Yoma 55b — the Talmud in English

Rav Yosef explained it to him:

Rabbi Yehuda ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact page location")

does not hold of writing,

one may not rely on the writing, because sometimes he does not pay attention to examine the writing, and it turns out that he exchanges an offering for a sin-offering—

For

so

we learned

according to Rabbi Yehuda’s position in our Mishna:

Rabbi Yehuda says: There was only one stand there

upon which he placed both the blood of the bull and the blood of the goat; he takes this one and places that one—

And

two

stands

why not, because they become exchanged?

They become exchanged one for the other, and when he comes to take the blood of the bull, it turns out that he takes that of the goat; and therefore he places them on one stand, first takes the blood that had been placed upon it and places the one in his hand, and it turns out that the rites are performed in the order of the goat after the bull inside, and of the bull afterward in the Sanctuary, and then of the goat [Rashi].

And

in any event

let us make two

stands

and let us write upon them

on the bowls [Ra’al]:

which

bowl

is of the bull and which

bowl

is of the goat?!

Rather,

it is necessarily the case that

Rabbi Yehuda does not hold of writing.

It was objected: There were thirteen collection boxes in the Temple, and it was written upon them: “New shekels,” “Old shekels,” “Bird-nests,” “Fledglings of burnt-offerings,” “Wood,” “Frankincense,” “Gold for the Ark-cover,” and six

additional collection boxes were for

freewill offerings,

and it was written upon them: “Freewill offering”—as will be explained shortly.

On the first of Adar, the court sent throughout all the cities of Israel and announced that they should bring their shekels, that is, the half-shekel which each person was obligated to bring to the Temple every year for the purchase of communal offerings.

They would place the shekels in a special chamber, and three times a year [at the beginning—that is, fifteen days before—Passover, Shavuot, and the Festival], the treasurers would collect from the chamber [“the collection of the chamber”], that is, they would give from the chamber into three boxes, each box containing three seahs, in order to purchase communal offerings from the boxes, and the other matters specified in Shekalim, chapter 4, Mishna 1, and in

From the surplus of the money in the chamber after the collection into the boxes [“the remainder of the chamber,”] they would take for the city wall and its towers and all the needs of the city, and the other matters specified there, Mishna 2.

And the Mishna explains:

“New shekels”: These are the shekels of each and every year,

If one did not bring them at their time in Adar, he brings them whenever he wishes and places them in the “new shekels” collection box, and the treasurers would take the money from the collection boxes and place it in the chamber, and collect from it for the boxes.

“Old shekels”: One who did not give a shekel last year shall give a shekel for the coming year,

and when he gives the shekel he places it in this collection box, and the law of this money is like the law of “the remainder of the chamber.”

“Bird-nests”: They are turtledoves,

one who vows two turtledoves gives into the bird-nests collection box [Ritva].

“Fledglings of burnt-offerings”: They are

for the purchase of

young pigeons,

one who vows young pigeons gives into the fledglings collection box, for so it is written: “And a turtledove and a fledgling

”; and furthermore, “fledgling” indicates something small, as in, “As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its fledglings,” and it is established for us: “turtledoves” are large and not small, and “young pigeons” are small and not large [Ritva in the name of Tosafot].

And therefore they required separate collection boxes for turtledoves and for young pigeons, because one who vows young pigeons and brings turtledoves, or the reverse, has not fulfilled his obligation [Tosafot of the Rosh].

“Wood”: One who vows wood gives money to that collection box, and not less than the value of two logs of wood.

“Frankincense”: One who vows frankincense gives money into that collection box, and they purchase frankincense with it and burn it as a freewill offering upon the outer altar in the courtyard.

“Gold for the Ark-cover”: That is, for the golden bowls called “golden kapporim.”

“Six collection boxes for freewill offerings”: And the Sages said concerning sin-offerings and guilt-offerings that they should be brought only after “they are left to graze until they become blemished, and are sold, and their proceeds go to freewill offerings”; and this money was placed in the collection boxes, and from it they would offer burnt-offerings when the altar was idle because there were no offerings to bring, and this is called: “the summer-fruit of the altar.”

And all of them,

both the bird-nests and the fledglings of burnt-offerings, are

burnt-offerings

of freewill offerings and not sin-offerings,

the words of Rabbi Yehuda,

and according to his position, which he holds [as explained above, on page 55a]: there were no collection boxes for obligatory bird-nests that contain a sin-offering, whereas for freewill offerings birds are brought only as burnt-offerings. We have therefore learned that Rabbi Yehuda too holds of writing, for it teaches: “And it was written upon them” [Rashi]. And since this is so, it is impossible to explain “because of the exchanges” as Rav Yosef explained it, since there is a solution through writing?!

When Rav Dimi came, he said: They say in the West

to explain what they said, “because of the exchanges

: a decree because of

the concern that there might be mixed in the collection box money of

a sin-offering whose owners died—

That is: If there were collection boxes for obligatory bird-nests, we would have to be concerned lest one of the owners who placed money in the collection box died; and since obligatory bird-nests contain sin-offerings, money of a sin-offering whose owners died would be mixed in the collection boxes, and such money goes to the Dead Sea; and all the money would thereby be found unfit for offering.

And we object:

Do we indeed have concern

for death?!

But we learned: One who sends his sin-offering from overseas, they offer it on the presumption that he is alive,

and they are not concerned that it is a sin-offering whose owners died and that it goes to the Dead Sea, for they establish the owners upon their presumption that they are alive [Gittin 28, the words of Rava there].

And we answer: Do not say, “Perhaps one of the owners died,”

rather

a decree

because of a sin-offering whose owners certainly died,

that is: Perhaps it will become known to us with certainty that one of the owners died, and since we do not know which money is his, it will be forbidden to offer all of it.

And we still object:

Let us select four zuz,

which are the value of his sin-offering, the deceased’s [see note ],

and let us throw

them

into the water [let us cast them into the Dead Sea], and rely on the law of “retroactive designation,” saying: These monies are the money of the sin-offering whose owners died,

and

and

consequently

these

other monies in the collection box

will be permitted

[will become permitted]?!

And we answer:

Rabbi Yehuda does not hold of retroactive designation,

he does not rely upon it to permit a prohibition [Rashi].

From where do we know

that Rabbi Yehuda holds “there is no retroactive designation

”?

If you say, from that which we learned

[we have the version: “that which was taught,” Tosafot]:

One who purchases wine from among the Samaritans

who are not suspected of separating teruma and tithes when they sell to others, for they are suspected of [“before the blind you shall not place a stumbling block”] [Tosafot ]

on the eve of Shabbat at

dusk

and he has no vessels with which to separate teruma and tithes—

He

stands and says

[for example, if there were one hundred log]:

Two log

[the measure of an average eye, which separates for large teruma one-fiftieth]

that I am destined to separate

after I begin to drink,ેણ