large numbers frequently and the potential for many people being exposed unwittingly is high, with rapid spread among our own community and into the larger community… This is about giving this virus fewer opportunities to multiply and spread. You are all aware of the need for hand washing, staying home if ill, and other infection prevention measures you can take. The point of “social distancing” is to slow down the rate of transmission of the virus to each other and to the general public.”

Let us take instruction for the parsha and do all we can to slow the spread of the Coronavirus even if we do not fear for our own health or the health of those individuals in our immediate surroundings.  Together, each as only a half Shekel, we can avoid a more devastating plague.