Shekalim 14b — the Talmud in English

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hand over this scroll

in which were written the signs of the incense—how to recognize them and how to prepare them—

to one another.

And they would rely upon one another that this scroll should not come into the hands of someone unworthy, who would use it for idolatry.

And now, when the members of the House of my father are no longer trustworthy,

and I fear that this scroll will pass into the hands of someone unworthy,

here, take the scroll,

for you are trustworthy,

and take care of it,

so that it should not go from your hand into the hands of others.

And when I came and presented these words

the following

before Rabbi Akiva, his eyes shed tears, and he said: From now on, we need not mention them for disgrace.

For until now we had thought to disgrace the House of Avtinas בכך שלא רצו ללמד מעשה הקטורת, על אף שביארו טעמם שלא רצו שיבא אדם שאינו הגון ויעשה כן לעבודה זרה that they did not wish to teach the preparation of the incense, even though they explained their reason: they did not wish an unworthy person to come and do this for idolatry.

For we thought that these were merely words, and that their main reason was for their own needs and livelihood. However, now that we see how careful they were in guarding the scroll, we see that their intention was for the sake of Heaven. And therefore we no longer have to continue mentioning them for disgrace.

We learned in our Mishna:

Eleazar

appointed

over the curtain.

And the Gemara explains:

that he was

Eleazar

appointed over

all

the weavers of the curtains

and those who embroidered them, so that they would be ready for the Sanctuary and for the gates.

For there were thirteen curtains in the Second Temple, and every year they would make two new curtains, to separate between the Holy and the Holy of Holies.

We learned in our Mishna:

Pinhas the dresser.

And the Gemara explains:

that he would dress the garments of the High Priest.

That is, he was occupied with preparing the garments of ordinary priests and the garments of the High Priest and with weaving them, and everything was made under his hand [Rambam, chapter 7 of the Laws of the Temple Vessels, halakha 20].

And

there was an incident involving one priest who dressed

[a minister]

one

in the garments that he was accustomed to wear,

and he gave him eight gold coins as his payment.

And some say: twelve

gold

coins he gave him.

Halakha 2 — Mishna:

Our Mishna continues to enumerate the additional appointees who were in the Temple.

a.

They do not reduce

in the Temple

from three treasurers,

for the property of the Sanctuary was under their authority, and they collected valuations and redeemed consecrated property, and all the work of the Sanctuary was performed through them.

And they do not reduce

from seven amarcalin

who were appointed over the treasurers [and from this their name “amarcal” is derived, from the expression “mar,” master over the “all”]. And the seven keys of the Courtyard gates were in their hands, one in the hand of each one, and they could not open the gates until all seven had gathered together.

b.

And they do not establish authority over the public

over money, even ordinary money,

with fewer than two

appointees.

For it is written concerning the collection of the donation for the Tabernacle, “And they shall take the gold”—the plural is restrictive, [meaning] two. And it is because of suspicion.

And therefore all those appointees who were taught above also had other appointees with them [and the tanna enumerated only the heads of the appointees].

Except for the son of Ahiyah, who

was appointed alone,

over intestinal illness,

even though it was a matter involving money, since money had to be spent to purchase medicinal ingredients.

And

except for

Eleazar, who

was appointed alone

over the curtain,

despite the fact that this too was a matter involving money.

Because

the majority of the public had accepted them upon themselves.

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna:

They do not reduce

in the Temple

from three treasurers and from seven amarcalin.

It was taught:

And likewise they do not reduce

from two katilikin,

for they appointed two additional ones, who were appointed over the amarcalin.

And the Gemara brings a source for all these appointments:

This is what is written

in II Chronicles [31]: “

And Hezekiah said to prepare chambers in the House of our God. And they prepared them, and they brought the contribution and the tithe faithfully.

And over them was Conaniah the Levite, and Shimei his brother, the second-ranking one, and Jehiel and Uzziah and Nahath and Asahel and Jerimoth and Jozabad and Eliel and Ismachiah and Mahath and Benaiah, by the appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah, the ruler of the House of God.”

And the Gemara explains the role of each one mentioned in this verse: [the Gemara enumerates them according to the order of their importance in rank, and not according to the order mentioned in the verse].

“Jehiel and Uzziah and Nahath” —

treasurers.

Thus, three treasurers must be appointed.

“And Asahel and Jerimoth and Jozabad and Eliel and Ismachiah and Mahath and Benaiah” —

amarcalin.

And from here it follows that seven amarcalin are appointed.

And they were

“officials under Conaniah and Shimei his brother” —

these were the two

katilikin

appointed over the amarcalin.

And all these were appointed

“by the appointment of King Hezekiah and Azariah, the ruler of the House of God” —

that is, the High Priest.

And the intention of the verse is that

the king and the High Priest

were appointed above all these appointees mentioned here.

And

when he permits,

when he comes to remove the seals of the treasuries in order to take money from them:

The king

came first, and

saw his seal and permitted.

And after him came the

High Priest, saw his seal and permitted.

And

the katilikin came, saw his seal and permitted.

And

the amarcal saw his seal and permitted.

And finally

the treasurer

came,

saw his seal, and permitted.

We learned in our Mishna:

They do not establish authority over the public

in a matter that

involves money with fewer than two.

From where do we know this?

Rabbi

Nahman said in the name of Rabbi Mana: On account of

that which is written [Exodus, chapter 25] concerning the contribution for the Tabernacle:

“And they shall take the gold and the turquoise and the purple.” “

They” is an expression of the plural, and the restrictive meaning of the plural is two. Thus, those occupied with the money of the public may not engage in it alone; rather, there must be at least two, so that they should not bring themselves to suspicion.

And the Gemara brings support to explain that which we require two for authority involving money, so that they should not come to suspicion, from the fact that even Moses’ generation spoke about him and suspected him, and all the more so would they suspect others.

Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: Moses became wealthy from the chips of the Tablets.

This is what is written

that the Lord said to Moses:

“Carve for yourself two stone Tablets.”

And we derive that He said to him

“Carve for yourself” —

so that the chips

that fall from the hewing of the stone Tablets would be

yours.

Rabbi Hanin said:

Moses did not become wealthy from the chips of the Tablets, but rather

a quarry

[a place where stones are hewn]

of precious stones and gems the Holy One, blessed is He, created

for Moses

from within his tent, and from it Moses became wealthy.

It is written:

[Exodus, chapter 33]:

“And they looked after Moses until he entered the tent.”

And

two amoraim

disagreed concerning the nature of this looking:

One said: For disgrace. And one said: For praise.

And the Gemara explains:

The one who said, “For disgrace,”

means that they looked at Moses and said:

“Look

[see]

at his shank-bones,

[his thighs],

look at his feet

[they looked at his legs]—how broad they are,

look at his flesh

[they looked at his body],

he eats from that of the Jews and drinks from that of the Jews,”

[he eats and drinks from the money of Israel].

Everything he has

[all that belongs to him] —

is from that of the Jews.

And

the one who said, “For praise”:

They looked after Moses because

they sought to see the righteous and meritorious

[they wished to see the righteous and meritorious]. And they would say:

“Good fortune

to us

that we have merited to see him,”

for we merited to see him.

Halakha 3 — Mishna:

In the previous Mishna it was mentioned that one was appointed over the seals, and one was appointed over the libations.

And in the Mishna before us it is explained in what manner this was done.

a.

Every burnt-offering or peace-offering brought upon the altar had brought with it a meal-offering, mixed with oil and fine flour, and wine libations.

Their measure depended upon the kinds of animals, and they are divided into three kinds:

a.

The libations of a lamb in its year, and of a goat, whether large or small,

whether males or females, are: one-tenth of an eifa of fine flour, mixed with one-quarter of a hin of oil [which is three log], and one-quarter of a hin of wine for libation.

b.

The libations of a ram

[a male lamb in its second year, called a ram] are: two-tenths of an eifa of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil [which is four log], and one-third of a hin of wine.

c.

The libations of cattle,

whether large or small, whether male or female, are three-tenths of an eifa of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil [which is six log], and half a hin of wine.

b.

The obligation to bring libations applies to burnt-offerings or peace-offerings, whether those of an individual or those of the public. But a sin-offering or a guilt-offering does not require libations.

