Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir
“The middle crossbar was made to go through the center of the beams, from one end to the other” (Shemot 36:33). It was the middle crossbar that linked together the Tabernacle beams from one end to the other, while the other four crossbars linked together only portions of the beams. The middle crossbar ran within the beams and could not be seen from the outside, while the other crossbars could be seen from the outside. This situation serves to allude that the very ‘thing’ that serves to unite the Jewish People ‘from one end to the other’ is - like the middle crossbar - precisely something that is hidden away in the ‘interior’ of the precious soul of the Jewish People; this ‘thing’ is concealed within the whole nation down through the generations, and within every individual Jew, whoever he or she may be.
In these challenging times, we must strengthen that which has united all the parts of the nation throughout the generations. That same ‘middle crossbar’ that has extended from one end to the other, from our inception as a people until the end of days. It has united all the tribes of Israel from East to West, gathering together in Eretz Yisrael, and all the open and hidden social streams. What has united all the Jews, is the fact that we all possess one precious soul, and that we are a people chosen by G-d to perfect the world under the reign of the Almighty. As G-d long ago said to the father of our nation, Avraham: “I will make you into a great nation... You shall become a blessing... All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Beresheet 12:2-3).
To strengthen ‘middle crossbar’ that unites us, we must remember that Israel were counted in the desert by means of the half-shekel contribution. The Torah here is teaching us that it makes a difference whether you measure each person individually or as part of a group. Each individual alone is metaphorically called a “gulgolet,” literally a skull (see Shemot 38:26), which is known to symbolize death. When a person is not connected to the larger community, he is like a limb torn away from the body, a dead limb - and then the evil eye takes control of him.
Yet, through the half-shekel contribution, a general fund is created of the whole Jewish People together, with each donor being linked to the larger group, as one man with one heart, each member of the group having worth and importance. Under such circumstances, the good eye takes control and then there is nothing to fear from counting the people of Israel. They are then like limbs connected to the body, all sharing one soul, and the census, now counting a collective, itself attains holiness.
The middle crossbar is the root of all the nation’s branches, and, like the branches on the tree - which all imbibe their sustenance from the root - we too must drink deeply from our roots. Let us unite all the branches and strengthen them.
Besorot Tovot,
Looking forward to complete salvation,
With the Love of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael,
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov.
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