As the coronavirus becomes a global plague of Biblical proportions, the eyes of the world turn to Jerusalem and the hopes for a Temple for succor. The precedent for the Temple Mount curing disease is clear:

Counting the Jews is explicitly forbidden in the Torah. In lieu of a census, each Jewish man over the age of 20 gave a silver half-shekel to the Temple. It was this silver half-shekel that prevented a plague from engulfing Israel.

When you take a census of B’nei Yisrael according to their enrollment, each shall pay Hashem a ransom for himself on being enrolled, that no plague may come upon them through their being enrolled. Exodus 30:12

King David forgot this prohibition and counted the Jews directly, resulting in a plague that killed some 70,000 Jews.

And David built there a mizbayach to Hashem and sacrificed burnt offerings and offerings of well-being. Hashem responded to the plea for the land, and the plague against Yisrael was checked. II Samuel 24:25

Over 20 years ago, Reuven Prager, the tailor specializing in Biblically-styled clothing who sells such coins, started minting silver half-shekel coins for the purpose of performing the Biblical commandment incumbent upon every Jewish male. Regardless of personal wealth, every Jewish man was required each year to give a half-shekel coin to the Temple.

In Temple times, the half-shekels funded the costs of the Temple service. It was also required in order for public offerings to be considered communal since every Jewish household had contributed towards its purchase.

Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, a renowned Torah scholar from the Middle Ages, who is more famously known as the “Rambam,” said that the weight of the coin was equal to 160 grains of barley, which in modern measurements would be approximately eight grams of silver. The value of the coin is dependent upon whatever the market’s value is on silver.

“The solution is very simple: perform the commandment of the half-shekel,” Prager told Breaking Israel News.”In the Bible, the half-shekel was used to prevent plague in the nation of Israel.”

Rabbi Levi Sudri, an award-winning Bible expert, suggested that the State of Israel might have inadvertently sinned in this regard.

“We are warned in the Bible not to count the Jews lest we bring upon ourselves a plague,” Rabbi Sudri said. “Due to excessive elections, we have counted Israel, not once but three times.”

To purchase coins, contact Reuven Prager directly via email at begedivri@hotmail.com