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Week 166 - Wednesday - 29 January 2003

ARAKHIN: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 4

The years according to the nidar - how so? If a child dedicated the valuation of an old man, he pays the valuation of an old man, and if an old man dedicated the valuation of a child, he pays the valuation of a child. The valuations according to the ne’erakh - how so? If a man dedicated the valuation of a woman, he pays the valuation of a woman, and if a woman dedicated the valuation of a man, she pays the valuation of a man. And the valuation at the time of valuation how so? If he dedicated the valuation of one less than five years old, and he became over five years; less than twenty, and became over twenty, he pays according to the time when he dedicated the valuation. The thirtieth day is regarded as below it. The fifth year and the twentieth year are regarded as below them, as it is stated (Lev. 27:7): "And if it be from sixty years old and above, if it be a male"; thus we learn all from the sixty-year-old: just as the sixtieth year is regarded as below it, so also are the fifth year and the twentieth year regarded as below them. So indeed? If the sixtieth year is regarded as below it, thus constituting a stringency, shall we make the fifth year and twentieth year as below them, thus constituting a leniency? Hence we learn that there is the gezerah shavah of "shanah, shanah": just as shanah of the sixtieth year is as below it, so also is shanah of the fifth and twentieth years as below them, whether it applies leniently or stringently. R. Eleazar says: Until they are one month and one day over the years.

Kehati

Our mishnah continues to elaborate the rules taught in mishnah 1.
Mishnah 1 teaches:

The years according to the nidar - how so? If a child - i.e., a young person, e.g., a twenty-year-old - dedicated the valuation of an old man of seventy, he - the ma’arikh - pays the valuation prescribed by the Torah of an old man of seventy, i.e., fifteen selas; and if an old man - e.g., of seventy - dedicated the valuation of a child - a youngster of twenty - he pays the valuation of a child - of a twenty-year-old, i.e., fifty selas.

The rule is taught in mishnah 1 that the valuations are made according to the ne’erakh - how so? If a man dedicated the valuation of a woman, he pays the valuation of a woman as specified in the Torah, according to her age; e.g., if she was between twenty and sixty years old, he must pay thirty selas, and if a woman dedicated the valuation of a man, she pays the valuation of a man according to his age. And - as taught in mishnah 1 - the valuation counts as at the time of valuation and not as when it is paid - how so?

If he dedicated the valuation of one less than five years old whose valuation is five selas, and before he paid he - the ne’erakh - became over five years - his valuation now being twenty selas; or he dedicated the valuation of a man aged less than twenty, and before paying the ne’erakh became over twenty years old, whose valuation up to sixty years is fifty selas, he pays according to his status at the time when he dedicated the valuation; i.e., if he dedicated his valuation when he was aged less than five he pays only five selas, even if in the meantime he became older than five, or if he dedicated the valuation of a man before he was twenty, he pays twenty selas, even though the ne’erakh in the meantime became older than twenty. This rule applies also stringently, e.g., if the valuation of a man less than sixty was dedicated, and he became older than sixty, he must pay fifty selas, which was the valuation at the time of the dedication (Tosefot Yom Tov; Tiferet Yisrael).

The thirtieth day of a child whose valuation was dedicated is regarded as below it - as one less than thirty days, i.e., one month, and he pays nothing, since the valuation amounts begin (Lev. 27:6): "from a month old."

The fifth year and the twentieth year, i.e., if a person dedicated the valuation of one who on that day completed five or twenty years of age they are regarded as below them - below five or twenty, and he pays five or twenty selas, respectively, as it is stated (Lev. 27:7): "And if it be from sixty years old and above, if it be a male"; thus we learn all from the sixty-year-old; since the Torah states explicitly "from sixty years old and above," it means that at sixty his valuation is that of below sixty:

Just as the sixtieth year is regarded as below it, so also are the fifth year and the twentieth year regarded as below them - and "the estimation shall be from twenty years old" means upward of twenty years, and "from five years old" upward of five years. Now the mishnah asks: Is it so indeed? Is this inference correct? If the sixtieth year is regarded by the Torah as below it, thus constituting a stringency, since the valuation of fifty selas of one under sixty is higher than the fifteen selas of one over sixty, shall we make the fifth year and twentieth year as below them, thus constituting a leniency, since the valuations of one under five and one under twenty are lower than those older than five or twenty, as specified by the Torah?

Hence we learn that there is the gezerah shavah of "shanah, shanah" - rather than learning by logical deduction, we apply the gezerah shavah of "shanah, shanah": just as shanah of the sixtieth year is as below it, so also is shanah of the fifth and twentieth years as below them, whether it applies leniently or stringently, since a gezerah shavah applies equally to either (Tiferet Yisrael).

R. Eleazar says: The fifth, twentieth and sixtieth years are accounted under these ages until they are one month and one day over the respective years. According to the Gemara, R. Eleazar learns the law concerning arakhin from the redemption of the firstborn son which is performed not earlier than on the thirty-first day (see Bartenura; Tosefot Yom Tov; Tiferet Yisrael). The halakhah does not follow R. Eleazar.

ARAKHIN: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 1

If one says, "I vow to give my weight," he must give his weight; if silver, then silver; if gold, then gold. It once happened that Yirmatyah's mother said, "I vow to give my daughter's weight," and she went up to Jerusalem, they weighed her and she gave her weight in gold. "I vow the weight of my hand," R. Yehudah says, He fills a jar with water and inserts it up to his elbow, and weighs the flesh, sinews and bones of a donkey and puts it in until it is full. R. Yose said, How is it possible to account flesh against flesh and bones against bones? Rather it is estimated how much the hand is likely to weigh.

Kehati

If one says, “I vow to give the equivalent of my weight" to the Temple, he must give his weight as he stipulated; if he vowed to give his weight in silver then he must give silver, if he vowed to give it in gold, then he must give gold. According to the Gemara, our mishnah teaches that unless he specified, he may pay with anything that is locally sold by weight, even tar or onions. But if a prominent person vowed, then even if he did not specify, he is assessed according to his wealth.

Indeed, it once happened that Yirmatyah's mother said, “I vow to give my daughter's weight" and she went up to Jerusalem, they weighed her - the daughter - and she - her mother - being very wealthy, gave the Temple her daughter's weight in gold. If one says, “I vow to donate the weight of my hand" - then as it is impossible to weigh it, since one can press it down or lift it, R. Yehudah says, He fills a jar with water and inserts it - his hand - up to his elbow, which part covers the popular definition of "hand," and with regard to vows we go by the general usage; and since the water displaced is equal to the volume of the hand, he weighs an amount of the flesh, sinews and bones of a donkey corresponding to the hand and puts it in the jar until it - the jar - is full again, and the weight of these equals the weight of his hand. According to Rambam (see Mishnah Commentary ad loc) "he weighs the flesh, sinews and bones of a donkey" means placing those parts of a donkey into a jar until it is full, and weighing the flesh, sinews and bones, which yield the weight of his hand. According to others, however, the flesh, sinews and bones are weighed first and are then put into the jar, otherwise the saturated flesh will increase its weight in excess of the hand (Tosafot Arakhin 19b, s.v. veshokel). R. Yose said, How is it possible to account with any degree of precision flesh against flesh and bones against bones, since those parts of the donkey placed into the jar may outweigh or fall short of the weight of his hand? Rather it is estimated how much the hand is likely to weigh and he donates to the Temple accordingly. The halakhah follows R. Yose.

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