Shekalim 2a (ב.) — the Talmud in English

The Sefer HaChinukh, mitzva 105, writes: The mitzva of giving the half-shekel each year: Every Israelite from the age of twenty and above—whether poor or wealthy—must give a half-shekel, which is the weight of ten gera of silver, each year to the kohanim. As it is stated: “This shall they give, everyone who passes among those counted.” They would place all the contributions in a single chamber in the Temple, and from there they would take funds to purchase the daily offerings and the additional offerings, every offering brought on behalf of the community, and their libations; the salt with which the offerings were salted; the wood of the arrangement; the lechem ha-panim; and the wages of the one who made the lechem ha-panim. Also the omer, the two loaves, the red heifer, the scapegoat, and the strip of crimson wool. The roots of the mitzva: The Holy One, blessed be He, desired the benefit of all Israel and sought to grant them merit by having everyone’s contribution equal in regard to the offerings brought before Him continually throughout the year, and in regard to these matters mentioned above. He desired that all people—poor and wealthy alike—be equal before Him in a single mitzva, so that the memory of all of them would be raised favorably before Him through the mitzva in which they are jointly included ... This mitzva applies during the time of the Temple, when all Israel are obligated to give these contributions, both those residing in Eretz Yisrael and those outside Eretz Yisrael. When there is no Temple, no one is obligated in it. Halakha 1 – Mishna:

It was explained in tractate Megilla that every year, beginning on the first of Nisan, the communal offerings must be brought from the new shekels contributed by the community for the “half-shekel.”

And we derive this from a verse, as it is written: “This is the burnt offering of the New Moon in its renewal”—“New Moon,” and bring the offering from the new contribution.

For this reason,

on the first of Adar

the court would send messengers throughout all the cities of Israel, and

they would announce [

proclaim]

concerning the shekels,

that Israel should bring their shekels, so that there would be new shekels in the chamber on the first of Nisan, and from them they would bring the daily offerings, the additional offerings, and the other communal offerings.

And

likewise, on the first of Adar they would proclaim

concerning diverse kinds,

that each person should uproot from his fields the mixtures of seeds that had grown in them. They made this proclamation at that time because in Adar the plants were already recognizable, and the diverse kinds could be identified.

And on the fifteenth of it [

Adar]:

a.

They read the Megilla

in walled cities that had been surrounded by a wall since the days of Joshua son of Nun.

b.

And they repair the roads, the streets,

and the marketplaces that had been damaged during the rainy season, for the sake of the pilgrims who would arrive thirty days later, on Passover.

Likewise, on this day the messengers of the court would go out to repair

the ritual baths,

so that if mud had accumulated in them, they would clean them, and if the measure of their water had fallen below the required amount, they would channel additional water into them and fill them.

c.

And they attend to all the needs of the public—

this will be explained in the Gemara.

d.

And they mark the graves

by pouring dissolved lime around the grave so that it would be recognizable, and the kohanim and those carrying objects of ritual purity would not pitch a tent over them. Since the lime dissolved during the rainy season, they would mark the graves again on the fifteenth of Adar.

e.

And they go out

on the fifteenth of Adar

also concerning the diverse kinds.

After they had proclaimed on the first of Adar that the diverse kinds should be uprooted, the messengers of the court would go out to the fields on the fifteenth of Adar to check whether the owners had uprooted them. If they had not uprooted them, the messengers of the court would uproot them.

Gemara:

And we raise the question:

And why on the first of Adar

was the time established for proclaiming that the shekels should be brought?

And we explain:

So that Israel would bring their shekels in their proper season—

at the appropriate time, before the New Moon of Nisan—

and the “contribution of the chamber” would be taken from

the contribution of the shekels

new

that the community had contributed

at its proper time, on the first of Nisan.

All the new shekels received from the public contribution for the “half-shekel” were placed in the chamber. On the first of Nisan they would take a contribution of money from the chamber by filling three collection boxes with shekels from among the many shekels in the chamber.

From the money “contributed” from the chamber into the boxes, they would purchase the communal offerings for the needs of the coming year.

