שקלים ז׳:א׳ - ז׳:ב׳

מעות שנמצאו. קרוב לשקלים יפלו לשקלים – for after what is near we follow, as It is written (Deuteronomy 21:3): “The elders of the town nearest to the corpse,” and the one who states majority and near, follows after the majority; our Mishnah establishes that such as a case when Shekalim and freewill donations are equivalent.

מחצה על מחצה יפלו לנדבה – for they (i.e., freewill offerings) are more stringent than Shekalim, since they are all burnt offerings, but sometimes Shekalim are brought as sin-offerings which are consumed by Kohanim. But furthermore, the remnants of the Shekalim are used for the walls of the city and its towers.

מחצה על מחצה יפלו ללבונה – for frankincense is itself a sacrifice but wood is the requirement of a sacrifice.

מחצה על מחצה יפלו לגוזלי עולה – In the Jerusalem Talmud (Shekalim 19a), it raises an objection: it is all right if it is closer to young pigeons for burnt offerings, since according to the Torah, we follow after that which is nearer as if they are definitively from the young pigeons for burnt offerings. But, if it is half-way between them, out of doubt, we cast them in a stringency to the young pigeons for burnt offerings, but the woman who brought these monies, with what shall she gain atonement? For perhaps, they fell from obligatory bird-offerings and when you offer from them pigeon burnt-offerings, with what shall the woman gain atonement? And it (i.e., the Jerusalem Talmud) responds that the Jewish court that is appointed over the bird-offerings takes from the community [offerings] according to those monies that were found and causes them to be acquired by the owners of the monies that were found and they offer from them bird-offerings on the doubt, and the sin-offering will not be consumed.

לעולם מעשר – even all of the entire year, since the pilgrims for the Festivals do not manage to spend all of their Second Tithe [monies] and leave them for their relatives or their beloved ones to consume them all year in Jerusalem. And the essential Mitzvah of consuming Second Tithe is peace-offerings. Therefore, most of the cattle that is sold in Jerusalem on all the days f the year are acquired with the money of the [Second] Tithe, and even though that one can say that perhaps they fell from the sellers and were already redeemed, since the buyers are the majority since several people purchase from one merchant, we state that they are purchases but not redeemed, and they are [Second] Tithe.

ובהר הבית חולין – and even on the Festival (i.e., the Intermediate Days), for most of the monies in people’s hands are of [Second] Tithe which are non-holy, and we follow according to [what the case is] the majority of the year. Devoted objects/sacrifices from before the Festival, young birds are found near their nests.

בירושלים – that is not in the market for cattle.

בשעת הרגל הכל מעשר – for we do not follow after the majority of the year because the market places/streets of Jerusalem used to be swept every day and if it would fall earlier, it is already found. But the Temple Mount was not swept because it is high and the wind sweeps and removes all the dust and also no man is permitted to enter the Temple Mount with the dust that is on his feet, therefore, there is no dust found there.