Mishnah
Mishnah

Related for Shekalim 1:4

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, הֵעִיד בֶּן בּוּכְרִי בְּיַבְנֶה, כָּל כֹּהֵן שֶׁשּׁוֹקֵל אֵינוֹ חוֹטֵא. אָמַר לוֹ רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, לֹא כִּי, אֶלָּא כָּל כֹּהֵן שֶׁאֵינוֹ שׁוֹקֵל חוֹטֵא, אֶלָּא שֶׁהַכֹּהֲנִים דּוֹרְשִׁים מִקְרָא זֶה לְעַצְמָן, (ויקרא ו) וְכָל מִנְחַת כֹּהֵן כָּלִיל תִּהְיֶה לֹא תֵאָכֵל, הוֹאִיל וְעֹמֶר וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם וְלֶחֶם הַפָּנִים שֶׁלָּנוּ, הֵיאָךְ נֶאֱכָלִים:

R. Yehudah said: Ben Buchri testified in Yavneh: Any Cohein who gives the shekel does not sin thereby [even though he is not obligated to give it. The assumption (that he would be sinning) is that if he does give it, (what should be) a communal offering would be found to be coming (to a certain extent) from (the gift of) an individual. We are, therefore, apprised that he does not sin, in that he gives that half-shekel entirely to the congregation and we do not fear that there might be some reservation on his part in this regard.] R. Yochanan b. Zakkai said to him: To the contrary, any Cohein who does not give the shekel is a sinner [And the verse: "All who pass to be numbered" is to be expounded thus: "All who pass" through the Red Sea (for all of them passed through the Red Sea) "to be numbered" (both those who were numbered by themselves and those who were numbered with the rest of Israel) "shall give the terumah of the L rd." And even though it is written (Exodus 38:25): "And the silver of the numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents … for six hundred thousand and three thousand, etc.", that is written in respect to the terumah for the sockets, in which the tribe of Levi did not participate; but Cohanim, Levites, and Israelites participated equally in the terumah for the offerings.]; but the Cohanim expounded this verse for themselves [i.e., to their advantage], viz. (Leviticus 6:16): "And every meal-offering of a priest shall be entirely burnt; it shall not be eaten." (They said:) If the omer and the double loaves were ours (as they would be if the Cohanim contributed to their purchase with the shekalim) how could they be eaten! [The fallacy: It is only in respect to the meal-offering of an individual Cohein that it is written: "it shall be entirely burnt," and not in respect to an offering that he has a share in together with the congregation. And the halachah is that Cohanim are obligated to give the half-shekel, and pledges are not taken from them because of "the ways of peace."]

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