Le quinzième (d'Adar), des changeurs de monnaie se sont assis dans la province (médina) [Jérusalem, et ils ont fait de la monnaie pour le demi-sicle pour ceux qui apportaient la monnaie de leur province et n'étaient pas au courant du taux de conversion.] Le vingt -cinquième, ils s'asseyaient dans le Temple. [Puisque le temps approchait, ils s'asseyaient dans le Temple, afin qu'ils (le peuple) se hâtent d'amener (leurs shekalim). Rambam explique que toutes les villes d'Israël étaient appelées «medinah», et que le vingt-cinquième elles se sont assises dans le Temple de Jérusalem.] À partir du moment où elles étaient assises dans le Temple, elles ont commencé à prendre des engagements [de ceux qui n'avaient pas ont apporté leurs shekalim.] À qui les promesses seraient-elles retirées? Lévites, il est écrit (Exode 30:14): "Tous ceux qui passent pour être comptés, à partir de vingt ans et plus." Et les Lévites n'étaient pas comptés à partir de vingt ans.], Israélites, prosélytes et esclaves affranchis; mais pas les femmes, [il est écrit (Exode 30:12): "Alors chacun donnera la rançon de son âme"—un homme, et non une femme], ni des esclaves [les esclaves n'étant tenus que dans les mitsvoth dans lesquelles les femmes sont obligées], ni des mineurs [même celui qui a montré deux cheveux, s'il avait moins de vingt ans]. Tout père qui a commencé à donner le shekel pour son fils mineur ne peut pas cesser de le faire. [Et si son père meurt, il doit donner le shekel pour lui-même.] Et les gages ne sont pas pris aux Cohanim [même s'ils sont obligés dans le demi-shekel] à cause des «voies de la paix». [Parce qu'ils accomplissent le service sacrificiel, l'honneur leur a été accordé, et on comptait sur eux pour ne pas reporter leur shekalim. Et même s'ils les reportaient et ne les donnaient pas, Beth-Din stipulait que les shekalim leur appartenaient en échange de leur service, tout comme les allocations sont faites à partir du trésor du Temple à d'autres personnes engagées dans l'œuvre du Temple, comme expliqué ci-dessous.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
במדינה – in Jerusalem and they would exchange the one-half Shekel to people that each one would bring from the coinage of his country and did not know how many of them come out to one-half Shekel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
Introduction
This mishnah returns to dealing with the half-shekel.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ישבו במקדש – because the time would get close that they would sit in the Temple in order that they would hurry to bring [the one-half Shekel]. And Maimonides explained that all the cities of Israel were called "מדינה"/Country/provincial towns, and on the twenty-fifth, they would sit in the "מקדש"/Sanctuary in Jerusalem.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
On the fifteenth of [Adar] they would set up tables [of money changers] in the provinces. The half-shekel had to be given in Israeli currency. In order to help people exchange their currency they would set up money changer tables in the provinces to change money. The money changers could also exchange large currency for smaller coins.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
התחילו למשכן – for whomever did not bring their [one-half] Shekel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
On the twenty-fifth they set them up in the Temple. As the first of Nisan approached, the time when they would begin to use the shekalim collected from the previous year, they would stop having money changers throughout the land and limit their presence to the Temple.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
את מי ממשכנין לוים – to exclude from the one who states that the Levites do not take pledges, as it is written (Exodus 30:14): “Everyone who is entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, [shall give the LORD’s offering],” but the Levites were not counted from age twenty years.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
When [the tables] were set up in the Temple, they began to exact pledges [from those who had not paid]. At this point, they would begin to take pledges from people who had not yet paid. A “pledge” means that they would take something away from the person and only return it when the half-shekel had been paid.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
אבל לא נשים- (Exodus 30:12): “Each shall pay the LORD a ransom for himself,” is written, and not a woman.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
From whom did they exact pledges? From Levites and Israelites, converts and freed slaves, but not women or slaves or minors. Pledges were not taken from everyone, but rather only from free adult Jewish men (excluding priests, as we shall see below), those who are obligated to give the half-shekel. They didn’t take pledges from women, slaves or minors because women, slaves and minors are exempt from the half-shekel. Women are exempt because Exodus 30:12 states, “each man (ish) shall pay a ransom for himself” the word “man” is understood as exempting women. Slaves are usually in the same category as women so they too are exempt. Exodus 30 explicitly excludes minors under the age of 20 (Ex. 30:14).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ולא עבדים – for slaves are not obligated other than in commandments that women are obligated for.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
Any minor on whose behalf his father has begun to pay the shekel, may not discontinue it again. Sometimes fathers would begin to donate the half-shekel on behalf of their sons, even though they were not obligated to do so. The mishnah teaches that if they had begun to give the half-shekel, in subsequent years they must continue to do so.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
וקטנים – even if he brought forth two [pubic] hairs and he is less than twenty years of age.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Shekalim
But they did not exact pledges from the priests, because of the ways of peace. The only category of free adult male from whom they did not exact a pledge is the priest. They didn’t do so in order to avoid fights. Albeck explains that the priests thought that they were exempt from the half-shekel. Although they are indeed obligated, the court seems not to have wanted to get into a fight with them over the subject. Tomorrow’s mishnah will deal with the priests obligation to pay the shekel. We might note that if many of the priests were Sadducees and the Sadducees seem to have rejected the whole practice of giving the yearly half-shekel, then we have here evidence of the Pharisees not wanting to provoke a fight with the Sadducees.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
שוב אינו פוסק – his father, once he had begun, but if his father died, he pays the Shekel on his own.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
ואין ממשכנין את הכהנים – even though they are obligated in the one-half shekel.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Shekalim
מפני דרכי שלום – because the service of the Sacrifices is upon them, they extend to them honor and rely upon them that they would not have to delay [bringing] their Shekel; alternatively, they would delay and the Jewish court would not grant upon them a gift like they give from the Temple treasury to the rest of those who do the Holy work as we will explain further on.
