The War Against Amaleq and Machtzit HaShekel, Stage 2

Both this post and the previous post flowed from correspondence with a Rav who is a friend of this blog.  It is important to understand that the mitzvot of Adar and their special parshiyot flow one into the other.  They are not meant to be simply understood as a unit onto themselves.  They are truly the pathway to the Final Redemption which at least begins in Nissan, or more specifically in the Adar immediately preceding it, even if it also flows into Shavuot and later on into Yom Kippur and peaking in intensity during Sukkot and Shmini Atzereth when the entire world is judged.  But as Reb Nachman of Breslov said, it really begins in Adar.  Machtzit HaShekel flows into Remembering and Blotting out Amaleq.  Blotting out Amaleq flows into mitzvah of becoming pure in the ashes of the Red Heifer (Parah Adumah).  Moving into Nissan, becoming pure in the ashes of the parah adumah, seven days later, flows into sanctification of the New Moon of Nissan.  Sanctifying the New Moon of Nissan flows into the appearance of Eliyahu HaNavi to actually herald the Geulah.  Potentially a propitious time for his arrival is Motzei Shabbat HaGadol in the week before Pesach.  And finally, (at least the beginning of the end), Eliyahu's arrival leads to the Qorban Pesach on the actual site of the mizbeach on the Temple Mount.  Now although we disagree with each other on whether the 3rd Temple is coming down from Shamayim or whether we have to actually spend several years building it, we do have the opinion of Chaza"l that if other halakhic issues such as permission from the Muslims and other thorny details could be resolved, we can, if we desire, offer up the Qorban Pesach on the spot of the mizbeach even before the 3rd Temple is built or descends from Heaven!  Here is a lengthy discussion of this matter as proposed over the last 1000 years by Rav Yechiel of Paris when he came to Yerushalayim in 1257ce along with several of the Ba'alei Tosefot after the burning of 24 cartloads of the Talmud by Louie the IXth (yemach shmo) and later proposed by Rav Tzvi Hersh Kalisher in the early 19th Century.  The nugget to realize is the major difference between the Qorban Pesach and other Qorbanot is that originally it was slaughtered before the eyes of the Egyptians without either a Mishkan or a Temple or even a high place where Qorbanot Olah could be offered up on private altars.  So it is unique in this vein even though I am not sure if Qorbanot Olah can or can't be considered in the same category of offering them up on the Temple Mount without a Temple.  Like the Qorban Pesach the Qorban Olah shares its distinction of being offered up in ancient times before there was a Mishkan or a Beit HaMiqdash.  No'ach started the tradition on the day he left the Ark after the Year of the Flood.  All the other Qorbanot (Cheit, Asham, Shelamim, Todah, and others) were only commanded or were given the opportunity to be offered up once and only after the Mishkan was erected or when the Temple was built.   The point of mentioning all the above about Qorbanot is to make us all aware how in order to reach the process of offering up Qorbanot, we have to travel through these other steps in the Geulah process from Machtzit HaShekel to Eliyahu HaNavi before Offering up Qorbanot with or without a Temple becomes possible. 

Here is my correspondence with the Rav.  I should mention here that included here are several other themes that I have spoken about throughout the years of this End of Days blog.  I preface this by saying that for many survivors of the Shoah, these matters cannot be discussed.   In their minds any attempt to try to give an explanation to the magnitude of their suffering is trivializing their suffering.  On the other hand, there are some survivors who don't mind discussing this at all.  Rule of thumb:  Before discussing this with a survivor, know him/her well enough before continuing with this.  For the rest of us, I see no reason NOT to discuss this.  It is downright therapeutic to discuss the deepest, most profound reasons for the Shoah, and we can then begin to fully comprehend our suffering as a nation in order to be consoled from it.

