B'hukotai
What is the value of a human being? How much is a person worth? The Sidra this week addresses the idea of a person's value. Their value will be dependent upon their age. children from one to five have a value of five shekels, from five to twenty, twenty shekels and sixty years old and upward is reduced to fifteen shekels. And unsurprisingly, these figures are less for females. What does all this mean? These figures, these valuations, concern what one chooses to donate to the Temple. If they say, "I want to give myself to the Temple" (a modern day version might be the person who states I want to give my valuation, my worth, to Beth Shalom as an act of tzedaka). Many synagogues throughout the country are doing this now. They have dispensed with a dues structure and are asking people to give a free-will offering, what they think they can afford based on their earnings, as their donation to be a part of the community and as a measure of ...