Therefore, on the first of Adar, thirty days beforehand, they would announce the collection of the shekels, so that everyone would have enough time to bring them before the date of the “contribution of the chamber.”

Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak said:

The reason that the contribution of the chamber from the new shekels takes place on the first of Nisan is that the time of

the contribution of the chamber—

its time—

corresponds to its beginning!

This is like the first contribution, at the time when the Tabernacle was erected, on the first of Nisan.

As it is written: “And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first of the month, that the Tabernacle was erected.”

And a baraita taught concerning this: On the day the Tabernacle was erected—

on that very day the contribution was taken

for the communal offerings, which were already brought on that day.

Likewise, for all future generations, they would begin taking contributions from the new funds for the purpose of bringing communal offerings from the first of Nisan.

Rabbi Tavי

in the name of

Rabbi Yoshiya in the name of Kahana

said: The reason that on the first of Nisan they bring offerings from the new contribution is derived through a gzera shava:

It is stated here,

in the passage concerning the offerings: “This is the burnt offering of the New Moon in its renewal, for the

months

of the year.” From here we learn that the offerings must be renewed and brought from the new contribution, as explained above.

And it is stated there, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it is the first for you of the

month—

months

of the year.”

Just as the “months” stated there are counted only from Nisan

as it is written in that verse: “This month shall be for you the beginning of months.”

So too, the “months” stated here,

in the verse “This is the burnt offering of the New Moon in its renewal,” from which we derive that from this point onward the communal offerings must be brought from the new contribution,

are counted only from Nisan.

From Nisan onward they begin bringing the communal offerings from the new shekels for all the months of the year.

Rabbi Yona said: Rabbi Tavי omitted the beginning of the baraita and stated the end [

Rav Tavי left aside the first part of the baraita and took the latter part]. The teaching that Rav Tavי cited to teach us that the time of the contribution of the chamber is in Nisan is the latter part of the baraita, and he did not mention at all the first part of the baraita, which provides the source for the law that there is a specific time when the contribution must be renewed and brought from the new funds.

For this is not like that [

it is not correct to act in this manner], as Rabbi Tavי did, by not mentioning at all the first part, which states that it must be brought from the new funds.

And this is what we learned in the first part of the baraita:

For it teaches:

It is written

“This is the burnt offering of the New Moon in its renewal.”

One might have thought that they should take a contribution

from the shekels in the chamber

each and every month?

The verse states: “In its renewal, for its renewal.”

This teaches you:

In one month they take a contribution for all the months of the year.

For if they took a contribution each month, it could have written, “This is the burnt offering of the month.”

One might have thought

that they may take the contribution

in whichever month they wish

for all the months of the year.

That is not so.

Since

“months” is stated here

in the verse “This is the burnt offering of the New Moon in its renewal, for the months,”

and “months” is stated there

in the verse “It is the first for you of the months of the year”:

Just as the “months” stated there are counted only from Nisan,

so too, the “months” stated here,

with regard to the contribution of the chamber,

are counted only from Nisan.

We learned in our Mishna: On the first of Adar they announce concerning the shekels.

What is meant by “they announce”?

Rav Huna said: They proclaim.

And this enactment, that they should proclaim the bringing of the shekels, was supported by a verse,

as it is stated [

as it is written] in Chronicles:

“And they gave notice throughout Judah and Jerusalem

to bring to the Lord the levy of Moses, servant of the Lord.”

There, too, the reference is to silver shekels, as is demonstrated by the verses in the Book of Kings. The Rif says that one must make an announcement and proclaim the bringing of the shekels to the House of the Lord.

We learned in our Mishna: On the first of Adar they announce concerning the shekels and the diverse kinds. And on the fifteenth of it they read the Megilla in the walled cities.

We learned elsewhere: [

In the first chapter of Megilla,]

there is no

distinction

between the first Adar and the second Adar;

they are equal in that eulogies and fasting are prohibited on the fourteenth and fifteenth of both, and there is no distinction between them

except for the reading of the Megilla and gifts to the poor,

which apply only in the second Adar and not in the first Adar.

