By appearances, the special Parashiot we read at this time of year are about Nissan. Three of the four sections at least seem to connect directly to NIssan and Pesach. The collecting of Shekalim goes to pay for public offerings in the new Jewish year in Nissan. Amalek is connected to Purim but Para, according to Rashi, is about ensuring purification for Pesach. Parashat HaChodesh, which we will read next week, announces the first month of the year and preparations for the Karbon Pesach.
But there is an opinion in Megilla which says that if there is a leap year, reading the special Parashiot during the first Adar is sufficient. That points to the idea that they are about Adar without reference to Nissan. For the reading about Amalek, that makes sense but what about the other three?
Adar is the last month of the year. One feels rundown and the prospect of a new year is daunting. There is a need to revive, to rebuild oneself. That rebuild is not about one’s body. One doesn’t need more time at the gym or in the spa. The rebuild is about one’s soul. Each of the first three readings have to do with a different aspect of the Neshama, of the soul.
When we read about Shekalim, we are addressing the most basic aspect of the soul, what we call the Nefesh. The connection is suggested in the fact that the word Shekel is the same Gematria as the word Nefesh. This aspect of the soul is what animates our bodies but it also denotes the most basic part of what it means to be human: how one weighs values.
A Shekel is about value. As a verb, we use Shokel to mean a way we measure weight. What weighs more is heavy, which is Kaved, a cognate of the word for “honor.” What has Kavod has gravitas, or weight. But it’s not just literal weight. One must know how things weigh in terms of importance. A child who cannot tell the difference between a stone and a nut -- who throws away the nut and keeps the stone -- lacks a sense of what’s important.
This sense that we are worth something is essential to life. Without some sense of Kavod, we would disappear. R’ Chaim of Volozhen used to say that a person completely bereft of honor would literally perish. There must be a modicum of honor, something which can be measured in terms of value.
That’s the first level. The second aspect of the soul is Ruach, which corresponds to the emotions. Proper regulation of emotions is important. But so are proper values. What are the things that make one’s passions run hot? What does one love and -- they are often interconnected -- what does one hate? Once one has a sense of what values, the emotions should follow the proper sense of what’s important. The verse says, Ohavei Hashem Sinu Rah, those who love Hashem hate that which comes to cut one off from Hashem. We read about Amalek to refresh our sense of outrage against that which seeks to thwart our connection to Hashem.
Para is read on the third Shabbat because we have reached the highest aspect of the soul, what we call the “Neshama.” When someone comes into contact with ritual impurity, what we call Tum’a, there is a blockage. Many words in Hebrew with a Tet and a Mem denote a blockage. When someone is Me’tumtam (mentally dense), it means that the synapses do not flow well. When someone is Tamun, it means they are buried, one cannot reach them. Tum’a means a blockage in the flow between body and soul. To undue that blockage, one needs a gift from above. The spark of purity which washes away ritual impurity is something that comes from above. The word Tamei is spelled with an Aleph at the end. There are 49 ways of ritual impurity, spiritual blockage, which corresponds to the Mem and the Tet. But the Aleph points to the possibility of the 50th level, which comes from above, and has the capability to dissolve the blockage.
Once we have read these three Parashiot, we are ready for HaChodesh, which announces the new year. We are looking to restore ourselves for the new year. That means pushing against the forces of decay, of fatigue, at the end of the year. To do that, we must restore our sense of values, align our emotions with those values, and look for the purity that can only come from above. When that is done, we can look forward.
Congregation Emek Beracha
4102 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
