A man went to his father to tell him that he had just become a millionaire. His father did not seem very impressed. The young man screamed, “Pop, I’m not even 30 yet and I’ve already made my first million …” To which the father responded, “My son, you’ve counted your money. What I want to know is, what you are going to do with it?”
I was never very good at math and, to this day, I still have trouble adding things up. I just can’t count. Don’t get me wrong, my friends know they can count on me, but they also know that I am not a whiz when it comes to numbers.
In the Torah, we find the commandment of giving a half shekel. Our Sages taught that G-d showed Moses a “coin of fire.” What do money and fire have in common?
We know that a fire can destroy a forest and, if you’ve ever seen someone who has been burned, you know what harm it can cause a human being. Yet, a fire can also cook our food so it is safe to eat. A fire can warm the cockles of our heart. A fire can bond metals together, molding two things into one. (Perhaps that is why the word “welding” sounds so much like “wedding.”)
Wealth … Wealth can keep a roof over our heads. It can provide food and sustenance. It can help build houses of worship and academies of higher learning. Wealth can be used to support charities and foundations.
Fire can burn one beyond recognition, making someone appear unpleasant and ugly on the outside. But money … Money can make someone unpleasant and ugly on the inside. So here we are following G-d’s commandment to take a census, each giving half a shekel, but why a half a shekel?
I have a friend who has worn a necklace for many years now. The necklace is a half a heart. Can you guess who has the other half? That’s right, her husband. That half a heart reminds her that she can use her heart to lift her husband up or to drag him down, to weld herself to him, making them one, or to burn a hole right through his heart. Such is the power of love. Fortunately, she has chosen, for the most part, to lift him up … to remember that he counts.
If you take the Hebrew word used for “counting,” you will find a better translation would be to “lift” or to “elevate.”
When we use the gifts G-d has blessed us with to elevate others, we have used our gifts wisely. We have merged our lives together. But, if we fail to use our gifts to help, we have not only failed others, we have failed ourselves and we have failed G-d.
Let the upcoming Passover holiday remind us. It is not our bread that needs to rise to the occasion. It is we who need to rise, whatever the occasion might be. Remember, each of us counts far more than we know. Now go and do the math … and make sure that others can count on you.
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring
Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.
