Shekalim 15b — the Talmud in English

Rabbi Avun made these gates ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact location of the page")

of the great order,

[he installed openings and gates in the great study hall in his place].

Rabbi Mana came to him

of Rabbi Avun,

he said to him

Rabbi Avun:

See what I have done

[he praised himself and said: See what I have done in the synagogue to adorn the house of our God].

He said to him:

this verse should be read concerning you [Hosea 8]:

“Israel forgot its Maker -

and built palaces!”

But

were there no people laboring in Torah [and were there no people studying Torah]]

who needed money for their livelihood, and would it not have been preferable for you to give your money to the poor of Torah, who perform mitzvot at all times, rather than to build gates for the palaces of the Lord?

We learned in the Mishna: The Chamber of Vessels—whoever donates a vessel throws it into it, and once every thirty days the treasurers open it; and every vessel in which they find a need for Temple maintenance they leave there, while the rest are sold, and their proceeds go to Temple maintenance.

A tanna taught:

One who consecrates an animal or stones for Temple maintenance, and they were needed for the altar—them they take.

This is the law, that

altar consecrated property removes what is fit from Temple-maintenance consecrated property.

But if he consecrated animals for the altar—even if they became blemished, and are no longer fit for sacrifice—they do not remove them for the needs of Temple maintenance.

For

Temple-maintenance consecrated property does not remove what is fit for it from altar consecrated property,

rather, they are sold, and their proceeds go to Temple maintenance.

And we raise an objection to what we said, that Temple-maintenance consecrated property that is fit for the altar is transferred to the altar:

But did we not learn

in our Mishna that every

vessel in which they found a need they leave

to use it,

and the rest are sold, and their proceeds go to Temple maintenance.

It follows that only a vessel that is needed for Temple maintenance do they leave and use, but an item fit for the altar they do not leave to use it for the altar; rather, its law is like that of the other items, which are sold.

And we learn from this that Temple-maintenance consecrated property, even though it is fit for the altar, is not transferred to Temple maintenance; rather, it is sold, and its proceeds go to Temple maintenance.

And he answers:

Rabbi Hezekiah said:

Our Mishna, which says, “A vessel in which they found a need for Temple maintenance they leave,” does not mean, “A vessel in which they found a need for Temple maintenance—they leave it.”

Rather

this is the wording of our Mishna [

this is the meaning of our Mishna]: “A vessel in which they found a need”—whether for the needs of Temple maintenance or for the needs of the altar—

to the Chamber of Temple Maintenance

they leave it, and from there take it for whatever they need.

We have returned to you, chapter “These are the appointed officials.”

Halakha A — Mishna:

Thirteen shofarot —

boxes made in the form of a shofar, bent and round, wide below and with their mouths narrow above, into which they would place coins,

were in the Temple.

And each one was designated for another matter, as will be explained later in the chapter.

Thirteen tables

were in the Temple. And below it will be explained where their place in the Temple was, and what they did with them.

And likewise

thirteen prostrations

in thirteen places

were in the Temple.

Corresponding to the thirteen breaches that the Greek kings breached in the enclosure of the Temple, and which the kings of the Hasmonean house repaired. And when they reached the places where the breaches had been, they would prostrate themselves by way of acknowledgment.

And

those of the house of Rabban Gamaliel and of the house of Rabbi Hananiah, the deputy of the priests, would prostrate themselves in fourteen

places in the Temple.

And where was

this prostration

additional

to the thirteen prostrations?

Opposite

the chamber of

the Chamber of the Wood Pile

—where wood was placed, and from there they supplied wood for the altar.

And because

they had such a tradition from their forefathers, that there the Ark was hidden

by King Josiah at the destruction of the First Temple.

And

an incident occurred involving one priest

who was blemished [and therefore disqualified for service],

who was occupied

with his work in the Chamber of the Wood Pile, removing worms from the wood to prepare it for the altar [for every wood in which a worm was found was disqualified for the altar, and a blemished priest engaged in this work], and while he was occupied with this,

he saw the floor

of the chamber

which was different from its fellows,

and understood that this stone had been removed from its place and returned.

And he came and told his companion

what he had seen,

but he did not manage to finish the matter before his soul departed,

so that he would not reveal the Ark hidden there.

And they knew

through this

distinctly [clearly]

[that]

there the Ark was hidden.

Nevertheless, they did not know how to locate its place precisely, where it was; they only knew that beneath this chamber it had been hidden, through this opening beneath the stone.

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna: Thirteen shofarot were in the Temple.

