Komentarz do Arachin 1:2

הנכרי ר' מאיר אומר נערך – two Biblical verses are written in the [Torah] portion of Arakhin/valuation – one is an amplification and the other is a restriction. The words "בני ישראל" /Israelites (see Leviticus 27:2), excludes heathen. [The words] "איש כי יפלא"/When anyone explicitly vows, amplifies/expands upon "כל איש"/every person, and even a heathen [is included] by implication. Rabbi Meir holds that a heathen is subject to the pledge of Valuation [by others] but does not pledge the Valuation [of others], for we found that Scripture amplified those who are subject to the pledge of Valuation by others more than pledging the Valuation of others, for a deaf-mute, imbecile and a minor are subject to the pledge of Valuation by others, but they do not pledge the Valuation of others, therefore, it is sufficient that the restriction is for those who pledge the Valuation of others and the amplification is for those subject to the pledge of Valuation by others.

Introduction In today’s mishnah Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Judah debate whether a non-Jew can dedicate his value or have his value dedicated to the Temple.

ר' יהודה אומר נכרי מעריך ואינו נערך – for we have found that a person who is of doubtful sexual traits and a person who exhibits elements of both sexes pledge the Valuation [of others] but are not subject to the pledge of Valuation by others. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehuda. Therefore, a heathen who said: “the value of this Israelite person is upon me is liable to give according to the years of the determined value in the [Torah] portion [of Arakhin]. But an Israelite who said: “the value of this particular heathen is upon me,” or a heathen who said, “my value is upon me,” did not say anything.

A non-Jew: Rabbi Meir says: he can be evaluated but he cannot evaluate. According to Rabbi Meir a non-Jew can be evaluated by others. This means that if a Jew says, “The value of so-and-so [a non-Jew] is upon me,” the Jew will be liable to pay the fixed value of the non-Jew to the Temple. However, he can’t evaluate himself or others.

Rabbi Judah says: he can evaluate but cannot be evaluated. Rabbi Judah holds the opposite. A non-Jew can evaluate himself or others, but he cannot be evaluated. It seems that these two rabbis debate the applicability of Leviticus 27:2, “Speak to the Israelite people and say to them….” The verse can be read as saying that the laws in the chapter refer only to Jews. However, which aspect of the chapter is not clear evaluating others or being evaluated? That is what they debate.

Both agree that he can vow another's worth and have his worth vowed by others. Both Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Meir agree that the non-Jew can vow his own worth or someone else’s worth to the Temple by stating, “The monetary worth of so-and-so is upon me.” Since this type of dedication is not the topic of Leviticus 27, the non-Jew is not excluded. As an aside, it is clear from many historical sources, both rabbinic and non-rabbinic, that non-Jews did donate money to the Temple in Jerusalem.