Making sense of the sedra: Mishpatim and Shekalim

On a quiet weekday morning in Connecticut, a rabbi dismantling a second-hand office desk made an astonishing discovery. Hidden behind a set of drawers was a plastic bag containing nearly $100,000 in cash. The desk itself had cost just $150 on Craigslist. The money was clearly not his.

By the very next day, Rabbi Noah Muroff (who, incidentally, I studied with in yeshiva), together with his wife and four children, returned every dollar to its rightful owner. When asked why he involved his children, he explained that he wanted them to absorb a simple but powerful message of honesty and integrity.

Stories like this feel striking precisely because they cut against the grain of modern life. Yet for Jews, this is not extraordinary behaviour. It is the natural outgrowth of a legal and moral system that has spent millennia training us how to live with integrity. This week’s paired Torah readings, parshat Mishpatim and parshat Shekalim, offer a timeless framework for understanding what ethical living truly demands of us and why human dignity sits at the core of Jewish law.

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Parshat Mishpatim is one of the most densely packed portions in the Torah, containing 53 mitzvot, nearly one tenth of all the commandments. What is most striking is not the quantity but the focus. The majority of these laws deal not with ritual but with relationships. Returning lost property, honesty in business, financial responsibility, damages, loans, and protections for the vulnerable all feature prominently. The Torah moves swiftly from the thunder of Sinai into the texture of everyday life, teaching that holiness is not found only in sacred moments but in ordinary human interactions.

At the heart of these laws lies the concept of kavod habriyot – respect for human dignity. The Torah insists that every person is created b’tzelem Elokim (in the image of God), as stated in Bereishit. The Talmud pushes this idea to its moral limits. In Kiddushin, the sages teach that if a person owns only one pillow, they must give it to their servant rather than keep it for themselves. Even where power and hierarchy exist, dignity must never be compromised.

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This ethical vision flows naturally into parshat Shekalim. When God commands Moshe to count the Jewish people, it is not done through a headcount but through a donation. Each person gives a half shekel, rich and poor alike, as described in Shemot. No one gives more and no one gives less. The message is clear. Human value is not measured by wealth, status or influence.

The Midrash records that Moshe struggled to understand this instruction until God showed him a vision of the half shekel. Moshe could not grasp why a holy people should be counted through something as material as money. God’s response reframes the entire idea of giving. It is not the coin that gives a person value. Rather, it is the willingness to give that makes a person count. Our worth is revealed not by what we hold on to but by what we are prepared to part with.

This insight reshapes how we think about charity. A large donation given without respect can leave a person diminished, while a small gift offered with warmth and empathy can restore dignity. Rav Elazar Silver once responded to a Holocaust survivor who rejected religion after witnessing a man charge bread for the use of a siddur in the camps. “You saw exploitation,” Rav Silver told him. “I saw people who, even in unimaginable darkness, were willing to give up their bread for something they believed mattered more.”

Money, the Torah reminds us, is only a tool. It reflects what we value. Parshat Shekalim teaches that generosity is not limited to finances. We give through time, attention, patience, emotional presence and moral courage. In a culture quick to discard possessions, people and sometimes compassion itself, the Torah calls on us to use all our resources in the service of others.

Ultimately, these parshiyot ask a single enduring question. Not how much do we have, but how do we give? That is what truly makes us count.

Rabbi Yoni Golker is at Magen Avot United Synagogue