In this week’s parsha, G-d tells Moshe to conduct a census of the Jewish nation. He further instructs: “This shall they give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel.” Rashi explains that G-d shows Moshe an image of a coin made of fire and says to Moshe, “They [each] should give a coin like this.”
Why does G-d show Moshe a coin of fire?
Rebbe Moshe of Kobrin answers: A coin of fire hints to the fact that every coin that goes to tzedakah (charity) “burns” with the fire of the yetzer hara (evil inclination.) Whenever someone considers giving a coin to tzedakah, the yetzer hara tries to prevent the person from doing a mitzvah. Writes Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein: “It requires an extraordinary amount of will power and perseverance to defeat the yetzer hara and carry out the mitzvah. By doing so, [one] earns a merit that is very great.”
The Rebbe of Kotzk maintains that when a person performs even a modest act of charity with the fire of passion and enthusiasm, he is giving a piece of his soul. The Ba’al Ha Turim points out that the numerical value of the Hebrew words shekel and nefesh (soul) are indeed the same.
The Ba’al Ha Turim also notes that the Hebrew word v’natnu (“each shall give” spelled in Hebrew vav, nun, taf, nun, vav) is a palindrome – it can be read the same way backwards and forward. This teaches us that whatever a person donates to tzedakah will ultimately be returned.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslav notes that fire is one of our most necessary elements: it warms us, provides light and enables us to cook food. However, he warns, fire also has the power to consume and destroy. Just as it is important for us to use fire properly, so must we also use money properly. Writes Rabbi Bronstein: “On the one hand [money] can be put to very good use if it enables [one] to perform mitzvot and good deeds. But on the other hand, money can completely consume a person’s character.”
In our money-obsessed and consumer-driven world, it is more important than ever for parents to teach children to use money responsibly, and for good.
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