אור פניך עלינו אדון נשא ושקל אשא בבית נכון ונשא (יוצר לפרשת שקלים)
In the Yotzros for Mussaf on Parshas Shekalim, the chazzan beseeches Hashem: אור פניך עלינו אדון נשא ושקל אשא בבית נכון ונשא – “Master, raise the light of Your face upon us, and I will raise a shekel in the firm and exalted Temple.” Why do we petition Hashem for the opportunity to contribute a shekel to the Beis HaMikdosh when the Torah stresses that every Jew must contribute half that amount, not more and not less?
Rav Yehoshua of Belz suggests that this glaring difficulty provides us with an ingenious resolution to another question. The Gemara (Berachos 20b) records that the heavenly angels challenged Hashem that if the Torah (Devorim 10:17) says He does not display favoritism, how can it also state (Bamidbar 6:26) that He raises His countenance toward the Jewish people and shows them favor? Hashem replied, “How can I not show them favor when I commanded them (Devorim 8:10) to recite Birchas HaMazon if they eat to the point of satiation, yet they are stringent and do so even when they consume much less?”
This exchange teaches us that Hashem is partial to us when we do mitzvos in a stricter manner than required by the Torah. If so, how can we request such preferential treatment in Yotzros in conjunction with donating the half-shekel, which is one of the few mitzvos where the Torah forbids us to be stringent by giving more?
The Mishnah (Shekalim 1:6) rules that when two people jointly give one shekel, they must add a small sum (known as קלבון) corresponding to the amount they saved by not having to pay a moneychanger to break the shekel into two half-shekels. Thus, by bringing one whole shekel with a partner, we can give more than we are required, and it is this opportunity that we ask of Hashem. Doing so will cause Him to shine on us the light of His face, may it be speedily in our days. (R’ Ozer Alport)
