Comentario sobre Behorot 8:7

חמש סלעים של בן – the Sela that is mention ed in the Torah in every place (see Numbers 18:16), and sometimes in the Torah it is called כסף /silver , one hundred pieces of silver. For this was during the days of Moses that the weight was three hundred and twenty grains of barley-corn, but during [the time of] the Second Temple, they increased it and raised it to the weight of three hundred and eighty-four [grains] of barley-corn. And similarly, we count today for five Selahs of the child [for redemption]. And it was found that five Selahs has the weight of one thousand nine-hundred and twenty intermediate barley-corns of refined silver.

The five selas of a first-born [are paid in] the standard of Tyrian maneh. When we come to reckon how much the father has to pay the priest, the five selas, which are the five shekels mentioned in the Torah, are reckoned in the standard of the Tyrian maneh. A Tyrian sela consists of 14.34 grams of pure silver, so the father would have to give five times this amount.

במנה צורי – that comes from the country of Tyre. But all of the silver coinage of the Torah, as for example, the five Selaim of the son (i.e., the redemption of the first-born son), and the thirty [Selaim] of the slave, and the fifty of the one who wrongs (see Deuteronomy 22:29) and seduces (see Exodus 22:16) , and the one-hundred for the one who slanders, all of them are in the Tyrian coinage which is refined silver. But all of the money which is from the Rabbinic legislation, such as the fines, and the Ketubah of a wife, according to the words of Maimonides, all of them are the money/coinage of the state, for one from eight parts which are in them is silver and seven parts are copper. But my Rabbis taught that the Ketubah/marriage contract of a virgin has the law of silver of the Torah, for it is written (Exodus 22:16): “[If her father refuses to give her to him, he must still weigh out silver in accordance] with the bride-price for virgins,” and the two-hundred clear Zuzim. And the weight of each Zuz is ninety-six barley-corns.

As regards the thirty shekels of a slave and likewise the fifty shekels of the rapist and seducer and the one hundred shekels for one who spreads an evil name in all these cases the payment is in the holy shekel, in the standard of Tyrian maneh. Any payment that is given as a fixed monetary amount in the Torah must be paid out in holy shekel, evaluated according to the standard of the Tyrian maneh, just as is the case with redeeming the first-born. There are four such cases listed here: 1) If an ox kills a slave, the owner of the ox pays the owner of the slave thirty shekels (Exodus 21:32). 2) If a man seduces a virgin, he pays the father fifty shekels (Exodus 22:15-16). 3) If he rapes a virgin, he pays fifty shekels (Deuteronomy 22:28-29). 4) If a husband defames his wife by falsely claiming that she was not a virgin on their wedding day, he is fined 100 shekels (Deuteronomy 22:19).

All of these are redeemed with money or the equivalent of money with the exception of shekel payments. In all cases where something needs to be redeemed, such as a first born son or an item dedicated to the Temple, the redemption can be done either with money or with something of equivalent value. The redemption need not be done just with coins. The exception is the half shekel that is paid on a yearly basis to the Temple in Jerusalem. This half shekel must be paid in coinage.

וכולן נפדין – this is what he said, and all that is redeemed is redeemed in silver or its equivalent, except for Shekel dues. And all that is redeemed such as the first-born of a man and that which is dedicated to the Temple, is redeemed whether with silver or with the equivalent of silver, except for that of Shekel dues, for a person who comes to pay the one-half Shekel needs to give it from clear silver engraved coinage and not equivalent to silver. And Second Tithe also is not redeemed other than with silver coinage that has an engraving and not with that which is equivalent to silver, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:25): “Wrap up the money in your hand ‘and take it with you to the place that the LORD your God has chosen,” – silver money that has upon it a form/shape.