It was taught: These shofarot were bent; narrow above and wide below,

so that a person could not remove money from them except with difficulty, by overturning the box,

because of the swindlers,

so that he should not put his hand into the box, take money, and pretend that he was putting money there.

We learned in our Mishna: And where was the additional one? Opposite the Chamber of the Wood Pile, since they had such a tradition from their forefathers, that there the Ark was hidden.

And the Gemara brings three opinions as to where the place of the Ark was after the destruction of the Temple.

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The Ark

that was in the Temple, in which the Tablets and the Torah were,

went into exile with them

[with Israel] at the time of the destruction of the First Temple

to Babylonia.

What is the reason

for his words, and from where is their source?

As it is written in Kings: “And Isaiah said to Hezekiah: Hear the word of the Lord! Behold, days are coming, and all that is in your house and that your fathers have stored up until this day shall be carried to Babylonia.

Nothing shall remain —

said the Lord.”

And the Gemara infers: What is that thing which “shall not remain,” which was not included in His saying, “all that is in your house”?

There is no “thing” except that within which are the utterances!

That is the Ark, in which are the Tablets of the Testimony, on which the Ten Utterances are written; and from here it follows that even the Ark went into exile to Babylonia. For so Isaiah prophesied.

And so it says

in Chronicles:

“And at the return of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylonia, together with the precious vessels of the House of the Lord.”

What are “the precious vessels of the House of the Lord”?

You must say:

This is the Ark.

And from here too we learn in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer’s words, that the Ark was exiled to Babylonia.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish

disagrees and

says:

When the First Temple was destroyed, the Ark was not exiled to Babylonia, but

the Ark was hidden in its place.

This —

this

is what is written

in the Book of Kings, concerning the First Temple that Solomon made: “And the priests brought the Ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, to the Sanctuary of the House, to the Holy of Holies, beneath the wings of the cherubim ...

and they lengthened the staves, and the ends of the staves were seen from the Holy Place before the Sanctuary, but they were not seen outside.

And they were there until this day.”

And every place where it says “until this day” means forever. How then shall we explain the verse concerning the Ark, whose place in the Holy of Holies is “until this day,” when the Temple was destroyed? Rather, necessarily the Ark was hidden in its place, beneath the Holy of Holies.

It follows that the Ark was hidden and did not go into exile.

And since the Gemara mentioned this verse, we explain it incidentally.

It is written

in this verse

“and they were seen”

—the ends of the staves.

And

you say [whereas the verse itself says afterward]

it is written, “but they were not seen

outside”

[the staves].

How is this?

Rather,

the staves of the Ark were

seen and not seen.

For the curtain separating the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies concealed them, but the staves pressed against the curtain,

protruding and emerging like the two breasts of a woman,

which protrude beneath her garment; thus they were seen and not seen.

And the Rabbis say: The Ark was hidden in the Chamber of the Wood Pile,

[and it was not hidden in the Holy of Holies, and it was not exiled to Babylonia,] and in accordance with the opinion of the tanna of our Mishna.

And so there was

an incident involving one blemished priest, who was standing and splitting

[breaking]

wood

for the arrangement

in the Chamber of the Wood Pile, and he saw this floor

that

was different from its fellows,

for one of the marble slabs in the Temple floor was somewhat higher than its fellow, and he understood that this one had been removed from its place and returned.

He came and said to his companion: Come and see this floor, which is different from its fellows! But he did not manage to finish the matter before his soul departed, and they knew distinctly

[clearly]

that there the Ark was hidden.

For they understood that for this reason Heaven had caused that priest to die, so that they would not come to discover the exact place where the Ark had been hidden.

Rabbi Hoshaya taught

to explain how the death of that priest occurred:

He struck it

[the marble slab different from its fellows]

with a hammer,

and fire came out and burned him.

When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to give Moses the second Tablets, it is stated in the verse [Deuteronomy 10:1]: “

At that time the Lord said to me: Hew for yourself two stone Tablets like the first ones, and ascend to Me to the mountain, and make for yourself a wooden Ark. And I shall write on the Tablets the words that were on the first Tablets that you broke. And you shall place them in the Ark.”

This Ark preceded the Ark that Bezalel made for the Tabernacle, and it was entirely of wood; he was commanded to make it for the purpose of placing the second Tablets within it. The Tablets were in it until the Tabernacle was made; then they made another Ark overlaid with gold, as is explained in the section of Teruma, and the second Tablets were transferred from the wooden Ark that Moses made when he ascended to Sinai to this Ark, as it is written concerning the Ark of the Tabernacle: “And you shall place in the Ark the Testimony that I shall give you.” And its place was fixed in the Tent of Meeting.

