One of the most enigmatic subjects in the Torah is that of 'Erchin', wherein a person volunteers to donate the value of a particular human being to the sanctuary. The Torah perscribes a fixed value for all people depending only on their age group and gender.
What exactly is being evaluated? Why the above criteria? Few commentators make more than a passing comment, and we are left wondering, what is the Holy Torah teaching us in these passages?
As in many ther places, here too, the eternal truth of the Torah's hidden depth shines through into the plain meaning of the verses; it reveals to us how utterly compassionate Hashem is, and how infinite is His love for His Chosen People. After rebuking us with harsh warnings, He turns and pleads with us not to waste those precious treasures which He lowered from Supreme heights down to this mundane world. Although our spiritual value in His eyes is endless, He asks us to at least be aware of those characteristics of spirituality which we can see with our flesh-bound eyes.
The ability to make qualitative decisions is a particularly human characteristic. Nothing else in Nature can decide to do something because it is morally right. This ability stems from the influence of the Divine Sefiros of Tiferes, Netzach and Hod on the level of practical decisions, and in decisions of a purely theoretical nature from Chesed and Gevurah as well. In little girls, the first three appear in the form of potential alone, and are therefore said to be 'worth' three coins in our limited view. While in little boys in whom we can already detect the potential for pure theoretical thought the 'worth' is five coins. These characteristics continue to develop fully in one dimension alone till the age of twenty, making them then 'worth' the number of wholeness; ten coins for the practical dimension; and an additional ten coins for the added theoretical dimension.
From the age of twenty, potential finally reaches its full fruition, each characteristic now being represented by ten coins [30 and 50] instead of a single coin for the potential alone. From the age of sixty though, people mellow out, consolidating their spiritual strengths. The practical dimension uses only Hod [10 coins], while the theoretical dimension uses half of Netzach as well [15].
Man is a spiritual being and must see himself as such. A person who truly values his spiritual potential can no longer behave like an animal. He must stand up and make his every action truly Human, in the fullest sense of the word.
Based on Rabbi Vali's book on Vayikra. Questions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva