The parashah Ki Tisa begins with the mitzvah of Machatzit HaShekel, the Half Shekel. God tells Moses to take a census of the Jewish people. Instead of counting each person individually, every Jew was to donate half a shekel of silver. By counting the half shekels, Moses would know the number of people.
As people brought the half-shekels, the coins increased. What did they do with so many coins? The Torah tells us that they were used for the adanim—the foundations of the Mishkan—the Sanctuary.
The mitzvah of Machatzit HaShekel teaches us Ahavat Yisrael – Love of neighbor. Each Jew brought exactly half a shekel, no more and no less. This mitzvah reminds us that we all need each other, and to have something complete, we need two halves. The shekel that each Jew brought was not complete until another Jew brought the other half.
These half shekalim were used for the base of the Mishkan, which teaches us that Ahavat Israel is the foundation of our lives.
Extracted from Please tell me what the Rebbe says.
Shalom Rabbi. The half shekel in our times. What is it worth?
Perhaps euros, dollars, or Mexican pesos would help clarify this doubt. Shalom, shalom