Except for the sin-offering and guilt-offering of a leper, for a wealthy leper brings three animals: two male lambs, one for a guilt-offering and one for a burnt-offering, and one female lamb for a sin-offering. And he is obligated to bring libations for his offerings, as explained in the Torah. For each offering, one-tenth of an eifa of fine flour mixed with one-quarter of a hin of oil, and one-quarter of a hin of wine, the measure of the libations of a lamb.

And a poor leper, who does not have money to purchase three animals, brings one lamb for a guilt-offering, and two birds, turtledoves or young pigeons, one for a sin-offering and one for a burnt-offering, and brings libations consisting of only one-tenth of an eifa of fine flour mixed with oil and one-quarter of a hin of wine, since libations are brought only for animals and not for birds.

And besides this, the leper must bring an additional log of oil, for placing upon the thumbs of his hands and feet and for sprinkling before the entrance of the Sanctuary, according to the order explained in the Torah in the section concerning the leper.

c.

For offerings of the public, the libations came from the funds of the public, which were placed in the chamber, as is the law concerning offerings of the public.

For an individual’s offerings, the individual is obligated to bring the libations from his own money, and he may bring the libations from his home.

However, since it is difficult to be careful at home to preserve them in purity—for they had to be preserved according to the law of ordinary produce prepared with the purity of sacred things, concerning which the care is considerable—therefore there was a chamber in the Temple, and in it there were pure libations. And anyone who wished to bring his libations could purchase them there.

And he would give his money to the appointee over the seals, and he would receive from him a seal upon which was written the measure of libations that he had to give him.

And he would give this seal to the appointee over the libations, and he would give him libations corresponding to the seal in his hand.

And for this purpose,

there were four seals in the Temple.

For the three different kinds of libations mentioned, and the fourth for the libations of a leper.

And written upon them were:

a.

Calf —

if someone donated cattle for his offering, they would give him, corresponding to his money, a seal upon which “calf” was written, and the appointee over the libations would give him, corresponding to his money, three-tenths of an eifa of fine flour, half a hin of oil, and half a hin of wine.

b.

Male —

for the libations of a ram [a ram means a male, as its translation is dichra].

c.

Kid —

for the libations of a lamb in its year, or a goat’s kid, even if large.

d.

Sinner —

for a leper; since he must bring libations for three offerings, they give him one seal upon which “sinner” is written, for all his libations.

[A leper is called a “sinner,” as we say in Arakhin, 16a: Afflictions come on account of seven matters.]

Ben Azzai

disagrees and

says: Five

seals

were

in the Temple.

And he also disagrees with the first tanna, for in his view these seals were not written upon in the Holy Tongue, but in

Aramaic they were written upon them.

For during the period of the Second Temple most of the people spoke Aramaic.

And what are the five seals according to Ben Azzai?

a.

Calf.

b.

Male.

[A male in Aramaic is called dichra.]

c.

Kid.

d.

Poor sinner

[a poor leper], who brings only the libations of one animal, since his offering consists of one lamb and two birds. And the reason that a separate seal was made for him, and they do not give him a kid seal for the libations of his lamb, is that he must bring an additional log of oil for placing upon his thumbs.

e.

And wealthy sinner

[a wealthy leper].

The

calf seal serves with

all

the libations of cattle,

whether for

large

bulls or

small

calves, whether for

males

among the cattle or for

females

among them, since all kinds of cattle have one law concerning libations.

The

kid seal serves with the libations of the flock,

whether for

large

kids or for

small

ones, for

males and for

both

females.

Except for rams,

for although a ram too is of the flock, nevertheless it has a separate seal.

A male lamb of two years is called a ram, and its libations differ, as explained above; therefore a seal of its own is allotted to it.

The

ram

seal

served only with the libations of rams.

The

sinner seal serves with the libations of the three animals of a leper,

and with a log of oil for the thumbs.

And now the Mishna explains the procedure for purchasing the libations.

One who requests libations

for his offering

goes to Yohanan, who

was

appointed over the seals, and gives him money

equal to the value of his libations.

And he receives from him a seal

appropriate for his libations.

Afterward,

he comes to Ahiyah, who

was

appointed over the libations

and the fine flour,

and he gives him

Ahiyah the

seal

that he received,

and receives libations from him.

