Torah Community Connections

Week 26 - Tuesday - 23 May 2000

SHEKALIM: CHAPTER 4: MISHNA 2

The heifer and the he-goat to be sent away and the strip of red wool come from the funds withdrawn from the chamber. The ramp for the heifer and the ramp for the he-goat sent away and the thread between its horns and the canal and the city wall and the city wall and its towers, and all the needs of the city, come form the remainder of the chamber. Abba Shaul says, The High Priests built the ramp for the heifer of their own.

Kehati

This mishnah continues to explain the designated purposes of the withdrawal funds from the chamber. And the designated purpose of the remainder of the treasury chamber, namely the shekels that remained in the chamber after the various withdrawals had been placed in the different chests.

The heifer - The Red Heifer (see Num. 19:2 ff.), And the he-goat to be sent away - To Azazel (a precipice in the desert where it was hurled form a cliff on Yom Kippur (Lev. 16:21), And the strip of red wool - Which was thrown into the fire when the Red Heifer was burned (Num. 19:6); all of these Come from the funds withdrawn from the chamber - The Red Heifer - because the Torah calls it a hatat ("sin offering") (Num. 19:9); the scapegoat - for the Torah states (Lev. 16:5), "And he shall take of the congregation of the Children of Israel two kids of goats," and our Sages said: " 'two kids of goats'" - that both should be alike in appearance and height and price, and should be purchased together. It follows that both are brought from the funds withdrawn from the chamber. And the red wool because whatever was burned together with the Red Heifer was subject to the same laws as the Red Heifer, this including the cedar and hyssop that were also thrown into the fire, all of which were purchased out of the funds withdrawn from the chamber. The mishnah states "the strip of red wool" in order to distinguish it from the one tied to the he-goat, which is not purchased out of that fund (as explained below). Others explain that the mishnah is referring to the red wool which was tied to the door of the ante-chamber on Yom Kippur (Rivevan; Tractate Yoma 67a). Rambam, though, writes: "And the red wool which is tied between its horns" (Hil. Shekalim 4:1); and see Mishneh Lamelech, who thinks that his might be a copying error in Rambam, and the words "which is tied between its horns" are an error).

The ramp for the heifer - They would make a sort of sloped ramp from the Temple Mount to the Mount of Olives, upon which they would take the Red Heifer, because of the possible existence of an unknown grave in the depths below which might render it ritually unclean. The ramp eliminated the need for taking the heifer through the area below (see Mishnah Parah 3:6), And the ramp for the he-goat sent away - They would make a ramp from the Temple Courtyard leading outside the outskirts of the city, to prevent people from tearing its hair out as it went, as they spurred it on to have it leave the city as soon as possible and not have any delay in removing Israel's sins (Mishnah Yoma 6:4), And the thread between its horns - They would tie red wool between the horns of the he-goat (Mishnah Yoma 6:6), And the water canal - That ran through the Temple Courtyard, if it needed repairs, And the city wall - Of Jerusalem,

And its towers and all the need of the city - Such as the digging of wells or ditches, the repairing of streets and market places, protection of the city, etc., all of these Come from the remainder of the chamber - From the shekels which remained in the chamber after the withdrawal had been made for the different chests.

Abba Shaul says, The High Priests built the ramp for the heifer of their own - funds. In the Jerusalem Talmud we are told that each kohen gadol - high priest - in whose days a Red Heifer was prepared would erect a new ramp and would refuse to use the ramps built by his predecessors (and this is the way it is cited in the Tosefta). The halakhah does not follow Abba Shaul.

SHEKALIM: CHAPTER 4: MISHNA 3

What did they do with the surplus of the remainder of the chamber? They would purchase with it wine, oil and fine flour, and the profit to the Temple; the words of R. Yishmael. R. Akiva says, One may not make profit with consecrated property nor with that of the poor.

Kehati

What did they do with the surplus of the remainder of the chamber - After they had attended to all the above-mentioned needs? They would purchase with it wine, oil and fine flour - And would re-sell to those who required wine for libations and oil and fine flour for the minhah - meal - offerings, And the profit to the Temple - And whatever profit accrued went to the Temple;

The words of R. Yishmael. R. Akiva says, One may not make profit with consecrated property - There is no poverty in a place of affluence, and it is degrading for the Temple treasury to engage in business. Furthermore, there might be a loss, Nor with that of the poor - Nor does one engage in business with the assets of the poor, lest a situation arise where the poor need money and it is unavailable. The halakhah follows R. Akiva. According to R. Akiva, though, we have no indication what was done with the surplus of the remainder, and there are those who hold that the shekels remained in the chamber until needed for one of the functions of the remainder, as specified in the previous mishnah (Hameiri quoted his teachers). According to Rambam, they are to be used as the surplus of the withdrawal funds of the chamber, as explained in the following mishnah.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives