Comentario sobre Ma'aser Sheni 2:9
הַפּוֹרֵט סֶלַע שֶׁל מַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, כָּל הַסֶּלַע מָעוֹת. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, שֶׁקֶל כֶּסֶף וְשֶׁקֶל מָעוֹת. הַדָּנִין לִפְנֵי חֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דִינָרֵי כֶּסֶף וְדִינָר מָעוֹת. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, שְׁלֹשָׁה דִינָרִין כֶּסֶף, וּרְבִיעִית מָעוֹת. רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, אַרְבָּעָה אַסְפְּרֵי כֶסֶף. שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, יַנִּיחֶנָּה בַחֲנוּת וְיֹאכַל כְּנֶגְדָּהּ:
Si uno divide su Ma'aser Sheni Selah , Beit Shammai dice que puede cambiar todo el Selah por dinero [de cobre]. Y Beit Hillel dice que [puede dividirlo en] un Shekel [unidad de peso específica] de plata y un Shekel de dinero [de cobre]. Aquellos que deliberan ante los Sabios dicen [puede dividirlo en] tres Dinares de plata y un Dinar de dinero [de cobre]. El rabino Akiva dice [puede dividirlo en] tres dinares de plata y un Revi'it [unidad de peso específica] de dinero [de cobre]. El rabino Tarfon dice, cuatro Espar [unidad de dinero específica] de plata. Shammai dice que debería ponerlo en una tienda y comer alimentos de un valor equivalente.
Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
הפורט סלע של מעשר שני בירושלים – he would exchange the Sela that is in his hand and takes coins to spend them for the needs of the [Second] Tithe meal.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Introduction
Today’s mishnah deals with exchanging maaser sheni coins in Jerusalem for other coins. In Jerusalem one can exchange silver coins for copper coins. This would make it easier to go to the store and buy food, because silver coins are too big for use in a store. This was opposite the case outside of Jerusalem, where people wanted to exchange copper for silver to make it easier to carry the coins to Jerusalem. As was the case with regard to exchanging coins outside of Jerusalem, it is generally forbidden to redeem silver for silver. The question is what to do if all he has is enough copper coins to redeem part of the silver coin.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
ב"ש אומרים – if he comes to exchange all the Selas that are in his hand for monies, he should exchange [them].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
There are a whopping six opinions in this mishnah! I should note that this is exceedingly rare. Usually we see two, perhaps three opinions.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
ובית הלל אומרים – he should not exchange other than half, lest he not stay in the city until he spends all of them. And he should deposit them in the city until another Festival, for the coins become moldy/decay, and he returns and exchanges them for Selas, it will be found that the money-changer earns double and the Second Tithe [monies] lose [value].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
One who exchanges a sela of second tithe in Jerusalem:
Bet Shammai says: he may exchange the whole sela for copper coins. Bet Shammai’s opinion is the same as his opinion in yesterday’s mishnah. If one wants to exchange a sela of maaser sheni for copper coins, he must have enough copper coins for the whole sela. He cannot exchange half copper coins and a silver coin for the sela.
Bet Shammai says: he may exchange the whole sela for copper coins. Bet Shammai’s opinion is the same as his opinion in yesterday’s mishnah. If one wants to exchange a sela of maaser sheni for copper coins, he must have enough copper coins for the whole sela. He cannot exchange half copper coins and a silver coin for the sela.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
ודנין לפני חכמים – Shimon ben Azzai and Shimon ben Zoma and Hanan the Egyptian.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Bet Hillel says: a shekel of silver and a shekel’s worth of copper coins [can be exchanged for the sela]. Like Bet Shammai, Bet Hillel has the same opinion as in yesterday’s mishnah. One can exchange a silver sela, half for copper coins (one shekel’s worth) and half for silver coins (one shekel’s worth). Since half of the exchange is being done with copper, the other half can be done with silver.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
בשלשה דינרין כסף ובדינר מעות – The Sela is [worth] four denars, and when he comes to exchange the Selah, he will not receive anything other than one denar in coins and three denarim will be silver.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Those discussing before the sages say: silver for three dinars and copper coins for one denar. This is an interesting phrase “those discussing before the sages.” The Talmud interprets this to be younger sages, perhaps too young to merit their names being attached to their statements. In any case, they go a step further than Bet Hillel. As long as one dinar, equivalent to ¼ of a sela, consists of copper coins being exchanged for the silver sela, the remaining ¾ can consist of silver coins. Bet Hillel said that at least ½ had to be copper.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
רביעית כסף ברביעית מעות – The fourth denar of silver, he shall not take other than one-quarter copper coins, and three-quarters silver, so that is found that he takes only one out of a sixteenth of a Sela. -
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Rabbi Akiva says: silver for three denars and copper coins for a fourth [of the fourth denar]. Rabbi Akiva is even more lenient and says that there doesn’t need to be a full dinar of copper, but rather only ¼ of the dinar need be copper. Thus three dinars can be silver and as long as the fourth dinar of the sela is redeemed for ¼ of a dinar’s worth of copper coins, the exchange is valid.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
ארבעה אספרי כסף – A denar is equal to five Aspers, and this coin is [found] in Greece and until today, we call it Aspero. It is found that the Sela is worth 20 Aspers, and when he redeems the denar, he redeems it for four silver aspers and one of copper. It is found that he takes one copper out of twenty for a Seal alone.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Rabbi Tarfon says: four aspers in silver. Rabbi Tarfon says that the fourth dinar of the sela (1/4 of the value of the sela) can be exchanged for four asperim of silver and one asper of copper. Rabbi Tarfon is slightly more lenient than Rabbi Akiva, who said that ¼ of the last dinar had to be copper. We can now note that there are not really six different opinions in the mishnah Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Akiva and “those discussing before the sage” are all more and more lenient versions of Bet Hillel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Maaser Sheni
Shammai says: he must leave it in a shop and eat as much as it is worth. Shammai provides a different solution altogether. Instead of trying to figure out how to exchange the coin when he doesn’t have sufficient copper coins to equal the sela, what he should do is just give the coin to the shopkeeper and keep eating food until he has taken enough food to cover the value of the coin. It seems likely that Shammai is actually the strictest opinion, and says that once in Jerusalem, it is forbidden to exchange the coin for other coins altogether.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Maaser Sheni
יניחנה בחנות ויאכל כנגדה – he should redeem at all on the coins, let he forget and make them non-sacred. But he leaves the Sela with the store-keeper and consume its value until it is completely used up. But the Halakha is not according to any [of the opinions mentioned] but the School of Hillel alone.
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