This week is Shabbat Shekalim, which commemorates the giving of the half shekel to the Tabernacle in the desert. There were two kinds of gifts to the Tabernacle -any amount and any material one wanted to give, from the goodness of their heart, -and the half shekel which everyone had to give. The poor could not give less and the wealthy could not give more, all must give the same half shekel.
What is the lesson of these types of gifts to the Tabernacle? We are all individuals, very different in how we see the world, diverse in what gifts we have to bring, varied in what we think is needed, but we also must see every one of us as an integral and equal part of the Jewish people.
This past week one of the greatest Israeli halachic authorities was denounced by other rabbis for being on a communal panel, because it included, among others, a Reform rabbi. Instead of arguing with them he launched a campaign of Torah study, and he defended his actions on video, which you can listen to in Hebrew on Youtube. As part of his talk he explained that though we do not see liberal streams as a rightful approach to Torah tradition, they are nonetheless our brethren, therefore we must accept their representatives as central and important. We can not ignore the fact that they are Jews who work hard at furthering many Jewish values, such as fixing the world, ethics and charity, and they help to keep Jews connected to Judaism. They are Jewish and we share many communal concerns.
We can not argue that we accept them as individuals and reject them as a group or movement because, “We can not say I am ok having a connection with an individual Reform person but I will not meet officially with their leaders, because the connection between communities is done though official representatives, this is the only way we can be one people. Therefore rejection of a movement’s leaders is a rejection of its members, and of them as part of the Jewish people. Precisely because we do not join with them in religious rituals-and in that way we show we believe they are incorrect- we must work harder to have a connection with them on a communal level.”
He ends by quoting the following piece of Talmud (Kiddushin 36a):
The Talmud states: “You are the children of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 14:1). This verse indicates that only when you act like children and cleave to the Holy One, you are called God’s children. This is the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda. But Rabbi Meir (who the halacha is according to) says: Whether you keep the Torah or not, you are still called God’s children…And if you say they are called God’s children when they do not keep the Torah but when they worship idols they are no longer called God’s children, the following verse comes to teach us that they are. As it says (Hoshea 2:1) “The number of the people of Israel shall be like the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; and instead of being told, “You are not my People,” (though they act that way), they shall be called “Children of the Living God”.
May this shabbat bring us each and as a community to think seriously about how to best create more unity and respect for all parts of the Jewish people.