In the evening they come to one another —

Ahiyah and Yohanan.

And Ahiyah takes out

all

the seals

that he received during the day,

and receives

from Yohanan

against them

the

money

that he received that day in exchange for the seals. And they would compare the sum of the money with the sum of the seals.

If the money was less,

so that there was not money corresponding to every seal —

they reduced it for him, and Yohanan would pay from his own house,

since he was responsible for them to the Sanctuary.

And if there was an excess,

for they found surplus money —

it was an excess for the Sanctuary,

and we do not say that perhaps it was Yohanan’s money; rather, we are concerned that one of the purchasers lost a seal.

According to

that

always

the hand of the sacred treasury is uppermost.

One who lost

from him

his seal,

and came to Yohanan and informed him that he had lost his seal,

they wait for him until evening,

when Ahiah and Yohanan would sit together to calculate the money against the seals.

And if they found for him

extra money

equal to

the measure of

his seal

that he had lost from him,

they give it to him.

For we say: certainly he lost his seal, since we see that one seal was not used.

But if not,

that they did not find extra money, but there was money corresponding to the seals in the possession of Ahiah,

they would not give it to him.

And the name of the day

of the week, and the name of the month,

are written upon them

on all the seals

because of the swindlers.

Perhaps the swindler will find a seal that had fallen before that day from its owner, or from Yohanan the appointee, and will use it after some time.

And on that very day we are not concerned that he will collect with it, for he is afraid because of the one who lost it and is searching for it.

And likewise we are concerned lest he purchase a seal at a time when the price is low, and keep the seal until the libations become more expensive, and then collect the libations.

Gemara:

And we raise an objection to Ben Azzai, who disagrees with the first tanna and holds that there was an additional seal for a poor sinner:

And according to Ben Azzai, the seal of a poor sinner—

why

was it needed for him? For his offering was one lamb, and a kid seal sufficed for him, like anyone who brings a lamb offering?

And we answer:

because

besides the libations of the lamb

he would bring

also

its log

of oil

with it,

for the placing upon the thumbs and toes.

And therefore they needed an additional seal, against which he would receive the libations of the lamb together with an additional log of oil for the thumbs and toes.

However, according to the Rabbis

but the Rabbis, who disagree with him, hold that there was no separate seal for a poor leper; rather, he

would bring

a seal of

a kid

for the libations of his lamb.

And on account of the one log of oil that he needed to bring for the placing upon the thumbs and toes, they did not establish a seal for him separately; rather, he would bring it from his house.

And the Gemara raises a question:

the libations of a ewe

which is a female lamb two years old—

what

are they?

Is its law like that of a male, and a male lamb two years old is a ram, and brings more libations than a one-year-old lamb; and the ewe likewise has this law?

Or perhaps it is specifically the ram whose libations are so. But the ewe has the law of young sheep, which bring few libations, and likewise goats, between which there is no distinction, and they always bring the libations of a lamb, whether large or small.

And we resolve it:

from what we learned

from what we learned in our Mishna, that a seal of

a kid

was

used for the libations of sheep,

both

large and

both

small,

both

males and

both

females,

except for those of rams.

This teaches

we learn that

the libations of a ewe are

like the libations of a kid

and not like the libations of a ram. For we learned that even the females, both large and small, have the law of a lamb, except for the ram.

And what is the reason that there is a distinction between a ewe and a ram?

Because

it is written

in the section of libations:

“So shall it be done for one bull, or for one ram, or for a sheep, among the sheep or among the goats.”

“For one bull”—

why is it stated?

If it is to teach us that cattle require libations, it has already been stated in this section: “And he shall present with the son of the cattle a meal-offering.”

Rather,

the verse tells

you “for one bull”

—that it did not distinguish between the libations of a calf

small

and the libations of a bull

large; their libations are all equal.

For it would have been possible

to reason and say otherwise, were it not for the amplification of the verse.

For

the offspring of sheep requires libations, and the offspring of cattle requires libations.

And it would have been possible to derive one from the other:

If we found that the verse distinguished

among sheep

between the libations of a lamb

one year old

and the libations of a ram

two years old, even though they are of one species,