The Coin of Fire and the Half-Shekel of Atonement

"This they shall give, every one that passes among those numbered" (Exodus 30:13). Rabbi Meir said: A kind of coin of fire the Holy One, blessed be He, brought out from beneath His Throne of Glory and showed it to Moses, and said to him, "This they shall give." "Every one that passes" — Rabbi Yudah and Rabbi Nehemiah. Rabbi Yudah said: Everyone who passed through the sea shall give. And Rabbi Nehemiah said: Everyone who passes the count shall give. "Half a shekel" — Rabbi Yudah and Rabbi Nehemiah. Rabbi Yudah said: Because they sinned at midday, therefore they shall give half a shekel. And Rabbi Nehemiah said: Because they sinned at the sixth hour of the day, therefore they shall give half a shekel, which is made of six gerahs. Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nehemiah in the name of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai: Because Israel transgressed the Ten Words, therefore each one shall give ten gerahs. Rabbi Berekhiah and Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Because they sold the firstborn of Rachel for twenty pieces of silver, therefore each one shall redeem his firstborn son for twenty pieces. Rabbi Pinhas in the name of Rabbi Levi said: Because they sold the firstborn of Rachel for twenty pieces of silver, and to each one of them fell a coin, therefore each one shall give his shekel-coin. Rabbi Yudah bar Simon in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Three things Moses heard from the mouth of the Almighty, and he was alarmed and recoiled. When He said to him, "And let them make Me a sanctuary" (Exodus 25:8), Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the world, behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You, and You say, Let them make Me a sanctuary?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Moses, it is not as you suppose; rather, twenty boards in the north and twenty boards in the south and eight in the west, and I will come down and constrict My Presence among you below," as it is written, "And I will meet with you there" (Exodus 25:22). And when He said, "My offering, My bread for My fires" (Numbers 28:2), Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the world, if I bring in all the beasts of the world, is there one whole burnt offering in them, or all the trees of the world, is there one offering in them? As it is said, 'And Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering' (Isaiah 40:16)." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Moses, it is not as you suppose; rather, 'And you shall say to them, This is the offering' (Numbers 28:3) — not two at once, but one in the morning and one toward evening, as it is said, 'The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second lamb you shall offer toward evening' (Numbers 28:4)." And when He said, "And they shall give every man a ransom for his soul" (Exodus 30:12), Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the world, who is able to give the redemption of his soul? 'No man can by any means redeem his brother' (Psalms 49:8), 'and the redemption of their soul is costly' (Psalms 49:9)." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, "It is not as you suppose; rather, 'This they shall give' (Exodus 30:13) — they shall give the like of this." Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Shaddai: "We cannot find Him out, He is great in power" (Job 37:23) — we do not find the power of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come upon Israel with burdens. And when Moses heard this, he began to praise Israel and to say, "Happy is the people that is in such a case; happy is the people whose God is the LORD" (Psalms 144:15), "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help" (Psalms 146:5). Concluded.