It makes a lot of sense, right? You know, first there's the holy moment of the giving of Torah, then we are told to build a holy dwelling for the divine presence, then we are given the holy clothes of the holy Cohen, and then of course, the holy shekel. What? The holy Shekel? What in the world are you talkin' about? Why is the shekel so holy? How is the shekel so holy?
Picture this for a moment. You're driving down the street and arrive at a red light. Well, there he is again, the guy with that sign: "Will work for food." "I need some money." I don't know about you, but what usually runs through my head is, "How in the world do I know if this guy is a scam artist or what?" The truth is we can never be so sure. However, what if when we give the money we say to him, "Here is some money to help you. See, you know, sir, this money I'm giving you really isn't coming from me, it's really coming from the Supernal One. Because, you see, even when I made the money it's only because Hashem blessed me with it. Therefore I give it to you straight from its holy source of abundance; I hope that it will serve you well." What if we could say that? If he is indeed a scam artist, well maybe, just maybe, he'll think about things a little differently. But, the real kicker is, do WE really think of our money that way? You know, the money that YOU and I worked hard for and earned?
Later on in the parasha we become witness to THE falling of the nation with the Golden Calf. How could it be? They just saw the holy words of G-d! You know, the truth is that in a way it makes a lot of sense. Every morning the sun comes up and we stand in awe of the beauty of the dawning of a new day. Such grace, such power, what an amazing act of mercy of the Creator that he gives each and every morning. You know, it's from exactly that power that people began to worship the sun. I mean, why not right? It's so amazing, so incredible, why connect to it's source; it's powerful on its own! That's the danger. All idol worship is predicated on the power given to it by the divine, only it's disconnected and perverted into a belief in the inherent power that it itself contains. It's such a fine line. That's the hard part.
There is no way that the people, after having just experienced the wonders and prophecy of the giving of the Torah, would just build an idol out of nowhere. It's just that when Moses didn't come down the mountain, the people, who were still riding high on the revelation of Torah, misdirected the power and slipped off the edge into idol worship.
We must always be sure to connect to its source that which may seem so powerful on its own. When we go out and work hard for our money, how sure are we that it's because WE worked hard for the money that we have it at all? If that's what we think about the money, then obviously it seems weird that the many holy moments of Torah are followed by the giving of the half shekel. However, whether you're rich or poor, it's still a half shekel because it doesn't really matter, that's not the point. The point is that it's not our money anyway, that's why Hashem wants us to give it, so that we recognize exactly that.
The line between holiness and idol worship is a hard one to walk. You know the Lubavitcher Rebbe used to give out dollar bills to people who would come see him. You know on the bill itself it says, "In G-d we Trust." Are we aware of that, do we think about that with every dollar we possess? The Torah is saying, "Stop being so into all of your stuff. The money, the computers, the cars, etc. It's only worth anything if you remember to connect it to its source."
I bless us all with the holiest Shabbat and a remembrance that everything we have is so holy and is a gift from G-d.