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…

Purim is higher than Mattan Torah which is (in turn) higher than what the Avos did. The Avos were a Merkava but were able to bring Godliness only to Ruchniyus, At Mattan Torah the possibility to connect Gashmiyus was added and at the Purim story the connection to Gashmiuys was entirely from below.

1) When counting is good את שדרכו למנות it makes it eternal and infinite, and when counting is no good, כל שדרכו למנות, counting limits and reduces. Counting lifts up and makes us whole. Yidden are a half חצי צורה and they are made whole by doing their own maximum. This raises their heads and…

Everyone gives half a Shekel which is ten Gaira. Still one is rich and another poor, because though each gives ten Gaira they are rich (in Atzilus) and poor (BYA). The higher ten is Adam (and people like him) the lower ten is ordinary people. The joining the higher and lower ten need to be…

This Ma’amar explores that Machatzis HaShekel has a message ‘klali’, we are a half and the other half is our schar- connection to Hashem. Three steps: 1) Bittul until Mesiras Nefesh as is indicated in the idea of 1) Ze Yitnu, giving with no constraint, 2) a half 2) Above the bittul is the ‘ten’…

The details of the Parsha of Machatzis Hashekel that are irrelevant beyond Moshe’s time (and beyond the Beis Hamikdash) need analysis. How are they also an eternal lesson? The Rebbe explains the idea that Torah is a Hora’a and a illuminated lesson for us to practice, not only to understand in some spiritual way. The…

Machatzis Hashekel is a Klalis (all important) idea in Torah, as it is “Lichaper Al Nafshoseichem” (to atone on the Soul). It is different than Teshuva because Teshuva is the complete breaking down of the person, while Machatzis HaShekel and the Aron haKodesh (Torah) are only halving oneself. The idea is not to be broken…

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

This is the classic Purim maamar. The Yidden were in Golus that is compared to sleep. Yidden’s Mesiras Nefesh “roused” Hashem (kvayachol) from His sleep. The reason the waking up is the miracle [and not the Yidden’s mesiras nefesh which aroused it] is because it’s a miracle within nature. Hashem was still “sleeping” in Golus…