There is an inyan about the Shoah that is often missed.  Rav Shlomo Carlebach zt"l in his introduction to the Krakow Niggun and the Klausenberger Rebbe zt"l, though, make a point of bringing it up.  The Redemption comes when there are 6 million Jews in the Land of Israel BECAUSE those in Eretz Yisrael at the Final Redemption are either gilgulim OR nitzolim from that horrible Holocaust.  So in a sense we are all survivors except that most of us were murdered and sent back into this world to witness the Final Redemption.  The Shoah was the 7th Churban spoken of in the tochachah both in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy that if we choose the lower path of rebuke with the destruction of the First Temple and then the 2nd Temple (which according to Daniel was decreed early on to be eventually destroyed), then we will be chased in "7 different directions."  The Gemorrah in Megillah tells us that each partnership between a prince in Germamia and a Prince at the Vatican in Rome would last one day.  Since there are 365 principle saints of the Roman Catholic Church and there were 300 princes in Germany, then each go around would last precisely 300 years.  So the Asarah harugei Malkhut (the 10 martyrs who died of/for Malkhut) died in the 70 years between Churban Bayit Sheini and the crushing of the Bar Kochbah Revolt and its aftermath 70 years later (70ce to 140ce).  That was the "first Churban of Malkhut Edom" and it lasted 70 years corresponding with the Ayin in Esav's name.  After that each Churban would last 300 years corresponding with those alliances between the princes of Germamia and the Vatican and the Sin in Esav's name.  So harugei Yesod corresponds with the years 140 to 440ce.  Harugei Hod corresponds with the years 440 to 740ce.  So those who were harugei Netzach died between 740 and 1040ce.  Those who were harugei Tiffereth died between 1040 and 1340ce with a final push in 1348ce when Edom blamed the Jews for poisoning the wells and causing the Bubonic Plague.  The next 300 year (1340 to 1640ce) were for those who were harugei Gevurah with a final push AGAIN 8 years later in 1648ce with the Chelminitzky massacres of Tach veTat (5408 and 5409).  And finally those who were harugei Chessed died between 1640 and 1940 for the midah of Chessed.  Yet, notice that there are precisely 21 years from the end of WW1 and WW2.  Those years were keneged the days between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av.  So the Satan figured that IF he could really top off the 7th Churban in earnest, he would have to start it BEFORE the year 1940 which would have corresponded to the 10th of Av.  So he started it two weeks before Rosh HaShanah in the Hebrew year 5699 in 1939.  Then has given 6 years from Tisha B'Av (end of 5699/ Sept 1939 until the 15th of Av (5705 or 1945ce) to complete the job of Churbanot and of chasing the Jews in 7 different directions.   Notice that those 6 years of the Shoah (5700 until 5705) correspond with the Vav in Esav's name.  So Esav's name is written out through the long period of history of being chased in these 7 different directions.  The Ayin (70ce - 140ce), the six-fold Sin (those 300 year cycles), and finally the Vav (1940 - 1945).

And now the inyan of Why??  When Yosef was sold into slavery, each brother received 2 dinar since he was sold for 20 dinar and since ten brothers were considered there for the sale.  The Dinar was 1/4 of the ancient shekel.  So each of the ten brothers excluding Binyamin who was not there from beginning to end received 1/2 of a shekel (Machzit haShekel) with which they bought shoes from the Midyanim who were also there.  Not just the Yishmaelim were there, but the Midyanim were there from whom they bought shoes with that half of a shekel.   From this we see that Yosef was not just sold for 20 dinar.  He was sold as if he were a bechor for five sh'kalim.  From this time forward, the Bechor would be redeemed with five sh'kalim even though Yosef was just the bechor of Rachel, and not the bechor for purposes of yerushah.  Ultimately Yosef's double earthly portion would be in Eretz Yisrael where he would be given two nachalot (tribal territory inheritances) not just one.  So when we were given the mitzvah for the Shabbat of Parshat Sh'kalim of Machtzit haShekel, it was originally meant as a kappara, a blotting out of the sin of Mechirat Yosef.  600,000 men would give a total of 300,000 sh'kalim in order to redeem or buy back from slavery the 60,000 men from the two tribes of Yosef.  This is an approximate calculation.  Adding the men in Ephraim and Menasheh at the first census in the desert, there were slightly more than 60,000 men.  The actual census at that time for both of them was more precisely slightly more than 72,000 combined.  I realize this, but the purpose of the mitzvah was to redeem the 1/10th of themselves that they sold into slavery.  You might say 1/11th, but this particular sin was not Yosef's sin.  Since the sin was divided amongst the ten brothers (Reuven is also for some reason considered to be at fault), they had to redeem 1/10th of themselves.  

