On Shabbath Sheqalim, the first of the four special Shabbaths, two Torah scrolls are taken out from the ark. We read the Maftir from Parashath Ki Thisa. It recounts the commandment of the yearly contribution of a half a Sheqel for the purchase of the offerings in the sanctuary.
Hakham Sasson Mordekhai Moshe a"h writes that there is a hint here, connected to the fact that the Jewish people were commanded to bring, specifically, half a Sheqel. A man is considered incomplete without his wife. According to the holy Zohar, a husband and wife are two halves of one soul. They obtain perfection and completion when they get married. Since only the men, and not the woman sinned in the sin of the golden calf, they alone had to bring a half a Sheqel as an atonement for their sin. Men representing half of a whole were, therefore, commanded to bring specifically the amount of half a Sheqel.
My dear friends, as woman, we possess an incredible ability to lead our families and thereby the entire Jewish nation through the path of Emunah (faith) in the Al-mighty. The women resisted giving their gold jewelry for the construction of the golden calf. They didn't lose their faith and, on the contrary, had complete faith that Moshe Rabbenu, their leader, would return after ascending to Heaven.
As we read the special portion of the Torah about the obligation to contribute the half Sheqel, let us remind ourselves who we are and what our strength is. Let us spread the seeds of our unshaken faith and instill them in our family and those around us.
