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Mishnayos Eruchin Perek 1 Mishnah 1

ערכין פרק א׳ משנה א׳

1

Everyone takes vows of valuation and is thereby obligated to donate to the Temple treasury the value fixed by the Torah (see Leviticus 27:3–7) for the age and sex of the person valuated. And similarly, everyone is valuated, and therefore one who vowed to donate his fixed value is obligated to pay. Likewise, everyone vows to donate to the Temple treasury the assessment of a person, based on his market value to be sold as a slave, and is thereby obligated to pay; and everyone is the object of a vow if others vowed to donate his assessment. This includes priests, Levites and Israelites, women, and Canaanite slaves. A tumtum, whose sexual organs are concealed, and a hermaphrodite [androginos], vow, and are the object of a vow, and take vows of valuation, but they are not valuated. Consequently, if one says, with regard to a tumtum: The valuation of so-and-so is incumbent upon me to donate to the Temple treasury, he is not obligated to pay anything, as only a definite male or a definite female are valuated. A deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor are the object of a vow and are valuated, but neither vow to donate the assessment of a person nor take a vow of valuation, because they lack the presumed mental competence to make a commitment. A child less than one month old is the object of a vow if others vowed to donate his assessment, but is not valuated if one vowed to donate his fixed value, as the Torah did not establish a value for anyone less than a month old.

הַכֹּל מַעֲרִיכִין וְנֶעֱרָכִין, נוֹדְרִים וְנִדָּרִים, כֹּהֲנִים וּלְוִיִּם וְיִשְׂרְאֵלִים, נָשִׁים וַעֲבָדִים. טֻמְטוּם וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס, נוֹדְרִים וְנִדָּרִים וּמַעֲרִיכִין, אֲבָל לֹא נֶעֱרָכִין, שֶׁאֵינוֹ נֶעֱרָךְ אֶלָּא זָכָר וַדַּאי וּנְקֵבָה וַדָּאִית. חֵרֵשׁ, שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן, נִדָּרִין וְנֶעֱרָכִין, אֲבָל לֹא נוֹדְרִין וְלֹא מַעֲרִיכִין, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין בָּהֶם דָּעַת. פָּחוּת מִבֶּן חֹדֶשׁ, נִדָּר אֲבָל לֹא נֶעֱרָךְ:

א׳
Bartenura

הכל מעריכין (dedicate the value of a person or of an animal unfit for the altar) – "הכל" /everyone includes a male who is thirteen years and one day old who did not bring forth two [pubic] hairs, that he dedicates the value of a person or of an animal unfit for the altar, or he is a minor one year before he (or she) reaches majority/adulthood [if it can be shown that the child understood the nature of the vow] (which is based upon Numbers 6:2: “If anyone, man or woman כי יפלא/explicitly utters a Nazirite’s vow to set himself apart for the LORD”), and he is called מופלא/uttering a distinct vow because they examine him if he knows how to utter a vow distinctly and to explain in the name of Whom he made the vow, and in the name of whom he dedicated [to the altar]. And even though it is written (Leviticus 27:2): “[Speak to the Israelite people and say to them:] When anyone explicitly vows/"איש כי יפלא נדר בערכך" [to the LORD the equivalent for a human being],” when he is near his period of maturity/adulthood, he is called a man (i.e., an adult) in this matter. And [the word] "הכל"/everyone that also refers to [the individual who is] the subject of the valuation, including someone disfigured/disgraced and/or afflicted with boils, who is not worth anything [financially]. For you might think that I would say that a vow of assessment of a person or animal dedicated to the sanctuary, as it is written (Leviticus 27:2 -see above), he whose person has a value, can vow the value of a person or an animal, but he whose person has no value cannot (see Tractate Arakhin 2a), which comes to tell us that [the word] "הכל"/everyone that refers to those entitled to dedicate, because it is taken for being dedicated, and those being dedicated is necessary [to teach] to include those who are younger than a month old, which can be dedicated [for a sacrifice] even though they are not the subject of valuation.

מעריכין – if a person said about someone, “I vow the value of so-and-so,” he gives the value of that individual according to his years as it is determined in the [Torah] portion of valuations, as the vow of value is regulated by the condition of the person whose value is vowed.

ונערכין – if another person said about him, “the value of this individual is upon me” or he said himself, “I vow my own value,” (see Talmud Arakhin 7b).

נודרין – if he said: “the monetary value of so-and-so is upon me,” he must give according to what is appropriate to be sold in the marketplace.

ונידרין – another person said regarding him: “the monetary value of so-and-so is upon me,” or he himself said: “the monetary value is upon me.”

כהנים ולוים – it was necessary for him (i.e., the teacher of this Mishnah) to teach us that they (Kohanim and Levites) are valuated, for you might think that I would say, since it is written (Leviticus 27:8): “[But if one cannot afford the equivalent,] he shall be presented before the priest, and the priest shall assess him,” an Israelite comes before a Kohen but not a Kohen before a Kohen, therefore, a Kohen is not [personally involved] in valuation, for if he is poor, we do not call upon him: “he shall be presented before the priest,” it comes to tell us that Kohanim are included in the laws of Arakhin/valuation, and since it teaches Kohanim [in the Mishnah], it also teaches Levites and Israelites [in the Mishnah].

נשים ועבדים – that the woman pays when she becomes a widow or when she becomes a widow or when she becomes a divorcee, whereas the slave [pays] when he is freed.

טומטום ואנדרוגינוס נודרים ונידרים – for behold they have monetary value.

ומעריכין –(pledge the valuation/dedicate the value of a person or an animal unfit for the altar) – of others, if they said, “the valuation of so-and-so is upon me,” they give the valuation of that individual.

אבל לא נערכין – if he said: “my value is upon me,” or another person said about them: “the value of so-and-so is upon me” (regarding someone who is of doubtful sexual traits or exhibits traits of both sexes), he did not say anything, for a male and a female are mentioned In the [Torah] portion of Arakhin/valuation, until he will be a real male or [she] a real female.

פחות מבן חודש נידר – if [another] person said: “his monetary value is upon me,” because he is worth something fiscally.

אבל לא נערך – for the word ערך/valuation is not mentioned in this [Torah] portion other than with something from one month old and beyond.

הכל מעריכין. הכל לאתויי בן שלש עשרה שנה ויום אחד ולא הביא שתי שערות, שהוא מעריך. והוא מופלא הסמוך לאיש. ומופלא אקרי ליה לפי שבודקים אותו אם יודע להפלות ולפרש לשם מי נדר ולשם מי הקדיש. אע״ג דאיש כי יפליא כתיב (ויקרא כ״ז), כשהוא סמוך לפרקו קרוי איש לענין זה. והכל דקאי נמי על נערכים, לאתויי מנוול ומוכה שחין, שאין שוין דמים. דסלקא דעתך אמינא נדר בערכך כתיב (שם), כל שישנו בדמים ישנו בערכין, וכל שאינו בדמים אינו בערכין, קמשמע לן. והכל דקאי על נודרים, משום נידרים נקט ליה. ונידרים גופיה אצטריך, לאתויי פחות מבן חודש שהוא נידר אע״פ שאינו נערך:

מעריכין. אם אמר על אחד, ערך פלוני עלי, נותן ערך אותו פלוני כפי שניו כמו שקצוב בפרשת ערכין, שהערך נותן לפי שנים של נערכין:

ונערכין. אם אמר אחר עליו ערך פלוני זה עלי, או אמר הוא עצמו ערכי עלי:

נודרים. אמר דמי פלוני עלי, צריך שיתן כמו שהוא יפה לימכר בשוק:

ונידרין. אמר אחר עליו דמי פלוני עלי, או אמר הוא עצמו דמי עלי:

כהנים ולוים. כהנים אצטריכא ליה לאשמעינן דנערכין, דסלקא דעתך אמינא הואיל וכתיב (שם) והעמידו לפני הכהן והעריך אותו הכהן, ישראל לפני כהן ולא כהן לפני כהן, הלכך כהן ליתיה בערכין, דאי עני הוא לא קרינא ביה והעמידו לפני הכהן, קמשמע לן דכהנים איתנהו בתורת ערכין. ואיידי דתנן כהנים, תנן לויים וישראלים:

נשים ועבדים. והאשה משלמת כשתתאלמן או תתגרש, והעבד כשישתחרר:

טומטום ואנדרוגינוס נודרים ונידרים. שהרי יש להם דמים:

ומעריכין. את אחרים, אם אמרו ערך פלוני עלי, נותנים ערך אותו פלוני:

אבל לא נערכין. אם אמר ערכי עלי, או אמר אחר עליהם ערך פלוני עלי, לא אמר כלום. דזכר ונקבה אמורים בפרשת ערכין, עד שיהיה זכר ודאי או נקבה ודאית:

פחות מבן חודש נידר. אם אמר דמיו עלי. שהרי שוה דמים כל שהן:

אבל, לא נערך. שלא נאמר ערך בפרשה אלא מבן חודש ומעלה: