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Week 27 - Thursday - 1 June 2000

SHEKALIM: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 5

Thirteen chests were in the Temple, on which were inscribed: new shekels and old shekels, nests and young birds for burnt offerings, wood and frankinsence, gold for the kaporet, six for donative offerings. New shekels - of each separate year; and old ones - one who did not contribute the shekel the previous year contributes the shekel the following year; nests, means turtledoves; and young birds for burnt offerings - means young pigeons, and all are burnt offerings; the words of R. Yehuda. But the Sages say: Nests - one a sin offering and one a burnt offering, and young birds for burnt offerings - are for burnt offerings only.

Kehati

Thirteen chests - shofar-shaped, as we explained above, (Mishnah 1), were in the Temple - courtyard, on which were inscribed - Each of them had one of the following inscriptions written on it:

New shekels - This was written, following Ben Azzai (above Mishnah 5:3), as that was the commonly used language (see Tosefot Yom Tov); and old shekels - As explained below in the mishnah,

Nests and young birds for burnt offerings - On one was written "nests" and on the other "young birds for burnt offerings," as explained below; Wood - Whoever donated wood for the pyre would place the money in the chest which was inscribed "wood," Frankinsence - whoever donated frankinsence would place the money in the chest which was inscribed "frankinsence,"

Gold for the kaporet - Tosefta explains that one who pledged gold would bring a gold dinar and place it in the chest which was marked "gold for kaporet," and the kohanim would buy gold with the money and would use it to make thin gold plates for the interior of the Holy of Holies. Others explain that they would use the gold to make service utensils, for we find in the book of Ezra (1:10) and in Chronicles (I, 28:17), that the bowls used were referred to as "golden utensils for service," as the kohen would wipe his finger in the bowls between one sprinkling and the next one (Rashi);

Six for donative offerings - The remaining six chests were for donative burnt offerings, as explained in the following mishnah. They were inscribed as follows: a) "remainder of sin offerings," b) "remainder of guilt offerings," c) "remainder of bird offerings of zavim, zavot and women after childbirth," d) "remainder of a nazirite's offering," e) "remainder of a guilt offering of a metzora," f) "donative offering" without any specification; i.e., if one set aside money for a sin offering and after its purchase money remained, he would place that money in the chest inscribed "remainder of a sin offering"; similarly, money that remained after purchase of a guilt offering is placed in the chest inscribed "remainder of guilt offerings" and so all the others. However, one who vowed or donated to the altar placed the money in the chest inscribed "donative offering" and all these six chests are included in the designation "donative offering" because donative burnt offerings are purchased from the money in these chests when the altar was idle as explained in a number of places in our Tractate. From this point, the mishnah explains the names of the chests:

New shekels - This was used to place the new shekels, of each separate year - for whoever had not contributed his shekel in Adar would bring it whenever he wished until Pesah and place it in this chest, and when the time came for the withdrawal of funds from the chamber, the treasurer would remove the shekels from this chest and place them in the chamber, so that they would be included in the withdrawal; And old ones - The chest upon which was written "Old Shekels," was so that

One who did not contribute the shekel the previous year contributes the following year - to this chest, and the treasurer transferred these shekels to the remainder of funds from a chamber, Nests, means turtledoves - If one vowed or donated large doves to the Temple, he would place their value in the chest inscribed "nests" - and young birds for burnt offerings - means young pigeons - One who vowed or donated young pigeons would place their value in the chest inscribed "young birds for bird offerings," And all are burnt offerings - These chests were used only for burnt offerings,

The words of R. Yehudah - who holds that there were only chests for donative bird offerings that can be offered only as burnt offerings; but for obligatory bird offerings such as zavim, zavot and women after childbirth, who brought two pigeons or doves, one as a sin offerings and one as a burnt offering, there was no chest, but they donated either money or birds directly to the kohen.

But the Sages say: Nests - one a sin offering and one a burnt offering - The chest inscribed "nests" was used for obligatory bird offerings, and the money was used to bring a sin offering and a burnt offering, And young birds for burnt offerings - And the chest which was inscribed, "young birds for burnt offerings," was for burnt offerings only - was used by those who wanted to donate a bird offering, and only burnt offerings were brought for them all.

SHEKALIM: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 6

One who says: wood is upon me, shall not diminish from two logs; frankincense, he may not diminish from a handful; gold, he shall not diminish from a gold dinar. Six for donative offerings. What was done with donative offerings? They would buy burnt offerings, the meat for God and the hides for the kohanim. This exposition was expounded by Yehoyada the kohen gadol: "It is a guilt offering: for he is certainly guilty before the Lord" (Lev. 5:19) - this is the general rule, with whatever comes because of sin or because of guilt shall be purchased burnt offerings, the meat to God and the hides to the kohanim. Thus two verses are reconciled: the guilt offering to the Lord and the guilt offering to the kohanim, and it also states (II Kings 12:17), "The guilt offering money and the sin offering money will not be brought into the house of the Lord: it is of the kohanim."

Kehati

One who says: wood is upon me - He obligated himself with a vow to donate wood to the altar, without specifying how much, may not diminish from two logs - Must bring at least two logs of the size used on the altar, frankinsence - One who says I obligate myself frankinsence but did not specify the quantity, may not diminish from a handful - of frankinsence, that being the amount offered with a meal offering, as it states (Lev. 6:8), "And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meal offering, and of its oil, and all the frankinsence which is upon the meal offering" - here we see that the Torah compares the frankinsence to the taking of a handful of the meal offering, from which we deduce that just as the meal offering requires a handful, the frankinsence also requires a handful.

God - If one vows a gold coin to the upkeep of the Temple, May not diminish from a gold dinar - He must give the Temple at least a gold dinar, that being twenty-five silver dinars; and all the above cases are where the person did not specify an amount, but where he specified an amount, he must give as much as he specified. Six for donative offerings - The previous mishnah noted that there were six chests for donative offerings, as we explained there, and the mishnah here asks:

What was done with donative offerings - What did they do with the money in the donative offering chests? They would buy burnt offerings - They would use the money in these chests to buy burnt offerings, The meat for God - it was burnt on the altar, And the hides for the kohanim - The hides of these animals were given to the kohanim.

This exposition was expounded by Yehoyada the kohen gadol - who lived at the time of King Yehoash: "It is a guilt offering: for he is certainly guilty before the Lord" - This appears to be a contradiction, for the words, "it is a guilt offering" imply that it has the same law as every guilt offering eaten by the kohanim, while "he is certainly guilty before the Lord" implies that the sacrifice is entirely to God as a burnt offering. How does one reconcile this? Rather,

This is the general rule - The verse comes to teach us: Whatever comes because of sin or because of guilt - Money remaining from funds set aside for a sin offering or a guilt offering, shall be purchased burnt offerings - One must use the money to buy donative burnt offerings, in which the meat to God - And is burned on the altar, and the hides to the kohanim - As with every burnt offering,

Thus the two verses are reconciled: the guilt offering to the Lord - means The meat, and the guilt offering to the kohanim - means the hides, and it also states - And that is the explanation of the verse in regard to Yehoyada (II Kings 12:17), "The guilt offering money and the sin offering money shall not be brought to the Temple of the Lord: they shall be for the kohanim" - And one cannot explain the verse literally, that the money set aside for a guilt offering or for a sin offering should be given to the kohanim, for they must use it to buy the sacrifices for which the money was set aside. Rather, what the verse means is as we explained above, that if there was surplus money of the money set aside for a guilt offering or a sin offering, this money was not used for the upkeep of the Temple but was given to the kohanim, and they would buy donative burnt offerings, the hides of which belonged to the kohanim.

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