פירוש על שקלים 2:5

מותר שקלים חולין – The person who collects/gathers money and says, “these are for my [one-half] Shekel, and when he comes to calculate what he had gathered, he found that there was excess and what was left over was Hullin/non-holy, and the anonymous teaching is according to the School of Hillel.

The surplus of [money set aside for] shekels is non-sacred property.
The surplus of [money set aside for the] tenth of the ephah, and the surplus of [money set aside for] bird-offerings of zavim, for bird-offerings of zavot, for bird-offerings of women after childbirth, and sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, their surplus [is used to purchase] freewill-offerings. This is the general rule: all [money set aside] for a sin-offering or for a guilt-offering, the surplus [is used to purchase] freewill-offerings.
The surplus of [money set aside for] a burnt-offering [must be used] for a burnt-offering.
The surplus of [money set aside for] a meal-offering [must be used] for a meal-offering.
The surplus of [money set aside for] a peace-offering [must be used] for a peace-offering.
The surplus of [money set aside for] a pesach [must be used] for a wellbeing offering.
The surplus of [money set aside for] the offerings of nazirites [must be used] for the offerings of other nazirites. The surplus of [money set aside for] the offerings of a [particular] nazirite [is used to purchase] freewill-offerings.
The surplus of [money raised for] the poor [must be used] for other poor. The surplus of [money raised for] a [particular] poor person [must be given] to that [poor person].
The surplus of [money raised for the ransom of] captives [must be used] for [the ransom of other] captives. The surplus of [money raised for the ransom of] a [particular] captive [must be given] to that captive.
The surplus of [the money raised for the burial of] the dead [must be used] for [the burial of other] dead. The surplus of [the money raised for the burial of] a [particular] dead person [must be given] to his heirs. Rabbi Meir says: the surplus of [money raised for the burial of] a [particular] dead person must be laid aside until Elijah comes. Rabbi Natan says: the surplus of [money raised for the burial of] a [particular] dead person [must be used] for building a monument for him over his grave.
In the previous mishnayot we dealt with the subject of what surplus money is used for. This mishnah discusses surpluses left over from money set aside for various other uses, mostly sacrifices or charity.
Section one: This halakhah is according to Bet Hillel’s opinion in mishnah three.
Section two: The tenth of the ephah (a measure of grain) is the sin-offering of a poor person. The bird-offerings mentioned here are brought by men or women who have had abnormal genital discharge (zavim and zavot, see above 1:5) or by women after childbirth. Money set aside for any of these offerings or for a sin-offering or a guilt-offering must be used to purchase freewill offerings. They can’t be used for other bird-offerings, sin-offerings or guilt-offerings because these can only be purchased for the sake of a specific sin or abnormal discharge. However, the surplus is still sacred because these offerings don’t have a fixed amount (see above mishnah 2).
Sections three-five: In all of these cases the extra money is used to buy another of the same type of sacrifice.
Section six: The extra money which was set aside for a pesah cannot be used as a pesah, because the surplus is only created when the holiday is already over. Rather the surplus is used to buy a wellbeing offering. In Pesahim we saw that the pesah is a type of wellbeing offering (see Pesahim 9:6-7).
Section seven: If charity collectors set aside money to buy nazirite offerings for nazirites who cannot afford to pay their offerings, then the surplus is used to buy other nazirite offerings. However, if the money is set aside for a specific nazirite it cannot be used to buy an offering for a different nazirite. Rather the surplus is used to purchase freewill offerings.
Section eight: Obviously, surplus charity should be used for more charity. However, if there is money set aside for a particular poor person, and there is surplus from that money, it too must go to that poor person. The charity collector may not say to himself, “That poor person doesn’t need all of that money. I’ll give the rest to someone else.” Rather, if the donor directed it to one person, the entire amount must be given to that person.
Section nine: Surplus from money collected to redeem captives is used to redeem other captives. However, if money was collected to redeem a specific captive, the surplus goes directly to that captive.
Section ten: Surplus money collected to bury the dead is used to bury other dead people. However, if the money was collected to bury a specific dead person there are three different opinions as to what to do with it. According to the first opinion, the money goes to the dead person’s inheritors. According to Rabbi Meir, it is forbidden to use it at all it must go untouched until Elijah comes. Finally, Rabbi Natan says it is used to build a tombstone over his grave.

עשירית האיפה – that the poorest of the poor offer, if he separated out money, and there was excess, they go for a free-will donation, for all excess of sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, the excess is a free-will offering, to purchase with them burnt-offering for the altar’s summer time (a time when the alter was unemployed for private offerings, and free-will burnt-offerings had to be supplied form the Temple fund – see Mishnah Shekalim, Chapter 4, Mishnah 4), according to the Midrash of Jehoiada the Priest, and the tenth of an Ephah was in place of a sin-offering.

מותר עולה עולה – if he separated monies to purchase a burnt-offering and there was excess, he should bring that excess for another burnt-offering.

מותר הפסח לשלמים – as it is written (Deuteronomy 16:2): “You shall slaughter the Passover sacrifice for the LORD your God from the flock and the herd,” but the Passover sacrifice comes from the herd, but the excess of the Passover sacrifice should come from the flock and herd, that is peace-offerings.

מותר נזירים – if they collected money for the Nazirite sacrifices and there was excess, they should preserve them until they purchase other Nazirite sacrifices. But if one Nazirite separated monies for his sacrifices, and there was excess, the excess should go as a free-will offering to the altar’s summer offerings.

מותר שבוים – if they collected tzedakah for the redemption of captives, and there was excess remaining, he should preserve them (i.e., the monies) until they redeem other captives, but if they explicitly did so for this captive, that captive takes possession of it.

מותר המתים למתים – if they collected for the needs of merely burying the dead, the excess is for the burial of other dead people, but, for this specific dead person, the excess goes to his inheritors, for the dead they forgive as it is a disgrace for his inheritors.

יהא מונח עד שיבא אליהו – he is doubtful if the dead pardons his disgrace to his inheritors or not. Therefore, it should like until Elijah comes.

בונים לו נפש על קברו – it is obvious to Rabbi Natan that he does not pardon. Therefore, we build for him a tombstone on his grave from that same excess that the dead person gained. But the Halakha is according to the first Teacher [of the Mishnah] and where they collect for the needs of the burial of the dead because they would think that he didn’t have [funds] and it was found that he did have [funds], we don’t say that in this case, the excess of the dead person goes to his inheritors, since the collection was done in error, and this is proved in the Jerusalem Talmud. And furthermore, it is proven in the Jerusalem Talmud and in our Gemara [i.e., the Babylonian Talmud) (Tractate Megillah 27a) that where there are seven representatives of the town or a town organization where all the business of the community is decided by his mouth, and it appears in his eyes to change [what is done with] the excess of [monies for] captives or the excess of [monies for] the poor or the excess of [monies for] the dead to what appears in his eyes he can change and remove what appears in his eyes for the needs of the hour and they cannot stop him from doing so. And similarly, we always teach practical Halakha.