Pekudei, the month of Adar - "On the first of Adar, they announce about the shekalim and about the mixed species" - what is the connection between shekalim and kilayim? - Rabbi Asher Perkash

00:01 There is a story told about something that happened in that period. The Tzemach Tzedek had a chossid named Reb Yossele the Maggid. They called him Uncle Yossele. He was, I believe, the Tzemach Tzedek’s uncle. In any case, that is what they called him: Uncle Yossele. He used to tell stories; he was a holy, spiritual person. He told all kinds of very lofty stories. Here is one of them: Uncle Yossele’s role was to serve as a shadar, an emissary of the Merciful One. He would travel between towns and, as the saying goes, gather material things and sow spiritual things. That is, he would share Torah teachings, farbreng with Jews, and also collect money and bring it to the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. The money was used for various charitable purposes of the Tzemach Tzedek. Every few months he would return to Lubavitch with a collection box holding all the charity money and hand it to the Rebbe. And there was something interesting: Uncle Yossele noticed that when he brought the entire collection box to the Tzemach Tzedek, the Tzemach Tzedek would take it, set it before him, and begin sorting the money into groups. He would take a few coins and put them in one place on the table. He would take another group of coins and put them elsewhere on the table. A third group he would put in a third place on the table. And he also noticed that every

01:54 time, there were a few small coins that the Tzemach Tzedek would take and set aside. That was the routine. Uncle Yossele very much wanted to know what it meant. He thought the money was presumably intended for various charitable purposes: charity for one purpose, charity for another, with the sorting done according to those purposes. But he noticed that there were a few coins the Tzemach Tzedek set aside in another group, and he realized there was something else going on. Eventually he began to notice that these were specifically coins the Tzemach Tzedek received from a certain chossid. One of the chassidim of that time, among the great chassidim, who had already been a chossid in the days of the Alter Rebbe, was a well-known chossid and great Torah scholar named Reb Nachum of Dubrovna. Reb Nachum of Dubrovna is even mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch; he wrote additions to the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. Reb Nachum of Dubrovna was among the great early chassidim. And Uncle Yossele noticed that the amount Reb Nachum of Dubrovna gave was the amount the Tzemach Tzedek took and set aside. Well, he began to understand that this was something different, that there was another aspect to it: the Tzemach Tzedek was separately collecting the charity money of certain chassidim. But he did not know whether it was only the amount of money Reb Nachum of Dubrovna

03:31 had given, or the actual coins themselves. So he wanted to test it. The next time he went to Reb Nachum of Dubrovna, he traveled to Dubrovna and received from him the charity he was giving for the Tzemach Tzedek. He made a note of which coins he had received from him and put them into the collection box, but not all in the same place: he put one coin on one side and another coin on the other. Let’s see what happens. When he came to the Tzemach Tzedek, he saw the Rebbe take the collection box, and he watched as the Tzemach Tzedek immediately found the first coin, the second, the third, and the fourth—the coins of Reb Nachum of Dubrovna—gathered them together, and put them in one place. Then he understood that the Rebbe really knew which coin had come from which chossid. He was utterly amazed by what he saw, and Uncle Yossele exclaimed, “Ah, that’s a wonder!” He saw that the Rebbe knew which coin had come from which chossid. And the Tzemach Tzedek answered him, “No, that’s not a wonder.” It is not a wonder, he told him. What was the explanation? He explained: “After all, these were coins given to charity. When a person gives charity, there is the coin he gives, and there is the vitality, the intentions, and the fervor he puts into the charity.” You can tell what intention he had in doing the mitzvah.

05:10 The intention gives the coins vitality, and different coins have different vitality. The coin itself is inanimate. When a person gives a coin with vitality and G-dly intention, that intention becomes invested in the mitzvah. The vitality in the coin corresponds to the intention a Jew has in doing the mitzvah. And the Tzemach Tzedek says: “I didn’t know this was Reb Nachum of Dubrovna’s coin, but I can see the vitality in the coin.” Yes, it is not a wonder. But he says: “I can see the vitality, I can see the vitality in the mitzvah.” And when he sorts the shekels, the coins, into groups, he sorts them by their level of vitality, by the degree of intention and the extent to which the person gave the charity for the sake of Heaven, with fewer ulterior motives and more G-dly intention. Accordingly, it is a loftier form of charity, a more refined form of charity. And that is how he sorts the charity coins according to [unclear]. That was the story of Uncle Reb Yossele, the Tzemach Tzedek, and Reb Nachum of Dubrovna. And this relates to what we call “a coin of fire.” After all, we are entering the month of Adar. And the well-known Mishnah in tractate Shekalim says: “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekels and concerning kilayim.” That is the Mishnah.

06:47 It says that when the month of Adar begins—even when there are two Adars, for there is specifically the matter of Adar II—“On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekels and concerning kilayim.” Every year, the practice was that in the month of Adar, messengers would go out and announce, reminding Jews: You need to remember to bring the half-shekel. Adar is the month in which the half-shekel is brought. Why? As the commentators explain, in the month of Nissan the new contribution must be brought, and the communal offerings must be brought from it. The communal offerings of the previous year must not be mixed with those of the new year. To bring the new contribution, the half-shekel must be brought. That is what “announcements are made concerning the shekels” means. This is where the practice of reading Parshas Shekalim on the Shabbos before the month of Adar comes from. And, in general, we see by Divine Providence that the weekly parshas as well—we are speaking about the weekly parsha, Parshas Pekudei—deal with the half-shekel: “All the silver of those who were counted,” and what they did with the half-shekel. There was a half-shekel from which they made the sockets, and there was another half-shekel used for the communal offerings. And that is the connection between these matters: when we reach Rosh Chodesh Adar, the month of Adar, “announcements are made concerning the shekels.”

08:15 And it also says, “and concerning kilayim.” What does it mean that “announcements are made concerning kilayim”? At that time, the crops begin to grow in the fields, so announcements are made about kilayim to remind people of the laws against mixing species in a field that may not be mixed: mixtures in a vineyard, different kinds of seeds, and all the things one must be careful about regarding kilayim. And regarding the half-shekel, there is a well-known teaching of our Sages that Moshe Rabbeinu did not understand what the half-shekel was until Hakadosh Boruch Hu said to him, “This they shall give”—“They shall give one like this.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed him a coin of fire, which He took from beneath the Throne of Glory. Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed Moshe Rabbeinu a coin of fire and said to him, “They shall give one like this.” And all the commentators ask: Moshe Rabbeinu did not know what a coin of fire was? Sorry, what a half-shekel was. Did he need to be shown a coin of fire? That is, when we say “Moshe had difficulty” with the menorah, which has so many details and aspects, we can understand it. But what is difficult about the half-shekel? What is a half-shekel, and what is hard to understand about it? The Torah says that a shekel is twenty gerahs; how much is half? Ten gerahs. There are many explanations of this, from the commentators according to the revealed dimension of Torah and according to its inner dimension. It is brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that the point of the coin of fire is that Moshe Rabbeinu wondered: How can a coin atone for a sin?

09:52 Especially for such a great and terrible sin, the sin of the Golden Calf, which damaged souls at the time—the first and greatest sin of idol worship. How can you make atonement for your souls with a coin of fire? How does a coin of fire bring atonement? A person gives a coin to charity, and through that he makes atonement for his soul? How does that work? That is why Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed him a coin of fire. In other words, the point is not the coin in itself, but the coin when it is a coin of fire, a coin that has fire in it. He gives the coin with vitality, with life. A parable about this is brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: A person learned how to make coins or jewelry out of gold. He went to a skilled craftsman, a goldsmith, who knew how to work gold and silver and make all kinds of vessels and jewelry from them, and learned every detail of the work from him. But there was one detail he forgot to learn: you need to have a little fire under the worktable while working with gold and silver. If you want to make vessels, jewelry, or coins from them, the material has to be hot; there has to be fire.

11:18 Then the gold softens and you can work with it. The goldsmith forgot to tell him that detail, so he couldn’t do anything. This is the explanation brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov for what Hakadosh Boruch Hu showed Moshe Rabbeinu: there is a coin, but it has to be a coin of fire, a burning coin. It has to be a coin filled with G-dliness, holiness, intention, and life. A person gives a coin with the fire of his soul, with warmth, with Yiddishkeit, out of devotion and self-effacement. And there can be many levels in this. That is the story of how the Alter Rebbe saw the life in the coin—the coin of fire. For there can be many different intentions in a mitzvah. In a sicha, the Rebbe explains the expression “a coin of fire.” What does fire mean? Fire has no weight. Fire is something weightless. Coins have weight; a coin weighs something, but fire does not. Fire has no weight. “A coin of fire” means a coin without weight. What does that mean in our service? What does it mean in a person’s avodah? When you give tzedakah, you may have ulterior motives. A person might give tzedakah so that others will honor him.

12:48 So that he’ll receive honor, so that they’ll mention his name and say he gave it. They make a Mi Shebeirach for him, announce how much money he gave, and he gets, at the very least, all the honor that goes along with it. But here we’re saying: as little ego as possible, as few ulterior motives as possible. The coin has to be a coin of fire, a G-dly coin without weight, with more self-effacement. And the more self-effacement there is, the less coin and the more fire there is—more self-effacement. That is a coin of fire. This atones for all of a person’s avodah. The Sfas Emes brings this. So what does he say? This is the meaning of “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim.” At first glance, these are two different things. Why bring shekalim and kilayim together now? Yet it says, “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim.” What is the connection between shekalim and kilayim? Well, it relates to the time of year, but these are two different mitzvos. So what is the connection? The Sfas Emes explains: the shekalim represent the mitzvah of tzedakah. So on the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim. The theme of shekalim is the mitzvah of tzedakah. The month of Adar is a time for tzedakah. It says in the sefarim that during Adar one should give more tzedakah. This relates to the time of year, when we study these parshiyos, and when Jews brought their contributions; it is the time of the Mishkan. We study Parshas Terumah, Tetzaveh, Ki Sisa, Vayakhel, and Pekudei—all the parshiyos that speak about what the Jews gave. “Everyone whose heart moves him”: Jews gave generously, abundantly, joyfully, with open hearts; they gave tzedakah.

14:36 And every year, when the month of Adar comes around, the generosity of the Jewish heart is awakened again. That is why announcements are made concerning the shekalim. But this also relates to Purim. The Gemara tells us that when Haman came with ten thousand talents of silver, which he wanted to give Achashverosh so he would issue, may Hashem protect us, the decree “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate” all the Jews, Hakadosh Boruch Hu said: “Their shekalim preceded his shekalim.” The Jews had already given the half-shekel, and by fulfilling the mitzvah of the half-shekel, their shekalim preceded his. What is the significance of this? When a Jew gives the half-shekel, he gives it as a coin of fire. He gives it with a G-dly intention, with generosity of heart. Without ulterior motives, without other thoughts, without pride, without ego, without seeking honor, without other aims. He does it with a G-dly intention. That is a coin of fire, and that is “their shekalim preceded his shekalim.” Haman’s money, what he gave, came from his desire for honor, from his pride in giving to the king. Haman’s whole being is pride and ego. What he wants, too, stems from his pride and ego. But when a Jew gives tzedakah, he gives it with self-effacement, through inner avodah, for the sake of Heaven—a coin of fire. Tzedakah given in purity, with the utmost purity. The Sfas Emes says that this is the meaning of “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim”: when the first of Adar arrives, announcements are made concerning the shekalim. We recall the half-shekel and the idea of tzedakah—that Jews gave shekalim, that Jews gave tzedakah—and we recall the generosity of heart they showed at the beginning,

16:25 so that they will continue in that spirit and give tzedakah wholeheartedly, without any ulterior motives. That is the meaning of “concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim”: the shekalim should be given in this way, but we must remember not to mix kilayim into them. Kilayim means that there can be extraneous thoughts, ulterior motives, reasons that do not come from holiness. “Announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim”—there should be shekalim, but without kilayim, without mixing in foreign intentions and ulterior motives. This is the preparation as the days of Purim approach: “Their shekalim preceded his shekalim.” It nullifies Haman’s decree and everything he wanted to do to the Jews, and it is transformed into “joy and gladness,” and so on. The Rebbe speaks about this in a letter from the early years. It is a very beautiful letter about “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim,” and he gives a beautiful explanation. He asks: Why mention shekalim and kilayim? What are these two things? Why are they linked, and why specifically on the first of Adar? He cites Rashi on “When Adar begins, we increase in joy.” What does “we increase in joy” mean? The joy is over the days of Adar and Nissan, the miracles that happened to the Jewish people—Purim and Pesach. Why do we increase in joy when Adar begins? The joy is because of Purim and Pesach. What does Pesach have to do with it? We’re talking about the month of Adar. The explanation is that the month of Nissan is the month of Geulah. This is one explanation—there are several others—but here

18:08 this is one of the explanations. Nissan is the month of Geulah, when the redemption from Egypt took place. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah says that Rabbi Yehoshua states: “In Nissan they were redeemed; in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” In other words, the future Geulah, the Geulah through Moshiach, will also be in Nissan. It says so in the Midrash, in Midrash Emor, and Likkutei Sichos also cites Rabbi Yehoshua’s words, “In Nissan they were redeemed; in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed”—the future Geulah through Moshiach will be in the month of Nissan. So Adar is the month of preparation for Nissan. In other words, Adar is the time when Jews prepare for the Geulah, the future Geulah, when “in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” How do we prepare? That is the allusion in the Mishnah in Shekalim: “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim.” What is the Mishnah telling us here? How do we prepare for the Geulah? Pesach is approaching, in the month of Geulah, and we want not just that past redemption, but the future Geulah—“in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” What is the preparation for the Geulah? Two things: shekalim and kilayim. What is the idea of shekalim? It is brought in the name of the Alshich and others that shekalim represent unity. That is the idea of unity: a Jew knows that, for all the tzedakah he gives, he is only one half, and another Jew is the other half. It is precisely through his