But alas then came the Sin of the Golden Calf, the calf that was made by the Kishuf (black magic) of the Erev Rav using the plate which was meant to raise Yosef's coffin from the Nile River.  On this plate was written the words Rise Bull Rise.  Now a bull more than a goat or sheep gives its owner parnassah since a bull can pull a plow while a species from the flock cannot.  It is the main reason we see from Parshat Mishpatim why if a thief steals and slaughters a bull he must replace it with five times the monetary value of the bull while if he steals and slaughters a sheep or goat, he must replace it with four times their monetary value.  The extra dimension of a bull's value is that it provides its owner with parnassah since it can pull a plow.  Since the Calf (or the potential bull) represented the idea that we worship G-d JUST to bring prosperity, those who worshiped it confused Prosperity with Utopia (Yom sheKulo Shabbat) when prosperity is just a portion along the Way to Sinai which may be a necessary cog to create a Utopian existence here on earth.  Prosperity was secured in the desert on Lag B'Omer when the Mon(ey) fell for a third day so that we would have a chazakah on the Mon(ey), the supernatural sustenance for our entire time in the Desert from the 31st day of the Omer in 2448 until we could eat the grain of the new agricultural year in Eretz Yisrael on the 2nd day of Pesach 2488, 40 years later.  But of course we continued all the way to the 49th day of the Omer in our first year in the desert and then onto the transcendent 50th day to receive the Torah because until the 33rd level the purpose for serving G-d is to be blessed with prosperity while from 33 until 50 the purpose for being prosperous is to serve G-d.  Notice the converse is true only after Lag B'Omer.  Notice from here that the ultimate purpose of Prosperity is therefore to make serving G-d lishma (for its own sake) easier.  From this we see that the purpose is to serve G-d for its own sake, and prosperity is what helps significantly to make that possible.  By worshiping the idea that the Shekhinah could dwell between the horns of the potential Bull, though, those doing so were saying that they would be happy only to rise until the 33rd level of purity in order to get the prosperity and not higher than that since the be all and end all of Utopia IS the prosperity that we can get out of it.  By doing this, those who wanted to worship the Shekhinah in this way were saying that they were not interested in doing what was right in G-d's eyes lishma.  They just wanted the (Mon)ey which comes from doing so at the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd levels of purity, but they would not progress further, G-d forbid!!!  As discussed elsewhere on this blog, we see this in Malkhut Edom a lot since Xtianity does afford one with the mistaken opportunity to believe that one's world to come has already been given to them as a free gift by virtue of what one believes not what one does.  So then the question comes up about why one should do the right thing in this world in G-d's eyes, and the answer is often (not always) that doing the right thing helps one prosper because of Divine favor.  So the 33rd level of purity is the peak of one's service in Malkhut Edom from Xtianity (some Xtians not all) to Free-Masonry.  Now since Yosef more than any other tribe represents the ability to give parnassah, in a very strange way they were worshiping Yosef himself when they bowed down to the Golden Calf!  Remember originally the Bull that arose from the Nile was the bones of Yosef.  Suddenly not only Yosef was enslaved in Mitzraim.  The transformation that took place at the Cheit HaEigel was that all 600,000 men excluding Leivi became like Yosef himself, enslaved once again in Mitzraim, the Mitzraim from which they just had been redeemed!!!  And how many Jews must give Machtzit HaShekel at the end of days in order to redeem those 600,000 slaves who sold themselves to the foreign parnassah god?... The answer is 10 x 600,000 = 6 million Jews, for 6 million Jews giving 1/2 of a shekel redeem all of those 600,000 Yosefs who became Yosef, the slave, by serving the Golden Calf.  By the way there will need to be another 6 million Jews in the world to accomplish this for a total of 12 million because half of us are women who do not have the mitzvah of giving Machtzit HaShekel.

So where do we see that 6 million were bought by Amaleq for Churban in order to achieve that there would be 6 million reincarnated Jews in the Land of Israel to welcome the Messianic Era in the merit of those who were murdered??  It is in the Book of Esther when Haman purchases the Jews of the Persian Empire for 10,000 kikar of silver.  According to Chaza"l of course, Haman as Amaleq is purchasing every Jew in the world for slaughter.  And he was purchasing those Jews from G-d Himself since the reference for Ginzei HaMelekh (Treasury of the King) does not mention the name Achashveirosh.  In the Megillah when it simply says HaMelekh, it refers to the King of Kings of kings.  3:9

  אִם-עַל-הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב, יִכָּתֵב לְאַבְּדָם; וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים כִּכַּר-כֶּסֶף, אֶשְׁקוֹל עַל-יְדֵי עֹשֵׂי הַמְּלָאכָה, לְהָבִיא, אֶל-גִּנְזֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ. 9 If it please the King, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have the charge of the king's business, to bring it into the King's treasuries.

