Shabbat Shekalim

The Haftarah portion for Shabbat Shekalim (2 Kings 12:1-17) narrated in English by Ronald Guttman. Questions for Discussion: The king discovers that the priests have not been attending to the upkeep of the Temple, apparently instead seeing the donations as part of their own compensation. Strikingly, the king does not accuse or assign blame. Instead, he establishes a system of checks and balances in dealing with Temple finances, to avoid the inevitable conflict of interest between the priests’ immediate needs and the long-term sustenance of the institution. • What “checks and balances” do we need -- individually, in our personal and business relationships, and as a society -- to better navigate our inevitable conflicts of interest?• How might refraining from blame help us better enact those structures?JTS wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the Jewish Publication Society for allowing us to use their translation.