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Perek 3

Mishnayos Shekalim Perek 3 Mishnah 4

שקלים פרק ג׳ משנה ד׳

4
The coins were stored in the Temple treasury in three large baskets, each measuring nine se’a. In the collection of the chamber ceremony, coins were removed from these baskets and placed in smaller baskets of three se’a each that were marked with letters (see the previous mishna on daf 8a). After he collected the funds from the first large basket and put them into one of the smaller baskets labeled with the letter alef, he immediately covered with a leather cover the large basket from which he had removed the money. After collecting funds from the second large basket, he covered it with a leather cover as well. But after collecting funds from the third large basket, he did not cover it. The mishna asks: Why did he cover the first two baskets? In order to mark them as already having had funds collected from them. In this way, there was no concern that perhaps he would forget and once again collect funds from a basket from which funds had already been collected. The mishna specifies the intent of the one collecting the funds from the baskets as he does so: He collected funds from the first basket on behalf of the people living in Eretz Yisrael; from the second basket on behalf of the people living in the cities near Eretz Yisrael; and from the third basket on behalf of the people living in Babylonia, and on behalf of the people living in Media, and on behalf of the people living in the distant countries.
תָּרַם אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה וּמְחַפֶּה בִּקְטַבְלָאוֹת, שְׁנִיָּה וּמְחַפֶּה בִּקְטַבְלָאוֹת. שְׁלִישִׁית לֹא הָיָה מְחַפֶּה, שֶׁמָּא יִשְׁכַּח וְיִתְרֹם מִן הַדָּבָר הַתָּרוּם. תָּרַם אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה לְשֵׁם אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּשְׁנִיָּה לְשׁוּם כְּרַכִין הַמֻּקָּפִין לָהּ, וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית לְשׁוּם בָּבֶל וּלְשׁוּם מָדַי וּלְשׁוּם מְדִינוֹת הָרְחוֹקוֹת:
ד׳

תרם את הראשונים ומחפה בקטבלאות – the first appropriation/Terumah that was on the fifteenth day before Passover – after he appropriated it, he would cover all the remaining Shekalim with קטבלאות/leather spreads that are smooth leather in order that they can put upon it the Shekalim that they will bring from the countries that surround the land of Israel, who wouldn’t bring [it] prior to Passover but they bring it from Passover until Atzeret/Shavuot and give them on top of the [leather] spread in order that they may appropriate from them in the two weeks before Atzeret/Shavuot and not appropriate from the thing that was appropriated from already during the two weeks before Passover, and after he has appropriated during the two weeks before Atzeret, he went back and covered all the monies in the compartment with leather spreads and placed on them all the Shekelim that are brought from Babylonia and Media and from the far-away countries, and appropriate from them in the two weeks before the Holiday/Sukkot. But there was no cover for there is no Terumah/appropriation after that.

הראשונה לשם ארץ ישראל – for they sent their Shekalim first and the others had not yet brought them.

לשם כרכין המוקפים – that are close by like Ammon and Moab and those similar to that, and its example was not to appropriate from that which is surrounded, nor do they surround those with an abscess. But nevertheless, every single time, they appropriate in the name of all Israel on what was collected and what stands to be collected in the future. But our Tanna/Teacher did not mention the divisions of these places other than to inform them that they established these three periods because then, they will gather all the Shekalim of Israel/the Jewish people.

תרם את הראשונה ומחפה בקטבלאות. תרומה ראשונה שהיתה בפרוס הפסח. לאחר שתרם אותה היה מכסה כל השקלים הנשארים בלשכה בקטבלאות דהיינו עור שלוק, כדי שיתנו עליו השקלים שיביאו ממדינות שסביב ארץ ישראל שלא יכלו להביא קודם הפסח, ומביאים מפסח ועד עצרת ונותנים אותם על גבי הקטבלא כדי שיתרום מהן בפרוס העצרת ולא יתרום מן הדבר שתרם כבר בפרוס הפסח. ואחר שתרם בפרוס העצרת חזר וכסה כל המעות שבלשכה בקטבלאות, ונותנין עליהם כל השקלים המביאים מבבל וממדי ומן המדינות הרחוקות, ותורמין מהן בפרוס החג. ועוד לא היה מחפה, שאין עוד תרומה אחריה:

הראשונה לשם ארץ ישראל. שהם שלחו שקליהם תחלה, שהאחרים עדיין לא הביאו:

לשם הכרכים המוקפים. הסמוכים. כמו עמון ומואב וכיוצא בהן. ודוגמתו לתרום שלא מן המוקף [גיטין ל], אין מקיפין בבועי [חולין מו:] ומ״מ בכל פעם ופעם היו תורמין על שם כל ישראל, על הגבוי ועל העתיד לגבות. ולא הזכיר התנא חלוקי מקומות הללו אלא להודיעך שתקנו שלשה פרקים אלו לפי שאז יתקבצו כל שקלי ישראל: