10230. 'And give it to the work of the tent of meeting' means being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that truths and forms of good come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the work of the tent of meeting' as that which produces and forms heaven; for 'the work' is that which produces and forms, and 'the tent of meeting' is heaven where the Lord is. For the meaning of 'the tent of meeting' as heaven where the Lord is, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963. Therefore also that which joins a person to heaven is meant, for that which produces and forms heaven within a person also joins that person to heaven. The reason why being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord is meant is that what was given to the work of the tent of meeting was half a shekel, which is called 'the silver of expiations' on account of the numbering of the people, and 'giving half a shekel' means the attribution to the Lord of all that constitutes faith and love, 10220, 10221, while 'the numbering' means the arrangement in order by Him, 10218.

10221. 'Half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness' means all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'half' as all; and from the meaning of 'a shekel' as truth springing from good. The reason why 'half' means all is that half a shekel consisted of ten gerahs or obols, and 'ten' means all, 4638, and also remnants, 576, 1906, 1988, 2284, which are the truths and forms of good present with a person, stored away by the Lord in the more internal parts of him, 5135, 5342, 5897, 5898, 7560, 7564. The reason why 'a shekel' means truth springing from good is that it was a weight of silver and also of gold, and 'silver' means truth and 'gold' good. But the amount of truth springing from good and of good coming through truth is determined by the number of gerahs or obols to a shekel. The shekel, being essentially a weight, means the amount; and when it is called 'the shekel of holiness' the amount of truth and good is meant, the reason for this being that truth and good are what are called holy because they come from the Lord who alone is Holy. For more about the shekel and the meaning of it, see 2959.