— Shabbat Shekalim — The Shabbat of Tithes
“When you take the census of the people of Israel according to their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to the Lord, when you count them; that there should be no plague among them, when you count them. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Every one who passes among those who are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.” (Exodus 30:12-16)
This portion of Torah is read in synagogues the Shabbat before or on Rosh Chodesh Adar. That Shabbat is called Shabbat Shekalim because the annual half-shekel communal offerings were collected during the month of Adar, so that the communal funds would be available in time for Passover. The shekel was a specific weight of silver that Moshe instituted as the standard coinage. Many interpret homiletically that the requirement of half shekel alludes to the concept that no Jew is complete unless he joins with others, as long as we are in isolation, each of us is only “half” of our full potential.