Shabbath shekalim

This Shabbat is the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh ADAR and thus we read, parallel to Parashat MISHPATIM, also Parashat SHEKALIM in the Synagogues. Parashat Shekalim is always read before the beginning of the month of Adar and I am going to explain the exact meaning in a following article.
There are different donations a Jew had to give in the desert. For building the Mishkan (Tabernacle) or for Korbanot (sacrifices). Those Terumot, however, also served as an atonement for one’s soul. The Machazit Ha’Shekel, however, is for all generations and thus, we are still involved in this Mitzvah.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch commentated on the half – a – Shekel donation: “Equal participation symbolizes national goals of a Jew. We shouldn’t be selfish and refrain from only following our personal interests”.
When G – d commanded Moshe to carry out a census, the Jews were counted by their half – a – Shekel Terumah. They were commanded to donate half – a – Shekel which was then a silver weight Moshe introduced. The same donation amount for the rich and the poor hinting to the equality of every single Jew before G – d.

G – d showed Moshe that money is like fire. Both can be either beneficial or destructive, depending on how they are used.

Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhansk in Noam Elimelech

Shabbath Shekalim

When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, each Jew contributed an annual half-shekel to the Temple.

The funds raised were primarily used to purchase cattle for the communal sacrifices. The leftover monies were used for a variety of communal purposes, including providing salaries for the judges and maintenance of the Temple, its vessels, and the city walls.

This annual tax, known as the machatzit hashekel, was due on the 1st of Nissan. One month earlier, on the 1st of Adar, the courts began posting reminders about this Biblical obligation. In commemoration, the Shekalim is the first of four readings added during or immediately before the month of AdarTorah reading of the Shabbat that falls on or before Adar is supplemented with the verses (Shemot 30:11-16) that relate G‑d's commandment to Moshè regarding the first giving of the half-shekel.