Midrash for Shekalim 5:5
מִי שֶׁאָבַד מִמֶּנּוּ חוֹתָמוֹ, מַמְתִּינִין לוֹ עַד הָעֶרֶב. אִם מוֹצְאִין לוֹ כְּדֵי חוֹתָמוֹ, נוֹתְנִין לוֹ. וְאִם לָאו לֹא הָיָה לוֹ. וְשֵׁם הַיּוֹם כָּתוּב עֲלֵיהֶן מִפְּנֵי הָרַמָּאִין:
If one lost his seal, he is asked to wait until the evening, [when Yochanan and Achiyah meet.] If he (Yochanan) has [a surplus] corresponding to the (sum of the) seal [he claims to have lost], it is given to him, and if not, he receives nothing. The date [the day and the month] was written on them [the seals] because of the deceivers [lest one of them find a seal that has fallen from his neighbor, or from Achiyah, or from Yochanan and come now to claim (libations). (But on the day that he found it, he would not come to claim them, realizing that the loser would be looking for it.) It is also to be feared (if there were no date) that one bought the seal at the "cheap rate" and held onto it until the price rose.]
Explore midrash for Shekalim 5:5. In-depth commentary and analysis from classical Jewish sources.