19:45 being united with another Jew that they become a whole shekel. Similarly, when a wealthy person—the one who provides, the one who gives—gives tzedakah to a poor person, he has to know: it isn’t that I’m the giver and he’s the recipient. Rather, he and I are one together. I am one half and he is the other half, and together we become a whole shekel. This is Ahavas Yisroel and the unity of the Jewish people. After all, the Gemara says that the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash—as brought in the Gemara in Gittin, the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash was bound up with baseless hatred. The Gemara in Yoma says that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of baseless hatred. So to repair that and bring the Geulah, there must be love without cause. Unity among Jews repairs the destruction and brings the Geulah. Kilayim represent the avodah of birurim, separating and refining. Kilayim are things mixed together, good and evil. The sin of the Tree of Knowledge created a mixture of good and evil. Later, with the sin of the Golden Calf, this happened again, and a mixture of good and evil came into the world. All the avodah of Jews here in this world, what Jews do in the world until Moshiach comes, is to separate the good from the evil—the avodah of birurim, raising the sparks. When the birurim are complete, the full Geulah will come. So this is the allusion in the Mishnah’s words: “On the first of Adar”—it is telling us that before the month of Nissan comes, there is the month of Adar. “On the first of Adar, announcements are made concerning the shekalim and concerning kilayim.” How do we prepare for Pesach, for Nissan, the month of Geulah? The month of Adar is the month

21:38 The final stage of the Geulah, linking one redemption to another. What is the work of the month of Adar? “They make announcements about the shekalim”—the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel. “And about kilayim”—that is the work of refinement, refining the sparks and separating good from evil. In other words, the Rebbe explains in detail and reinforces the reason for this: “On the first of Adar, they make announcements about the shekalim and about kilayim.” He reveals great depth in the plain meaning of these words, and this points to the direction of our work. What does “On the first of Adar, they make announcements about the shekalim and about kilayim” mean? Let me say a few words. The shekalim, as we said, express our mutual responsibility. Each person is a half. Jews need to know—as we discussed last week, in Parshas Yisro, when explaining the half-shekel and the whole subject of Parshas Shekalim—that a Jew must know not only that I am a half, but that everyone is a half. Through this, the truth of Ahavas Yisroel and mutual responsibility among Jews is revealed. The point of the mutual responsibility expressed by the half-shekel is that just as I am a half, so are you. All Jews need to complete one another. As the Rebbe says in Tanya, chapter 32, the true meaning of Ahavas Yisroel and mutual responsibility among Jews is that all Jews are one. That must be our approach to the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel. Jews need to know that I and every other Jew—whether he is among the greatest of “your heads” or the greatest tzaddik—I am a Jew, you are a Jew; all Jews must truly be one. That is one side of it. But there is something else here: even when all Jews are truly brothers, one, we must also understand the matter of kilayim. In other words, each person must know that he has his own shlichus, and each person has a particular role in the world,

23:47 even though everyone is truly equal. For Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave each person a particular shlichus in the world. Some Jews are in the category of “your heads, your tribes,” and some are in the category of “your woodcutters” and “your water drawers.” The Jewish people are made up of many kinds of people. The point is that each person should follow his own path, his own shlichus and his own role. There are seven branches of the menorah, and this expresses precisely the fact that each person must have his own form of service. One serves out of love; another serves out of awe. Each person must have his own path and the particular work suited to him. Broadly speaking, there are Yissachar and Zevulun. There are those who sit in the study hall and there are businesspeople, and each has his own role and purpose. And each must have an influence on the other. The person who sits in the study hall must influence the businessperson, and the businessperson must influence the person who sits in the study hall. “Rejoice, Zevulun, in your going out, and Yissachar, in your tents.” Each must influence the other, and each must know that he has a role in the world. Yet their roles must not be mixed up. Each person must know that he has a role in the world, and while fulfilling that role, he influences another Jew. This is the point of kilayim. When we say, “On the first of Adar, they make announcements about the shekalim,” we are saying that there must be Ahavas Yisroel and unity among Jews. I must know that I and every other Jew are all one; Ahavas Yisroel and unity among Jews are required, so that—

25:25 we are all truly one person. We Jews are one unique people. But at the same time, each person must know that he has his own role and shlichus; we must also understand the matter of kilayim. With kilayim, just as one may not mix wool and linen in clothing, so too, with mixtures in a vineyard or a field, one may not mix different kinds of plants. As Rabbeinu Bachya writes, the point of the mitzvah of kilayim is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world, and mixing different things—whether in clothing, in a field, or among animals, as in “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together”—and likewise meat and milk: in many areas, such mixing alters the order of creation. This is what the Mishnah is telling us: when the month of Adar arrives and we want to bring about a correction and bring the Geulah, when we want to prepare for the Geulah and know that the preparation is through Jewish unity—especially in the month of Adar. After all, it is well known that the whole story of Purim is bound up with unity. As Haman said, “There is one people.” Even Haman knew that they were one people, but he claimed they were “scattered and dispersed among the peoples.” He claimed that they were mixing among the peoples. That is not it; that is—

26:57 The matter of unity must be clear. One thing we must know: there must be a boundary between a Jew and a non-Jew. Among Jews themselves, one Jew must influence another, and each person must know his role in the world. The true unity of the Jewish people is when each person fulfills his shlichus and, at the same time, influences another Jew through what is particular to him. This is the analogy the Rebbe gives from the human body: there is a head and there is a foot. The head influences the foot, and the foot influences the head. That produces the most complete unity, when each person both gives and receives. That is true unity. This is “On the first of Adar, they make announcements about the shekalim,” and at the same time, “about kilayim.” We must be one people, while each person knows his role and his shlichus in the world and uses them to influence another Jew. Then we have true Ahavas Yisroel and true Jewish unity. This is also the difference between Parshas Pekudei and Parshas Vayakhel, as we discussed. Vayakhel emphasizes unity, that everything is one: “Vayakhel”—everyone together. Then comes Parshas Pekudei. “Pekudei”—each person has his own assignment, his own number, his own particular purpose and his own particular goal. And when

28:22 we bring it all together, we build and make a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu here below, in this world. The month of Adar, as occurs to me now, is explained as “Alef-dar.” Yes, we bring in the alef, the Master of the World, and “dar”—we make a dwelling for Him below. That is the work of the month of Adar. When preparing the world for the Geulah, the work is “Alef-dar”: to make a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu here below. From the alef, the Master of the World, we make “dar”; we make a dwelling below. When we prepare—how do we make a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu? That is where these two ideas come in. Why am I saying this? Because revealing Hakadosh Boruch Hu below in the world, revealing His oneness—the alef and the “dar”—has two aspects. There is the overarching unity, in which the entire world is one: “Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one.” The whole world proclaims that there is one G-d in the world, that He is the true existence, that He brings all things into being, as the Rambam says: “He brings all existing things into being.” This is what the Baal Shem Tov says: there is the word of Hashem, the Divine utterance, which brings all creation into being, gives it life and sustains it. And that is the idea of

29:40 Vayakhel. That is one kind of unity, in which everything is equal. But then there is “Alef-dar”: every detail in the world speaks of the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in its own particular way. There is a special kind of unity in which every detail in the world praises Hakadosh Boruch Hu in its own way, in its own way, in its own way. “Everything that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created in His world,” as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says, “He created only for His glory.” Every detail in the world speaks of the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in a particular way. No two—yes, no two faces are identical. Even among animals, no two animals are identical; there are no two grasses, no two blades of grass, with exactly the same form. For every created thing, every creature, has its own particular Divine providence and its own particular G-dly life-force. The Baal Shem Tov teaches this; the Alter Rebbe brings it in Tanya, in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah: there is the word of Hashem that creates the entire world, and it is enclothed within all the heavens. Every detail in the world has its own particular G-dly life-force, and every creature speaks of Hashem’s greatness in its own particular way. That is “Alef-dar,” Adar. Through our work on Ahavas Yisroel in these two ways: the Ahavas Yisroel of “all of us as one”—one single whole. I am a Jew, you are a Jew, we are all Jews, one people. And at the same time, each person knows his purpose and his shlichus, and looks for the qualities in every Jew. And together we build

31:09 —each person builds—one people, a complete people. And in this way we reveal the same thing in the world: we reveal Hashem’s oneness in creation. May we merit, immediately, speedily in our days, amen, to see Hashem’s true oneness revealed throughout the world. May we see that “Hashem is one and His name one.” And from the month of Adar, “Alef-dar,” may we reach the Geulah in the world, the kingship of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, His kingship and rule over the world. “And the kingship shall be Hashem’s.” May all darkness, concealments and veils be nullified. “And it was turned around”—may we merit the Geulah in this month of Adar. And may it be that “it was turned around, so that the Jews ruled over those who hated them.” And immediately, “For the Jews there was light and joy and gladness and honor”—may it be so for us.