En el primero de Adar, se hacen proclamaciones para shekalim (el impuesto principal para el Templo). [Beth-din envía a todas las ciudades de Israel y proclama que deben traer sus shekalim. Para el primero de Nissan, las ofertas comunales deben ser traídas de la nueva tasa, a saber. (Números 28:14): "Esta es la ofrenda quemada del mes en su mes para los meses del año"—Renueve la presentación de ofrendas del nuevo gravamen (medio shekel) (la raíz del "mes" y "nuevo" es lo mismo en hebreo). Y "los meses del año" aquí (en referencia a Nissan) se deriva de (Éxodo 12: 2): "(Nissan) es el primero para usted de los meses del año". Por lo tanto, la proclamación para traer shekalim se adelanta treinta días al primero de Adar.] Y (se hacen proclamaciones) para kilayim (siembra mixta interdictada) [es decir, proclaman que la otra variedad debe disminuirse hasta que no quede nada de es un rova de un kav a un sa'ah, como se dijo (Kilayim 2: 1): cada sa'ah que contiene un rova de un kav de una variedad diferente debe ser disminuido. Nuestros rabinos explicaron que después de que las semillas ya están cultivadas, incluso uno de cada mil debe ser desarraigado. Para cualquiera de las dos variedades, cada una de las cuales está permitida por sí misma, pero que están prohibidas en mezcla, no se prestan a bitul ("cancelación"). Es solo cuando se entremezclan en la siembra que la disminución es suficiente, obteniéndose bitul con uno de cada dos por la ley de la Torá, de modo que no se llama siembra de kilayim, y la disminución (prescrita) se requiere solo debido a las "apariencias" (marith ayin) Pero después de que han crecido, Bitul no obtiene y todo debe ser desarraigado para que solo quede una de las variedades.] El día 15 (de Adar) se lee la Meguilá en las ciudades [rodeada por un muro de los días de Yehoshua el hijo de monja. Debido a la enseñanza (1: 3): "El decimoquinto de los cambistas de Adar se sentaron en la provincia", se incluyó todo lo que hicieron ese día.], Y se hacen reparaciones en carreteras, calles [y mercados que fueron dañados por las lluvias en invierno. Se reparan para los peregrinos del festival. Algunos explican (que están reparados) para el beneficio de aquellos que mataron sin darse cuenta, para que puedan huir del vengador de la sangre, como está escrito (Deuteronomio 19: 3): "Prepara el camino para ti mismo"], y (reparaciones se hacen en) baños rituales. [Si el sedimento se acumula en ellos, se limpian, y si la mikve cae por debajo de la cantidad requerida, le agregarán agua extraída y la llevarán a esa cantidad (la mayoría de los cuarenta sa'ah requeridos son kasher)], y todas las necesidades de la comunidad son atendidas [como litigios monetarios, casos capitales, casos de franjas, la redención de evaluaciones, devociones y dedicaciones, la administración del borrador de sotah, la quema de la novilla roja, el aburrimiento de (el oído de) el esclavo hebreo, y la limpieza del leproso. Y enviarían (mensajeros) para abrir cisternas de agua almacenada, para que la gente pudiera beber de ellos en verano, siendo todas estas necesidades de la comunidad.] Y las tumbas están marcadas [para que Cohanim y los portadores de taharoth (alimentos consagrados) no "tienda" sobre ellos. Se "marcaron" desmenuzando la cal y derramándola alrededor de la tumba. En la estación lluviosa, la cal se disolvería, por lo que era necesario repetir el proceso.] Y ellos [los diputados de Bet-din] también saldrían (es decir, para desarraigarlos) kilayim. [A pesar de que ya habían hecho una proclamación al respecto el primero de Adar (ver arriba), no confiaron en ello, temiendo que los propietarios no lo hubieran desarraigado, y salieron y lo hicieron ellos mismos.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
באחד באדר משמיעין על השקלים – the Jewish court sends [messengers] throughout the cities of Israel and announces that they should bring their Shekalim (i.e., one-half-shekel per adult male, as per Exodus chapter 30, verses 11-16), because on the first of Nisan, one needs to bring community sacrifices from new Terumah/priest’s due, as it is written (Numbers 28:14): “That shall be the monthly burnt offering for each new moon of the year.” Renew and bring a sacrifice from the new Terumah, for we derive the months of the year of here (Numbers 28:14) from (Exodus 12:2): “It shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” Therefore, we advance it by thirty days, which is from the first day of Adar to announce that they should bring their Shekalim.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
Introduction
In the introduction to the tractate I explained what the half-shekel is and what it was used for. Our mishnah teaches that on the first of Adar they would make public announcements telling people to start preparing their half-shekels. The mishnah also teaches other public events that occur in Adar.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ועל הכלאים – We announce that they should reduce the other seed until there should not remain in it one-quarter of a Kab for a Seah, as is taught in Chapter Two [Mishnah One] of Mishnah Kilayim: that every Seah that has one-quarter of a Kab from another species should reduce it, and our Rabbis explained that after the seeds have ground, even one in one-thousand one must uproot everything, for every two kinds and every one kind singly is permitted, but they forbade through mixtures – but relinquishment does not belong witht his, for specifically, when they estimate after that which has been combined at the time of seeding, there is no need other than to reduce, for according to the Torah, one in two is cancelled out, but they don’t call seeding “mixed seeds” other than because of merely appearance’s sake , one must reduce, but after they grew, there is no need for renunciation, but one must uproot everything so that nothing would remain other than one of the species.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
On the first of Adar they make a public announcement about the shekels and concerning kilayim. On the first of Adar, the month before Nisan (the month in which Pesah falls) they begin to make announcements reminding people to bring their shekels, or more specifically half-shekels. They also announce that people should go out to their fields and vineyards to uproot any “kilayim” that may have sprung up. “Kilayim” are diverse seeds which have sprung up in the same area.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
בחמשה עשר בו קורין את המגילה בכרכין – [cities] surrounded by walls from the days of Joshua the son of Nun for since it was necessary to teach [in the Mishnah] that on the fifteenth of Adar money-changers sit in the country, it teaches also everything that they would do on that day.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
On the fifteenth: they read the Megillah [Esther] in walled cities, and they fix the roads and the streets and the ritual water baths, and they perform all public duties, and they mark the graves, and [messengers] go forth also concerning kilayim. The mishnah now begins to teach things that occur, or begin to occur on the fifteenth of the month. The first thing is that on the fifteenth of the month, people in walled cities read the book of Esther, the Megillah. We will learn much more about this when we learn Tractate Megillah. The reason that the mishnah mentions the date upon which it was read in walled cities is that this date coincides with the other things done in the continuation of the mishnah. The second thing is that they begin to fix the public roads and ritual baths because Pesah is coming in one month. People would need to travel to Jerusalem and purify themselves in order to take part in the pesah sacrifice. Also, Adar is the beginning of the dry season (actually, it can still rain in Adar). It would have been difficult to fix the roads when the rains were still coming down. In addition they performed all sorts of other public duties that could not be done during the rainy season. They would mark graves with lime so that priests could see where the graves were and avoid them. During the winter the lime would wash away. Therefore, during Adar, once the rains had stopped they would reapply the plaster. Above we learned that on the first of Adar they would announce to people that they should go out and check to make sure that there were no kilayim in their fields. On the fifteenth, they would send out messengers to make sure that this had been done. We can see that this was an issue of great importance to them. The rabbis seem to have been especially concerned about kilayim because one cannot tell from looking at picked grain or grapes whether they grew in a field that had kilayim in it. This is true of other food-related problems as well.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ומתקנים את הדרכים ואת הרחובות – and the marketplaces that were ruined vy rains during the days of he winter, we repair them for the those who come up on Pilgrimage (i.e., at Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot). But there are those who interpret – because of the killers who murder people unintentionally that are able to flee from before the blood avenger as it is written (Deuteronomy 19:3): “You shall survey the distances, [and divide into three parts the territory of the country hat the LORD your God has allotted to you, so that any manslayer may have a place to flee to].”
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ואת מקואות המים – if plastered increased in them, we clean them and if their measurement is lacking, we conduct drawn water to them and complete them according to measurement – if they had there the majority of forty Se’ah from that which was proper.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ועושים כל צרכי רבים – such as monetary cases, capital cases and laws of striping and the redemption of valuation of a person or animal dedicated to the sanctuary, property set apart for priest’s or temple use, sanctified property and the handing of the bitter water to the suspected wife and the burning of the heifer and the boring through of the Hebrew bondsman’s ear, and the purification of the leper and the sending to open cavities of collected waters in order that they be found there for the people to drink from them in the days of the summer – all of these are the needs of the many.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ומציינין את הקברות – so that they will not spread tent-like for Levitical uncleanness for Kohanim arising from their being under the same shelter over a corpse, and make them pure, and this marker is when they cleanse the plaster and pour it around the grave, but during the rainy season, the plaster is dissolved/diluted and one must go back and mark it.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ויוצאים – messengers of the Jewish court.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
אף על הכלאים – for even though they announced about them on the first of Adar, they do not rely upon the announcement lest the owners did not uproot them (i.e., the mixed seeds), and they themselves go out and uproot them.
