The Torah in the beginning of Parashat Ki-Tisa (Shemot 30:13) requires every male aged twenty and above to pay each year a Mahasit Ha’shekel (half-Shekel) to the treasury of the Bet Ha’mikdash. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that this money was used for all the public offerings brought in the Bet Ha’mikdash on behalf of the entire nation. These include the two daily Tamid sacrifices; the additional Musaf sacrifices offered on Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh and holidays; the Nesachim (libations) that accompanied the public sacrifices; the salt that was added to the sacrifices; the wood placed on the altar to sustain the fire; the Lehem Ha’panim (show bread); the special Omer sacrifice offered on the 16 th of Nissan; the Sheteh Ha’lehem offering brought on Shabuot; the Para Aduma (red heifer); the Sa’ir Ha’mishtaleah (the goat sent into the wilderness on Yom Kippur for atonement) and the crimson string which was tied to its horns. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that G-d commanded this Misva for the nation’s benefit, so that we will all have a share in the sacrifices. All people – both rich and poor – donated the precise same amount, such that everyone, regardless of his financial status, had an equal portion in the sacrifices which were offered on the nation’s behalf. It was a great merit for the nation that everyone participated collectively to fund the public offerings. The Mishna in the beginning of Masechet Shekalim teaches that each year, on Rosh Hodesh Adar, the announcement was made that everybody must send their Mahasit Ha’shekel to the Temple treasury. The “fiscal year” of the Bet Ha’mikdash began at the beginning of Nissan, so one month prior, at the beginning of Adar, the authorities would begin collecting the mandatory half-Shekel donation. As mentioned, all people – both rich and poor – were required to pay the amount of a half-Shekel. Somebody who could not afford this amount needed to even sell his clothing if necessary to obtain the money to fulfill this obligation. The half-Shekel needed to be paid all at once; it could not be paid in installments. This Misva is binding upon all males, including Kohanim, Leviyim, Yisraelim, Gerim (converts), and gentile servants who were freed. It applies only in the times of the Bet Ha’mikdash, but when the Bet Ha’mikdash stood, even Jews living outside the Land of Israel were required to send in their Mahasit Ha’shekel payment each year. If a child volunteers to donate the Mahasit Ha’shekel, his donation is accepted. If a non-Jew volunteers to donate the Mahasit Ha’shekel, his donation is not accepted. Somebody who neglected to pay the Mahasit Ha’shekel has transgressed an affirmative Biblical command. Moreover, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, he would be severely punished for separating himself from the nation by not participating in this collective donation. And, since he did not participate, he would not be included in the atonement earned through the offering of the public sacrifices. As the Sefer Ha’hinuch notes, it is customary nowadays on the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh Adar to read in the synagogue the command of the Mahasit Ha’shekel, in commemoration of this Misva. We commonly refer to this Shabbat as “Shabbat Parashat Shekalim.” There is also a different custom, which the Sefer Ha’hinuch does not mention, to make a special donation before or on Purim in commemoration of the Mahasit Ha’shekel. This custom is noted by the Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles, Cracow, 1530-1572), at the end of the laws of Purim. Rabbi Akiva Eiger (1761-1837) writes (in Siman 106) that since women are exempt from the obligation of Mahasit Ha’shekel, it follows that they are also exempt from the Musaf prayer on Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh and holidays. The other prayers are recited both to commemorate the daily sacrifices in the Bet Ha’mikdash, and to invoke G-d’s compassion. Therefore, women recite these prayers, because although they did not participate in the funding of the daily sacrifices through the Mahasit Ha’shekel pay