And in the wooden Ark that Moses made, the fragments of the first Tablets were placed, and with it they would go out to wars. [Tosafot, Eruvin 63b, and elsewhere.]

It was taught: Rabbi Judah ben Lakish said: Two Arks would travel with Israel in the wilderness.

One that Bezalel made, in which the Torah was placed.

And one that

Moses made when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the second Tablets,

in which there were the fragments of the Tablets

of the first ones

placed.

This

Ark

in which the Torah was placed —

was placed in the Tent of Meeting

in the Holy of Holies, and it did not go out with them at all to war.

This is what is written

in the section of Shelach, when the children of Israel presumptuously ascended to the top of the mountain to fight the Canaanite:

“And the Ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses did not move from within the camp.”

It follows that the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, which is the Ark in which the second Tablets were placed, did not go out with them to war.

And if it were the way of this Ark to go out with them to war, why did they not bring it out with them? Rather, necessarily this Ark had its fixed place in the Tent of Meeting.

But

this

wooden Ark that Moses made,

in which the fragments of the Tablets were placed —

would enter and leave with them

for war.

And the Rabbis say: There was only one Ark

alone

there was.

And it was the Ark that Bezalel made for the Tabernacle, and in it were placed both the second Tablets and the fragments of the Tablets. And they did not go out with it to war at all. Only

once

alone

did it go out

with them to war,

in the days of Eli, and

then they were punished, for

it was captured

by the Philistines.

And we say:

The verse

[this Scripture]

supports the Rabbis,

who say that there was only one Ark, and that it did not go out with them at all to war. Only in the days of Eli did they take it out. And this Ark was the sole Ark that was in the Tent of Meeting:

As it is written in Samuel, when the Philistines saw the Ark in the camp of Israel going out with them, they said:

“Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods?”

And from their saying “Woe to us,” we learn that this thing was

a matter that they had not seen from their days!

Something that they had never seen, for they were not accustomed to seeing the Ark with Israel in wars. And as it is explicitly written there, that they said: “And they said: Woe to us, for there has never been such a thing yesterday or the day before.”

And it implies that until then the Ark had never gone out with them at all, and this is in accordance with the words of the Rabbis, who hold that there was one Ark, and that it went out with them to war only in the days of Eli.

And we say:

Another verse

supports

him

—

Rabbi Judah ben Lakish,

who holds that there were two Arks.

As it is written in I Samuel [14:18], when Saul and his men were standing at Gibeah of Benjamin, and he was uncertain whether to go to war against the Philistines standing opposite them, he turned to Ahijah the high priest to ask him through the Urim and Tummim.

“And Saul said to Ahijah: Bring near the Ark of God,

for the Ark of God was on that day, and the children of Israel.”

And

it is difficult:

Was not the Ark

in Kiriath-jearim?!

After it had been returned from the hands of the Philistines [and had lain there for twenty years, until King David brought it up to Jerusalem], and not in Gibeah of Benjamin.

Necessarily, there were two Arks. In Kiriath-jearim was the golden Ark that Bezalel made, and there was its place during this period. And the Ark that was in Gibeah of Benjamin was the wooden Ark that Moses made, which would go out with them to war.

And this proves in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Judah ben Lakish.

And we raise an objection:

What do the Rabbis do with it?

[How will the Rabbis, who hold that there was one Ark, explain the verse?] And we answer: The Rabbis hold that this Ark mentioned in the verse was not the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, but an Ark in which were the breastplate and the ephod, and the Urim and Tummim, and the headplate. Since Saul came to ask through the Urim and Tummim, Ahijah needed the eight garments of the high priest, since it is forbidden to ask through the Urim and Tummim except while wearing the eight garments.

And therefore he said

“Bring to me

the Ark of God in which there is

the headplate”

[and he called this Ark, which was not the Ark of the Covenant, by the name of the headplate, although the other seven priestly garments were also in it, because the headplate was the most important of them all, since the Name of the Lord was upon it].

And further we say:

A verse

[another Scripture]

supports Rabbi Judah ben Lakish,

who holds that there were two Arks:

It is written in the Book of Samuel that Uriah the Hittite said to David:

“The Ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in booths,

while my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open field. Shall I come into my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, if I do this thing.”

That is, because the Ark of the Covenant was not in its place but was now in booths, Uriah was stringent with himself not to lie with his wife. And as we say in Eruvin [62b]: When the Ark and the Divine Presence are not in their place, marital relations are forbidden.

And if we say in accordance with the Rabbis, that there was one Ark and it did not go out with them to war, why is it written, “the Ark in booths”?