כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל ונתנו איש כופר נפשו…ולא יהיה בהם נגף (כי תשא ל:יב)

The Gaon Reb Yitzchak of Volozhin zt”l (the son of Reb Chaim of Volozhin zt”l) went on a fundraising trip to Minsk to raise money for the famous Volozhin Yeshiva.  He arrived at the town’s Shul, where he was supposed to deliver a drasha (speech).  Many people arrived, and the Shul became so overcrowded that there was barely room to move.

When Reb Itzele (as he was fondly called) saw the packed room, he addressed the packed Shul: “Rabbosy! (gentlemen!) It says in the Torahכי תשא את ראש בני ישראל ונתנו איש כופר נפשו… ולא יהיה בהם נגף.  This verse begs the question: why was it necessary to bring a מחצית השקל to prevent a plague; in what way can money ameliorate a pandemic? The answer is as follows: Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu כי תשא את ראש בני ישראל he should count the Yidden. Hashem understood that everyone would push themselves in front of the crowd to be the first to be counted since everyone wanted to fulfill the mitzvah.  All this pushing and shoving could become dangerous, as some people might be hurt!  Therefore, Hashem said, “ונתנו איש כופר נפשו” – everyone should bring money so that ולא יהיה בהם נגף – there will not be any harm from pushing, since when it comes to giving money, no one is in a rush; they’ll assume that there is still plenty of time, so automatically there will not be too much pushing.”

Reb Yitzchak concluded, “I want you to know that I didn’t come here just to give a drasha; I came mainly for the “מחצית השקל”- to raise money for the Yeshiva.”