Beis The Rebbe Rashab continues to explain in his Maamor by asking on the Possuk: זֶה יִּתְּנוּ גוֹ׳ מֵַֽחֲצִּית הַשֶקֶל בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹדֶשׁ “This they shall give ... half a shekel of the holy Shekel” What is the specific significance, of the half shekel? And why does the Torah tell us the value of the whole Shekel? Especially considering that one only needs to give half a shekel? And why is the obligation an equal amount for the rich and for the poor?
And he answers: Half a Shekel which has a value of Ten Geira, alludes to man’s ten faculties, for every Jewish soul has ten faculties. These ten faculties parallel the ten supernal Sefiros from which they evolved.
In this aspect all Neshomos are equal. Since there are ten supernal Sefiros not nine nor eleven. Therefore, every Jewish Neshomoh also has ten faculties. This is even true for the Neshomos that derive from the level Nefesh of the Nefesh of Asiyah, that there are [quantitively] no less than ten faculties. And it is also true for Neshomos that derive from the Neshomoh of Atzilus that they have [quantitively] no more than ten faculties.
The difference between them is that the ten faculties themselves are of different levels, because the level of the ten faculties of the Nefesh of the Nefesh of Asiyah, is different from the level of the ten faculties of a Neshomoh of Atzilus to the extent they are incomparable; hence the designations poor and rich. Notwithstanding this, all Jews are equal in the respect that all possess ten faculties. The Avodah is [thus] that every person needs to give his ten faculties. Whether his ten faculties are of the highest calibre or whether his ten faculties are of the lowest level, Hakodosh Boruch Hu only ever demands according to one’s ability.