Rav Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi

said:

There is also the announcement concerning the shekels and the diverse kinds

that exists

between them,

between the first Adar and the second. For the law that the announcement concerning the shekels and the diverse kinds is made on the first of Adar, as mentioned in our Mishna, applies only to the second Adar.

Rabbi Yose said: It is well [

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was correct and his statement was fitting], in saying that the announcement concerning the shekels and the diverse kinds likewise applies only to the second Adar.

For

after all,

why

did

the Sages say that on the first of Adar

they announce concerning the shekels?

Is it not

in order that Israel should bring their shekels in their proper season

by Nisan, when the offerings must be brought from the new contribution?

And if you say

that the announcement concerning the shekels should be made

in the first Adar,

then

even now [

there are still]

sixty days in the year [

there are sixty days] until the first of Nisan. A person might say to himself: I still have plenty of time to bring my shekel; and as a result he may be negligent and fail to bring it.

Therefore they enacted that the announcement should be made on the first of the second Adar, which is thirty days before the date, so that he would hurry to bring his shekel.

Likewise, the words of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi are correct in saying that the announcement concerning the diverse kinds is also made in the second Adar.

For

after all, did they say

that on the first of Adar

they go out also concerning the diverse kinds?

Is it not

so that the plants should be recognizable

and they could see whether there were diverse kinds among them?

And

if you say

that

in the first Adar

they proclaim concerning the diverse kinds,

even now [

there are still]

they are thin [

the plants are thin] and it is impossible to recognize whether diverse kinds are present among them. Indeed, this is why the year is intercalated and a first Adar is added: because the grain has not yet ripened, as it is taught in Sanhedrin [11b].

Since this is so, there is no reason to announce concerning the diverse kinds until the second Adar.

It was explained above in the Gemara that the reason for announcing the shekels on the first of Adar is so that Israel would have enough time to bring their shekels by the first of Nisan.

Rabbi Ḥizkiya asked: From this point forward,

since you have said that the announcement concerning the shekels is intended so that they should bring their shekels in their proper season, the following difficulty arises:

If so,

the people of Babylonia,

who are very far from Jerusalem and require a long time to bring their shekels to Jerusalem, should

be informed concerning the shekels from the beginning of winter, so that Israel

in Babylonia

would bring their shekels in their proper season

by the first of Nisan,

and the contribution

on their behalf

of the chamber would be taken from

the

new contribution at its proper time, on the first of Nisan?

Rabbi Ulla raised an objection before

[

before]

Rabbi Mana, concerning Rabbi Ḥizkiya’s question, that the people of Babylonia should be informed concerning the shekels already at the beginning of winter:

But we learned

below that

on three occasions [

times]

during the year they take a contribution from the chamber.

There was a large chamber in the Temple into which all the shekels contributed by Israel were brought. When they took money from it for the purchase of offerings, they did not take all the shekels at once for the offerings of the entire year. Rather, three times a year they took a contribution from the chamber:

a.

Before Passover [

that is, fifteen days before Passover];

b.

Before Shavuot [

the Festival of Weeks];

c.

Before the festival [

the Festival of Sukkot].

And he continued and

said to him

Rabbi Ulla: Why, then, did they take a contribution from the chamber three times, at three different times, rather than once? Necessarily, it was because not everyone was able to send the shekels collected in Adar by the first of Nisan.

Let us say [

as follows]: By Passover, not all the shekels of Israel from all the Diaspora had yet arrived, but only those from places near Jerusalem. Therefore:

Those who are near [

these are those who are near] bring their shekels

before Passover,

while those who are far away

bring their shekels

before

Shavuot.

And those who are farther away than them [

and those who are even farther away] bring their shekels

before the festival.

In this way, all Israel would have a share in the offerings.

If so, since a separate contribution is taken from the shekels of distant places according to the time of their arrival, there is no need to announce the shekels to the people of Babylonia and to the other distant countries before the first of Adar, since the time of taking the contribution from their shekels is indeed later than before Passover; Rabbi Ḥizkiya’s question therefore has no basis.