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Mishnayos Shekalim Perek 3 Mishnah 3

שקלים פרק ג׳ משנה ג׳

3

In order to indicate the importance that was attached to the ceremony of the collection of the Temple treasury chamber, the mishna relates that the members of the house of Rabban Gamliel desired that their shekels be the ones collected from the chamber and used for the purchase of the communal offerings. Each of them would therefore come to the Temple specifically on the day of the ceremony of the collection of the chamber, enter the chamber with his shekel between his fingers, and toss it in front of the one collecting the money so that he would see it and place it in the basket containing the money to be taken out of the chamber. Understanding what was happening, the one collecting the money from the chamber would purposely push this shekel into the basket, so that it would later be used to buy communal offerings. The one collecting the funds from the chamber may not begin to collect the money until he asks the Temple treasurers three times: Shall I collect the funds, and they say to him: Collect them, collect them, collect them, three times.

שֶׁל בֵּית רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל (הָיָה) נִכְנָס וְשִׁקְלוֹ בֵּין אֶצְבְּעוֹתָיו, וְזוֹרְקוֹ לִפְנֵי הַתּוֹרֵם, וְהַתּוֹרֵם מִתְכַּוֵּן וְדוֹחֲקוֹ לַקֻּפָּה. אֵין הַתּוֹרֵם תּוֹרֵם עַד שֶׁיֹּאמַר לָהֶם, אֶתְרֹם. וְהֵן אוֹמְרִים לוֹ, תְּרֹם, תְּרֹם, תְּרֹם, שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים:

ג׳
Bartenura

וזורקו לפני התורם – they intended that their Shekels would be spread out into the basket, and they would purchase from them the community offerings, and they would not come from the remnants of the compartment.

שלש פעמים – on each occasion, he would say, “shall I remove them?,” and they say to him: “Remove.” For it was the manner of the Sages that something should be done thrice, and an example of this we found in the Omer ceremony (see Tractate Menahot, Chapter 10, Mishnah 3): “this sickle, this sickle, this sickle. Shall I reap, Shall I reap, Shall I reap?” and similarly in the removal of the shoe (see Tractate Yevamot, Chapter 12, Mishnah 6) – “Remove the Shoe? Remove the Shoe? Remove the Shoe? = three times.

וזורקו לפני התורם. מתכוונים היו שיפלו שקליהם לתוך הקופה ויקנו מהם קרבנות צבור. ולא יהיו משיירי הלשכה:

שלש פעמים. על כל פעם ופעם היה אומר אתרום והם אומרים לו תרום. וכן דרך לשון חכמים להיות משולש. ודוגמתו מצינו בעומר, מגל זו מגל זו מגל זו, אקצור אקצור אקצור. וכן חלוץ הנעל חלוץ הנעל חלוץ הנעל ג׳ פעמים: