Le premier d'Adar, des proclamations sont faites pour les shekalim (la taxe d'entrée pour le Temple). [Beth-din envoie dans toutes les villes d'Israël et proclame qu'ils doivent amener leurs shekalim. Pour la première des offres communales de Nissan doit être apporté de la nouvelle taxe, à savoir. (Nombres 28:14): "Ceci est l'holocauste du mois en son mois pour les mois de l'année"—Renouveler l'apport des offrandes du nouveau prélèvement (demi-shekel) (la racine du «mois» et du «nouveau» étant la même en hébreu). Et "les mois de l'année" ici (en référence à Nissan) est dérivé de (Exode 12: 2): "C'est (Nissan) est le premier pour vous des mois de l'année." Par conséquent, la proclamation pour l'apport de shekalim est avancée de trente jours au premier d'Adar.] Et (des proclamations sont faites) pour le kilayim (semis mixte interdit) [c.-à-d., Ils proclament que l'autre variété doit être diminuée jusqu'à ce qu'il ne reste plus de c'est une rova d'un kav à une sa'ah, comme indiqué (Kilayim 2: 1): Chaque sa'ah qui contient une rova d'un kav d'une variété différente doit être diminuée. Nos rabbins ont expliqué qu'une fois que les graines sont déjà cultivées, même une sur mille doit être déracinée. Pour deux variétés quelconques, dont chacune est autorisée par elle-même, mais qui sont interdites en mélange, ne se prêtent pas au bitul («annulation»). Ce n'est que lorsqu'ils sont mélangés à l'ensemencement que la diminution suffit, bitul obtenant avec un sur deux par la loi de la Torah, de sorte que cela ne s'appelle pas un semis de kilayim, et la diminution (prescrite) n'est requise qu'en raison des «apparences» (marith ayin). Mais après avoir grandi, le bitul n'obtient pas et tout doit être déraciné pour qu'il ne reste qu'une seule des variétés.] Le quinzième (d'Adar) la Méguila est lue dans les villes [entourée d'un mur du temps de Yehoshua le fils de Nun. En raison de l'enseignement (1: 3): "Le 15 Adar, les changeurs de monnaie siégeaient dans la province," tout ce qu'ils faisaient ce jour-là était inclus.], Et les réparations sont effectuées sur les routes, les rues [et les marchés qui ont été endommagés par les pluies en hiver. Ils sont réparés pour les pèlerins du festival. Certains expliquent (qu'ils sont réparés) au profit de ceux qui ont tué involontairement, afin qu'ils puissent fuir le vengeur du sang, comme il est écrit (Deutéronome 19: 3): "Préparez le chemin pour vous-même."], Et (répare sont faits sur) les bains rituels. [Si des sédiments s'y accumulent, ils sont nettoyés, et si le mikvé tombe en dessous de la quantité requise, ils y ajoutent de l'eau puisée et l'amènent à cette quantité (la majorité des quarante sa'ah nécessaires étant kasher)], et tous les besoins de la communauté sont pris en charge [tels que les litiges monétaires, les affaires de capital, les cas de rayures, le rachat des cotisations, les dévotions et les dédicaces, l'administration de la traite de la sotah, l'incendie de la génisse rousse, l'ennui de (l'oreille de) l'esclave hébreu, et la purification du lépreux. Et ils envoyaient (des messagers) ouvrir des citernes d'eau stockée, afin que les gens puissent y boire en été, tout cela étant des besoins de la communauté.] Et les tombes sont marquées [de sorte que les Cohanim et les porteurs de taharoth (aliments consacrés) "tente" sur eux. Ils "marqués" par de la chaux émiettée et la renversant autour de la tombe. Pendant la saison des pluies, la chaux se dissoudrait de sorte qu'il était nécessaire de répéter le processus.] Et ils [les députés de Beth-Din] sortiraient aussi pour (c'est-à-dire pour déraciner) kilayim. [Même s'ils avaient déjà fait une proclamation à cet égard sur le premier Adar (voir ci-dessus), ils ne s'y sont pas appuyés, craignant que les propriétaires ne l'aient pas déraciné, et ils sont sortis et l'ont fait eux-mêmes.]
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.
