Shabbat Shekalim 2020/5780: We count

One of my favorite characters from Sesame Street is the count, who asks us what is the Sesame Street number of the day, and then counts the bats flying around his castle to tell us.

This new year 2020 is a time the County would love as we begin the national census, an effort to count, itemize, and find out more about who we are, where we are, and hopefully how best resources can be allocated to benefit our needs.

And we find ourselves this Shabbat observing Shabbat Shekalim, a day that recalls an ancient mitzvah of counting the people of Israel when they brought a half-shekel to the Tabernacle in the wilderness and later to the Temple in Jerusalem as a donation. 

Whether it’s an ancient census in which everyone gives a coin of small value, or a modern census when advanced technologies analyze and interpret data, the bottom line is the striving to show that everyone counts, everyone is recognized and validated.  

The Rabbis compare the various censuses taken in the Torah to the loving way a child counts and recounts her toys and special objects to make sure that every item is present.  They say the same is true of God looking over all of us.

But there are those times, despite the half-shekel or the census when we feel we don’t count, when we’re not recognized, left out, and overlooked, when we don’t feel others are listening to us, when we’re surrounded by people but still feel alone,  or when we are lost – not knowing what to do, what to say, or where to go.

The Rebbe Yakov of Izhbitz teaches us we all face moments like these, when we struggle to overcome what we’re lacking, what we’re hoping for.

The Izhbitzer Rebbe teaches us that to correspond with all of what we feel we lack and we’re hoping for God gives us a spark of holiness, that even in the smallest actions causes us to experience what is good, and holy, wholesome and helpful in this world,  showing us how God is present in our daily actions, however tiny they may be in relation to the bigger picture of our lives.

The half-shekel coin is like this spark of holiness inside of us – reminding us that even our small contribution, given in the cause of holiness and unity, given in the spirit of fellowship, creates a house of holiness more remarkable and bigger than the largest holy Temple could ever be.

If we could begin by seeing each other in the fullness and blessing of who we are, who we strive to be, through all that we struggle and celebrate, if we could count each other and remind each other  we are here together and you are meaningful, you are important, you are valued, we would make God  and the count from sesame street, so happy.