Commentary for Shekalim 5:6
שְׁתֵּי לְשָׁכוֹת הָיוּ בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ, אַחַת לִשְׁכַּת חֲשָׁאִים, וְאַחַת לִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים, לִשְׁכַּת חֲשָׁאִים יִרְאֵי חֵטְא נוֹתְנִים לְתוֹכָה בַּחֲשַׁאי, וַעֲנִיִּים בְּנֵי טוֹבִים מִתְפַּרְנְסִים מִתוֹכָהּ בַּחֲשַׁאי. לִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים, כָּל מִי שֶׁהוּא מִתְנַדֵּב כֶּלִי, זוֹרְקוֹ לְתוֹכָהּ. וְאַחַת לִשְׁלשִׁים יוֹם, גִּזְבָּרִין פּוֹתְחִין אוֹתָהּ. וְכָל כְּלִי שֶׁמּוֹצְאִין בּוֹ צֹרֶךְ לְבֶדֶק הַבַּיִת, מַנִּיחִין אוֹתוֹ. וְהַשְּׁאָר נִמְכָּרִין בִּדְמֵיהֶן וְנוֹפְלִין לְלִשְׁכַּת בֶּדֶק הַבַּיִת:
There were two leshachoth (compartments) in the Temple: one, lishkath chashaim ("the compartment of the secret ones") [so-called because those who put money into it did so secretly, and those who were sustained by it, took from it in secret]; the other, lishkath hakelim ("the compartment of the vessels"). Lishkath chashaim — the fearers of sin would put (money) into it in secret, and the poor of good family would sustain themselves from it in secret. Lishkath hakelim — whoever donated a vessel would cast it there. After thirty days, the treasurers would open it. Whatever vessel they found useful for bedek habayith (Temple maintenance) they would leave there. The others would be sold and their monies would go to the lishkah of [all the dedications for] bedek habayith.
Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
The chamber of secret gifts: sin-fearing persons used to put their gifts there in secret, and the poor who were descended of the virtuous were secretly supported from them.
The chamber of the vessels: whoever offered a vessel as a gift would throw it in, and once in thirty days the treasurers opened it; and any vessel they found in it that was of use for the repair of the temple they left there, but the others were sold and their price went to the chamber of the repair of the temple.
This mishnah discusses how people could give charity in secret either to the Temple or to the poor. We should note that in the Rambam’s discussion of charity he states that the second best form in which to give tzedakah is neither for the giver to know the receiver nor for the receiver to know the giver. The only way which is preferred over secrecy is to help a person earn his own living.
The mishnah is clear and doesn’t seem to need any explanation. However, I will offer some historical commentary.
The Temple in Jerusalem was clearly a repository of wealth, as were most Temples in the ancient world. When Josephus describes how Antiochus came to pillage Jerusalem (the events that preceded the Hasmonean revolution) he writes (Antiquities of the Jews XII, chapter 5, section four:
“The king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,) and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league he had made. So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of burnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining.”
The secret treasures referred to here may be similar to that which Josephus describes. What interests me, beyond the sheer parallel between the Mishnah and Josephus, is that the rabbis assume that some of these treasures must have gone to tzedakah. According to the rabbis, the Temple must have at least partially functioned as a repository where people could give money secretly. In the rabbinic mind, the Temple’s treasures could not just have been designated to make its leaders wealthier or to pay for more ornament decorations. The money must have gone to the poor as well. I do not know if this is historically accurate but to me it makes no difference. What the Mishnah is telling us is that our religious centers, be it the Temple or the synagogue, must also be points of tzedakah, and not just tzedakah for the organization itself, but tzedakah for the poor. The Temple/synagogue is the exchange center by which Jews can give charity secretly.