If one makes his property hekdesh [("hekdesh," unqualified, reverting to Temple maintenance)] and it includes things appropriate for communal offerings [such as incense, or wine, oil, and meal], they may be given to (Temple) workmen as their wage. [And they become chullin, even though nothing becomes hekdesh in their stead, R. Akiva holding that hekdesh may be redeemed for labor, viz. (Exodus 25:8): "And let them make for Me a sanctuary, and I shall dwell in their midst" — the labor may be "financed" by hekdesh.] These are the words of R. Akiva. Ben Azzai said to him: "This is not of the measure." [That is, this "measure" that you prescribe is not the same as that prescribed above relative to the incense, and you should be consistent in your measures.] Rather, they separate from it the wage of the artisans, redeem it for the wage of the artisans, give it to the artisans as their wage, and then repurchase it with the new terumah (see 4:5), [hekdesh not being redeemed for labor. The halachah is in accordance with Ben Azzai.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
המקדיש נכסיו – and an undefined dedication to Temple property is for the repair and upkeep of the Temple.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
Introduction
This mishnah deals with a person who dedicates some of his possessions to the Temple and among them are things which can be used as public sacrifices but not as individual sacrifices. This would include, for instance, the ingredients for making the incense. We should note that these cannot just simply be used for public sacrifices because as we have learned on several occasions, public sacrifices must be paid for with public money and not individual donations.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
והיו בהם דברים הראויים לקרבנות צבור – such as incense or wines, oils and fine flour.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
If one dedicated his possessions to the Temple, and there was among them things which was fit for public offerings, they should be given to the craftsmen as their wages; the words of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva says that if among the dedicated property there are things which can be used for public offerings, those things should go as payment to the craftsmen. Rabbi Akiva holds that things which are dedicated to the Temple can become regular non-sacred items if they are used in payment for work done for the Temple.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ינתנו לאומנין בשכרן – and they go out to the status of “non-holy,” even though no other thing enters in its place, for he holds that something dedicated to the Temple can be redeemed through service as it is written (Exodus 25:8): “And let them make Me a sanctuary [that I may dwell among them],” that the service/work will be accomplished from that which is donated to the Temple.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
Ben Azzai said to him: this method is not correct. Rather, they separate from them the wages of the craftsmen, and then they exchange them for the money due to the craftsmen, and then they give them to the craftsmen as their wages, and then they buy them back again out of a new appropriation. Ben Azzai says that Rabbi Akiva’s halakhah is incorrect, because he treats this incense differently from the way in which the extra incense was treated above in mishnah five. Ben Azzai holds that the cases are similar and should therefore be treated in the same way. He also disagrees with Rabbi Akiva about things becoming non-sacred by being used to pay for work done in the Temple. Accordingly, Ben Azzai says that the same procedure described in yesterday’s mishnah should be performed here as well. First they separate from the dedicated property an amount equal to the wages owed to the craftsmen. Then they redeem this property with coins that are to go to the craftsmen. They then give the incense to the craftsmen as their wages and then buy the incense back with money from the new appropriation. This is the exact same procedure described above, in yesterday’s mishnah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
אינה מן המדה – that is to say, that this measure that you are stating is not like the measure mentioned above with the incense and it is not appropriate but rather that your qualities should be harmonized. Therefore, we separate out the payment of the artisans, etc., as we stated above concerning the surplus of the incense for whatever is dedicated to the Temple is not redeemed through service, and the Halakha is according to Ben Azzai.
