Posts tagged Purim Katan
The Parsha this week seems to start out with a simple instruction to take a census of the Israelites over the age of 20...

The Parsha this week seems to start out with a simple instruction to take a census of the Israelites over the age of 20 (to serve in the army?). Ki Tissa, first of all, does not mean “take a census.” It means to “lift up“ one's self to be counted by giving atonement for wrongdoing! Each person is instructed to give a half shekel as an offering. The sages asked, why a half shekel? A response was that it takes another person to make a whole shekel, or to make one whole. Atonement doesn’t work unless it is done with another, or with others. Also, everyone, rich or poor, gives the same half shekel.

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