So how many Jews did Haman purchase IF we accept that at the Golden Calf we had all become like Yosef who could be redeemed with 5 silver sh'kalim??   Well the answer to that lies in the conversion factor in Parshat Pekudei in the Book of Exodus when we are told that from the 300,000 silver shkalim collected from the 600,000 (excluding the 3550 who gave an additional 1775 shekalim), Betzalel made 100 adanim each weighing one kikar.  So from here we see 300,000 shekels of silver equals 100 kikar, or we see that there are precisely 3000 shekels per kikar!  So getting back to the number of Jews that Haman purchased for slaughter we see that he placed 10,000 kikar into the ginzei HaMelekh x 3000 shekels per kikar equals 30 million shekalim.  30 million shekalim divided by 5 shekalim for each Jew who is like Yosef equals 6 million Jews.  Haman purchased 6 million Jews for slaughter.... and HaShem said not yet, not in that generation.  But at the End of Days so that there will be 6 million Jews in the Land of Israel to welcome Mashiach, I HaShem will accept your price in the generation prior to Mashiach in order to give unbelievable merit in the Final Generation of 6 million Jews so that in the third war of GogUMagog the final war, the 3rd world war WW3, the one between Edom and Persia (or Dubi'el including Persia and Russia as the Vilna Gaon said), those 6 million will survive to give Machzit HaShekel in order to redeem the original 600,000 from the Cheit HaEigel.  

I should mention the obvious with regards to the 7 Cycles of Churban in the world.  Notice that the purification of Hod through suffering really ended in the 8th year of the next cycle in 1348 when there was a massive pogrom because of the poisoning of the wells.  And again Gevurah purification was finally complete with Tach veTat in 1648.  From this we see that the Chesed purification did not require another Churban in 1948.  LeHefech...the opposite occurred.

Also there is another reason why the cycles of Churban were 300 years apart.  The Cheshbon (the spiritually negative residue) on our sins even after repentance and the sins of Mankind must be cleansed every 300 years.  This is because of the original covenant of the rainbow which HaShem showed Noach after offering up one from each species of pure animals after the Flood.  The Brit or Covenant of the Rainbow with Noach was only half a rainbow.  This is from the Zohar .... That HaShem would only allow Mankind to metamei (make impure) the planet earth up to the half-way point before sending the correction upon the world.  So if it took 600 years of Noach's life to open up all ten gates to the Waters of the Deep bringing on the Great Flood, it would take only 300 years of Cheshbonot (spiritually negative residue) on Sins to open up half of those gates causing HaShem to send the Churban (as destruction to the Jews) in lieu of the Qorbanot that could not be offered up in a destroyed Temple.  This is why the Churbanot had to be spaced apart by 300 years, not 600 years.  If HaShem had waited 600 years, He would have had to destroy the world again. During the time of the Temples we had Qorbanot which did this job.  We had our own system of Qorbonot Olah and Cheit, and the nations of the world had their 70 bulls (notice it is bulls as in Yosefs) during Sukkot.  When there was no longer a Temple because of our sins, WE, the Jewish people, became the Qorbanot for the nations of the world in lieu of there being no bulls offered up because there was no longer a Temple.  So we became the Yosefs that died.  So while the physical world in total is purified of the Cheshbon of sins, the ones who were murdered get Heavenly reward in the World to Come. Over the course of history there have been 70 bulls for slaughter.  We specifically know about the ten harugei Malkhut.  In the same way there are in a sense ten principle harugim for each of the sefirot of the nefesh behamit leading to a total of 70 principle harugim.  But again notice it was bulls.  This more than anything else explains why we were considered as if we were all Yosefs dying in the Shoah.  6 million Yosefs or Bulls for slaughter.  (At this point I could link to the song Dona Dona, but it is sung by singer Joan Baez.  So I can't link to it.)  It is ironic that the majestic passage of the Suffering Servant in Yishayahu 53 is really a passage about Israel's suffering servitude to G-d to be the Qorbanot for all Mankind, and not Oto Ish.  It is ironic because so many Jews (willingly and wittingly or not) died in this purpose by the hand of many of those Europeans who thought Oto Ish was that servant.... Ironic, isn't it?

And so we see the necessity of of one mitzvah flowing into another at the End of Days.  Without Machtzit HaShekel there would be no Zecher and Mechiyat Amaleq.  And as we may soon see, without Remembrance and Blotting Out of Amaleq, there would be no Parah Adumah which comes the following week.  This is the progression of the Final Redemption.